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United Airlines must have taken a look at all of the backlash that Delta Air Lines received for the changes it made to its SkyMiles® program and decided to not follow suit for once. The Chicago-based carrier announced this morning that there would be no changes to the qualification requirements for 2025 status earned in 2024 except for a few slight tweaks to credit card earnings, which are actually positive.
Status Requirements Remain the Same
Qualifying for elite status with United will be identical to the process this year. Every dollar spent on airfares (not including taxes and fees) will earn one PQP. As Delta has done, it’s possible to qualify without a ton of flying as long as you spend enough money. Here are the qualifications:
- Premier Silver®:12 PQF and 4,000 PQP or 5,000 PQP
- Premier Gold®: 24 PQF and 8,000 PQP or 10,000 PQP
- Premier Platinum®: 36 PQF and 12,000 PQP or 15,000 PQP
- Premier 1K®: 54 PQF and 18,000 PQP or just 24,000 PQP
United says that it wants to reward loyalty. This is a subtle dig at Delta:
We want to stay loyal to our MileagePlus® members because you’ve remained loyal to us. That’s why the Premier® program requirements will not change in 2024. You will not have to earn more Premier qualifying points (PQP) or take more Premier qualifying flights (PQF) to get status.”
Jumpstart Your PQP Balance
Once again, United is rewarding loyalty by adding Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) to each account for all elite members. This is the same bonus that United provided this year. It includes:
- Premier Silver®: 250 PQPs
- Premier Gold®: 500 PQPs
- Premier Platinum®: 750 PQPs
- Premier 1K®: 1,250 PQPs
Earn Premier Status Easier Through Credit Card Spend
United (like Delta) has a valuable credit card business that adds millions of dollars to its bottom line. To further incent this behavior, United is making it more lucrative to use its cobranded Chase credit cards. Changes include:
- Cardmembers will now earn 25 PQP for every $500 in qualifying card spend on eligible MileagePlus credit cards.
- All card-earned PQP will now count toward each status level. This includes Premier 1K® status, which was previously exempt.
- The total PQP you can earn annually with the United ClubSM Infinite Card has increased. In 2024, you can earn up to 10,000 PQP from qualifying purchases on your United Club Infinite Card, which is up from 8,000 PQP in 2023.
- The annual cap of 15,000 PQP has been removed.
Anthony’s Take: United clearly did not want to face the backlash that Delta did this year. It’s good to see that the requirements are unchanged. We’ll see how travel demand goes in 2024 and if any of the carriers offer further promos.
(Image Credits: United Airlines.)
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