United Airlines has extended my MileagePlus Premier 1K status for another year…
How I Received A Premier 1K Status Extension From United Airlines
When I wrote in late 2024 about how I was losing my United 1K status, some of you urged me to reach out to United, explain the reasons why I did not make 1K status, and request a status extension.
It’s true…a tree fell on my house and my father passed away, both of which required a great deal of time in 2024 and sidelined my travels. So I did send an email to MileagePlus asking for an extension during the first week of the year.
I received a response telling me that I should check back in a few weeks.
So last week I did, and received a response without hours informing me my status extension request had been granted:
Just to be clear, I didn’t reach out to my PR contacts…to my knowledge, this was not extended to me because I am a blogger who writes about United. While I cannot rule that out, United has an unpublished policy of granting such status extensions due to unusual and compelling circumstances once every 5-6 years. Many have taken advantage of this and have no professional ties to the airline.
I did receive an automatic status extension during the pandemic, but this was the first time I ever asked for one.
Unfortunately, unlike the MileagePlus residents in Israel who received automatic extensions with a fresh allotment of PlusPoints, I received no PlusPoints this year. While that is perfectly reasonable, I can’t say this bump up from Platinum (which I did qualify for) to 1K will make a meaningful difference in my choice to be a free agent this year.
Over the last two months, I’ve booked domestic tickets on not only United, but Delta, American Airlines, JetBlue, and Spirit…I’m going to travel based on schedule, product, and price, buying the cheapest premium cabin seats ideally with lie-flat beds. I expect that will be on United for several trips…but it’s a real bummer I won’t be able to use my PlusPoints to upgrade the family when we go to Germany this spring or summer.
CONCLUSION
I received a 1K status extension from United with no strings attached, though I did not receive more PlusPoints. I am thankful that United recognizes that sometimes “life happens” and travel is hampered (I think that’s smart business) and am grateful for the extension when I was prepared to drop down to Platinum status.
It’s good that even large corporations do this. Sure, it’s a way to keep loyal customers but also some folks in the company understand that hardships can happen.
I can sorta relate to this as my mother recently passed away, which is why I decided to move to be closer to my father and the board were unanimously understanding allowing the schedule I have now. Sure, there’s an aspect where they don’t want me leaving my job but some people do care and understand.
I’m sorry for the loss of your mother.
During the height of the pandemic, which is still ongoing and not ended, Hertz granted lots of extensions for points that would normally expire. Flyertalk seems to suggests that nearly everyone was granted an extension. I also requested it 2 weeks before my points expired. They wrote back refusing to do so. I appealed but they still denied it. I don’t want to rent from Hertz anymore. They used to be my #1.
Even if they granted only a limited extension, like 6 months, it would have been ok.
“Still ongoing and not ended”.
Thanks for the laugh, funniest thing I have read in a long while.
Guess we found the clown wearing the mask.
White privilege
Just kidding, that’s awesome.
I wonder if DL would do the same after next year when surely status member counts drop