To make Premier
 

I have 19,000 miles flown with UA up till now. I like to make Premier for 2000. I live in Los Angeles. Please give me a few alternatives?

Is it too late to make 50K?

Thanks a million

I will recommend that you check the mileage run forum for suggestions. It is quite informational. I hope that helps.

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I fly therefore I am!

wherever low fare airlines esp. Southwest flies is a good bet like LAX-BWI. Internationally there are some great fares as part of the annual winter sales.

Being a vanilla Premier doesn't have too many benefits - especially as PE and 1K's will *likely* trump you for upgrades on most flights. Keep this in mind before spending too much money on a mileage run.

lilycali:

Despite what you may hear from all my fellow grizzled road warriors out there Premier is at least a step above the general Mileage Plus level. You are accorded advanced boarding, and you can earn upgrade coupons which, as a Premier, you can use to upgrade from any fare to the next level of service.

You are not traveling as much as some but more than others and these perks are still nice. I still remember appreciating those perks myself.

Of course once you have experienced 1K you become very spoiled. Kind of like the first time you drank a truly extraordinary cabernet - you never want to drink the cheap stuff again. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sign up for the United e-fares notices (if you haven't already) and jump on a cheap fare to Boston or New York, or Hawaii, which will get you there or very close, and then fill in with a short round trip on Shuttle or UAX for the balance.

I have been a regular Premier member for several years. I was PE for a few years and noticed little difference. Of course, that was then and this was now. But more often than not, I am successful upgrading.

But I don't understand why people say we are treated "like read headed step children" compared to other Premier levels. Most EVERY single time I've ever had a problem with flight cancellations, seats, $75.00 change fees or whatever, I've been well taken care of. Usually, the rep will even say say something to the effect that "we want to keep you, as one of our valued Premier members, very happy."

Yes, I know the benefits of PE and 1K are outstanding and I would be lying to say that I wouldn't want to be right up there too. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
But the bottom line is that I've been reletively happy. But let's see what happens this year when there are numerous more Premiers due to the lower requirement levels.

Neal

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 11-23-2000).]

it really has to do with your home airport I think. Here at IAD a Premier isn't worth much except if you are very careful to take flights that are at unpopular times, and 757s and such, you can get upgrades sometimes.

On busy routes and popular times forget it, even as a PE which I was until just recently I had real trouble and that was with full fare tix. I haven't flown much as a 1K yet but I'm looking forward to the difference esp. on routes like IAD-SFO and IAD-SEA that are very competitive with lots of 1Ks.

So, too many 1Ks here at IAD, it makes a marginal difference (but some difference) if you are a Premier.

But, Premier is worth a lot at other airports, for instance at BWI here in the Washington DC metro area I think it is worth more because there isn't as big a UAL presence and less competition with tons of 1Ks (I may be wrong about this, just my hunch.)

If you are in a market where you always have to connect, you are probably going to be in good shape as a Premier. When I was a Gold with American I got excellent treatment as I was not at an AA hub and there weren't as many Platinums and EPs to compete with.

I'm a bit unclear about the original question as there's a reference both to making Premier, as well as whether it's too late to get to 50K.

First, as far as making Premier, IMHO it's worthwhile. It only takes 21K this year with the reduced qualification level, so if you're at or over 19K, you could make 21K pretty easily. I'm not that familiar with West Coast fares, but I would guess you could find a quick cheap non-shuttle flight with 2 segments each way. With the 500 mile minimum, that would get you to 21K. Even if it is difficult to upgrade, I think it would be worthwhile: (1) 25% bonus on flights since May (summer from Hell bonus); (2) 25% bonus on all flights next year; (3) Economy plus seating; (4) early boarding; and all the other misc Premier stuff.

From there, you could try to get to Premier Exec, which is only 42K this year. That would obviously take some effort, although the better upgrade opportunities and extra bonus miles (100% versus 25%) are quite nice. I think it depends on whether you think you'd fly enough next year to take advantage of it.

Finally, if you're not Premier Exec to start with, getting to 50K would get you extra bonus miles for the summer from Hell.

You gotta start somewhere! I remember I was SO happy to get those 25% bonus miles. I've never made 1K yet, but there is a HUGE difference between Prem. and Prem-ex as far as how I'm treated. UA is not known for treating it's non-status passengers very well....

i hear this over and over again. this is my
first year with united and i've become Premier and will be PremEx with my next
flight.

other than upgrade priority can you give
a concrete example of how you were treated
as a PremEx vs. Premier?

Beyond the obvious, published benefits for each of the three tiers, it is somewhat difficult to come up with concrete examples of how 1Ps prosper versus 2Ps--without misleading you.

I say this because so many of the unpublished benefits really depend upon the individual(s) that you come into contact with at United. What I can say is this: you odds of receiving "better" overall treatment (having the rules bent, getting a comp. upgrade, being let into the RCC on a long layover someplace, getting a free bottle of wine on a flight, etc.) increase as you move up the ladder. In my own experience, these "perks" dramatically increased between 1P and 1K--but didn't substantially differ between 1P and 2P.

I'd try to attain 1P for the published benefits--namely the 100% flight miles bonus and *Gold status that allows RCC entry when overseas (which you already get if you're based in Germany). Achieving 1P and expecting the "perks" to come rolling in will, in my opinion, lead to nothing but disappointment 90% of the time.

Hope that answer didn't come across as a cop out...it's the best way I know how to illustrate the differences for you.

quite the contrary. your answer was very
helpful. thank you! i honestly don't expect
anything other than the published benefits.
it was just difficult for me to imagine
the "intangible" benefits.

believe European PremEx and 1K's get a
complimentary RCC membership so that kind
of makes up for the many promotions availible
only to U.S. based members.