doing a run to DUS next month to get the "mini" PremExec qualification at 42K miles. should have called UA before doing this as the MP line told me that people who make miniPE don't get the 100% retroactive "we screwed up" bonus that full PE's do, instead I'd get the same 25% I'd get if I stayed Premier.

but nothing I've found at UA.com indicates that this is true. I just want a clear yes-no answer and would appreciate any clarification. if not, I'll live with it though it's tempting to do another run to get that 100% bonus for a trip to Australia next year in C or F. I'm still trying to decide if it's worth the money to do that or not; already spent $477 to make miniPE!

It is true, your "mini" new Premier Executive status won't get you the 100% True Flyer Bonus.

This is because (if you read the terms carefully) your "mini" new Premier Executive status becomes effective, not when you earn it, but on January 1, 2001. That's one day after the True Flyer Bonus deadline of December 31, 2000.

Sorry.

[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 11-26-2000).]

PremEx is right. You might want to consider going for full qualification if its viable to you.

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I fly therefore I am!

well, the extra 75% bonus is worth something. I guess I need to calculate out approx. how many miles I'll get as real PE instead of miniPE and decide if it's worth another quickie trip to Europe. after this DUS run I'll need about 4500 miles to make "real" PE. can't seem to find a cheap domestic flight that'll give me that from MSP--closest I can get is MSP-ORD-SEA which is a few hundred miles shy of what I need. ANC would work but it's really expensive and I don't want to spend more than $500 for this last run. I can get another ticket to DUS for $407, though.

For purposes of your calculations as to if it's worth it for you to stretch for 50K, I might also point out that once you hit your "mini" new Premier Executive threshold, you will still only be a Premier for the balance of the year (or until you hit the full 50K) earning only your current Premier 25% status bonus miles (and your already qualified for 25% True Flyer Bonus miles). Again, this is because your "mini" new Premier Executive status does not kick-in until January 1, 2001.

I guess acheiving the full 50K is what makes you a "True Flyer" for the purposes of the True Flyer Bonus.

[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 11-26-2000).]

welp, I went ahead and booked another DUS run for 12/30 returning 12/31. nothing like cutting it close but it counts, plus I've been to DUS before and the airport isn't a bad place to kill 3 hours.

I'm not convinced that this is the cheapest way to get that F-class ticket to Sydney next winter, but it's certainly worth $900 I'm not so enamored of the PE status but this seems to be the best way to get the miles (120,000) needed for that ticket.

Wonder what happens with "comped" PremExec's like me? I will have the status by the end of the year, did not "suffer" during the summer (I only started flying United in the fall), and otherwise don't deserve or expect the bonus.

You could do MSP-ORD-SEA-LAX-SEA-ORD-SEA.
That should do it with spare change.

*highFlyah*

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"Fly High, Fly and STAY *UNITED* - that's the only way to do it."

opus17, it's simple: you will be Premier Exec at 12/31/00, so you'll get the 100% bonus on flights from May 1 to December 31. It doesn't matter how you got to your 12/31/00 status - it could be comped, it could be you flew a lot in '99 (but not '00), it could be grandfathered as a Million Mile Flyer, it could be you earn it on 12/31 like born sleepy's revised plans. If you're Premier Exec on 12/31/00 - and I agree with PremEx that "mini Premier Exec doesn't take effect until 1/1/01, a day late and miles short - then you get the 100% True Flyer (aka Summer From Hell) bonus.

If (as it appears) you need ~15,000 to get to "real" PremExec, you might consider doing a mileage run on the Pacific side (MSP-ORD-LAX-NRT and back the same way would be about 15,400; going to HKG through ORD and LAX would be about 19,000 round trip) instead of two trans-Atlantics.

Of course, the beer in DUS is better.

Ckeck out the fares to Las Vegas and Atlanta.

They're pretty cheap right now.

Dan

natch I was there for a week in May and practically lived on Alt bier. love the stuff and will be glad to get some more. can't get imported Alt here, only Minnesota imitations that pale in comparison. far too sweet. bleah.

I looked into transpac fares from MSP and the fares were about the same (or a little more) as 2x DUS but I'd already booked the one DUS trip before being told it wouldn't be enough for "real" PE and since DUS is currently the cheapest UA city in Europe from ORD it made sense $-wise (if not sense overall) to book another trip there.

A weekend transpac and back would just kill me, and besides PVG isn't a great place to sit for hours because 1) you can't smoke inside, 2) there's nothing to do inside the terminal and 3) there's absolutely nothing for miles around without a visa and a long cab ride into Pu Dong. getting a Chinese visa is enough of a pain in the butt (spent a month there last year).

I'm sure it all seems very frivolous and mildly insane to the average non-FF but I want that F-class ticket to Sydney! thanks to all for the help and clarifications.