No announcement so far. One could reasonably infer that they're not planning on changing qualification requirements next year. They don't have to increase them every year.

The answer to this....

.... is on the Delta Forum.

Once upon a time there was no reason to expect UA to make any announcements about changing qualification requirements for the next year. :(

SIAP = Sorry If Already Posted

It still is highly desirable to publish the requirements, as many folks are planning & booking travel for 2026.
Scratching my head why UA is dragging their feet :confused:

The economy is in a funny place. They are probably trying to account for a significant deal of uncertainty as to who will/won't be flying, how much, and with how much spend. You can always make it easier to qualify as the year goes on, but you can't really make it harder. At this point, for them to come out with tougher qualification levels would be pretty poor form, and I don't expect them to do so.

Out of curiosity, have DL/AA released their 2027 qualification levels?

I agree that the requirements won’t be raised. Maybe they’re squabbling over the size of the starter PQP’s — or whether to deposit them at all?

It's long past time to kill the starter PQPs IMO. It's a gimmick that's way past its prime.

DL did back in the summer - no changes for 2027 qualifications. DL also had a large increase for 2026 qualifications.

AA does not run its program on calendar year. Qualification period starts in March.

It's actually a good way to reward people for continuing to fly UA. Otherwise, there's no real continuity from year to yar.

I suspect there will be no change at all. If the economy is in a bad spot by middle of the year, UA can always award extra bonus PQP then if they want to.

“Gimmick” can be debated, but it is precisely aimed at AA’s Loyalty Points regime. Due to the way AA counts, members with status — and who earn that status via actual flights — get an advantage in re-qualification. For example, an existing ExPlat has to buy $18,182 worth of base fares to re-qualify for the following year, but an existing Platinum has to buy $22,223 worth to qualify for ExPlat.

Wait, are people suggesting the thresholds would be lowered? Absent a global pandemic, the requirements move in only one direction.

agreed. The pandemic is long over. That said, I am looking at a tough prediction for PQP in 2026 :(. We’ll see of course and there probably will be that extra last minute expensive TATL/TPAC flight that will make it a non-issue.

No, I think the idea is the thresholds would be the same, but if UA needs to provide incentives or easier qualification mid year they can do so.

Sure, that’s what cfischer was saying, but I assumed the point of the thread (originally) was “how much higher might UA make the thresholds,” not “how much lower might they make them.” :-)

At this point, any announcement would be a surprise. I’m assuming the program is carried over as-is year-over-year (including the starter bonus that some people seem to malign). I don’t think that’s a bad thing — a little stability would go a long way.