With its 2023 program changes, United MileagePlus will be the most difficult of the big three U.S. legacy airlines to earn elite status on. Will status become more valuable or will the value be limited to the attrition of existing elite members?
United Airlines Will Make Elite Status More Exclusive…But Will It Make Elite Status More Valuable?
Next year if you want top-tier (published) 1K status, you will need to spend over $18,000 on flights (since government taxes do not count) and fly 54 segments or spend $24,000 outright. Even with more co-branded credit card spending and some award travel counting, this remains quite an obstacle. Unlike on American or Delta, there is no easy backdoor via flying partners and crediting it to United.
United awards credit via a complicated formula of distance and fare class on partner flights. But United caps partner business or first class flights at 1,500 PQP (essentially $1500 in spending) per flight for “preferred partners” and 1,000 PQP for other partners. Economy class and premium economy are capped at half of that.
So for example, I spent $2,000 on a one-way Turkish Airlines ticket earlier this year and only earned 1,000 PQPs with United. The point is, there is no easy way to earn status.
Even so, and this is why United is making the changes in the first place, 1K upgrades are not clearing. I’ve resorted to buying business class tickets on the flights that matter most and accepting coach on the others because nothing has cleared lately, let alone cleared in advance.
For years, the value of 1K status was the ability to confirm upgrades in advance on trips that mattered and not have to sweat it out. While upgrade space has always been capacity controlled, in my experience it is far more tightly controlled these days.
One reason is that United Airlines has successfully monetized upsells to first class, such that it really does not have to give away many upgrades. Of course, this is confounding to United elites who offer long-term loyalty at least for the premise that they will be upgraded on a space-available basis on domestic and select international flights.
But again, upgrades are simply not happening for me. Domestic upgrades seem like a distant memory.
For that reason, I would not expect any improvements to the 1K experience (i.e. new perks), despite the dramatically higher qualification thresholds. While I would love for United to make it easier for 1Ks to clear upgrades in advance (by requiring double the Plus Points, for example), I just do not see that happening.
I’d say the best you can hope for is that the higher rates will lead to far fewer members qualifying for that status, leading to less competition on the upgrade list (United clears upgrades based on MileagePlus status). Then again, United may more aggressively hawk upgrades during booking and check-in if there are fewer upgrades on the list.
That could change if we enter a recession, but I am not so sure that will be the case…
CONCLUSION
Earning elite status on United Airlines will become much more difficult next year. But beyond the diminished competition that will come from fewer elite members, I would not expect much else to change concerning the availability of confirmed upgrades or aspects of the onboard experience. At least as United sees it now, it does not have to make any changes…
TL; DR: Don’t expect your upgrades to clear next year either…
image: United Airlines
Yup, that is my experience, too. There is just next to no upgrade space available, and the other perks of 1K are appreciated, but not nearly as important. But the other thing is that UA is also usually the most expensive for international J, while having one of the worst on board soft products. If I had taken all of my international flights this year on UA, I would have made 1K again next year, but it would have cost me a lot more for no benefit.
Like all things, YMMV.
You can find sweet spots on partner airlines and get a better return on PQPs. I just completed a trip on LH where my spend of $1,000 is going to get over 1,600 PQP. It all depends on your flexibility and finding the right fare in the right booking class.
Incidentally, a return leg was on UA and my PP upgrade instantly cleared. This was a mid-week flight, so flying on off-peak days obviously helps.
As a Platinum, I’ve been clearing domestic upgrades on more than half of my trips. But I don’t fly out of EWR or LAX so that’s also likely a factor. Most of my connections are through ORD, IAH, or DEN.
I was looking fairly regularly TATL this summer and fall for work trips, and while I found a handful of PZ upgrade space at booking on return legs (none whatsoever on the more important overnight US to EU), the issue was that the price for business over and an upgrade from economy on the return was still much more than I could get on other airlines. So I bought the others. And, frankly, had a much better experience, though I’d have been happy to be on UA if it had been cheaper.
I’m just too old to spend 8 hours in coach, and I will not waitlist.
Last line is key – you are not alone and I wish UA could look into just Award Expert clients alone who booked away from UA due to a lack of confirmed upgrade space.
I don’t think you will ever know. But I think the answer to your title is that UA does not care as long as the flights are full.
By the way, you are in DC, right? I see that UA is having a reception there next week. I assume it is for 1Ks. Wonder what they will talk about.
Jay nailed it. As a UA Gold in Denver, I was around 10-20% most years. We moved to PHL, and literally half of my domestic flights were upgraded. We moved to KC, I dropped to UA Silver, but still got more upgrades on the connections to ORD, IAH or IAD.
Upgrades were always the gravy. UA status is about getting the best economy plus seats and lounge access only. Can’t rely on the “variable” stuff that’s out of your control.
If just EconomyPlus seats and lounge access, then Gold is more than enough, right?
This weekend, my travel companion and I are flying a 1.5 hour non-stop to SFO, ret Sunday.
Ticket: $456 each, Fare: Q,
SkyWorst CRJ, 20 rows: 1st: 12, Econ+ 16, Econ 48
Currently: 1 1st seat available. CPU list 24 passengers. We’re in the top 10 of the list!
UA selling confirmed upgrade for $149.
We’re both 1K, I’m 3MM and companion is 2MM.
Been seriously looking at status match with SW and Alaska. (Had the option to fly Alaska for $440 Prem on a 737.)
Matthew- Re UA PQP *A caps, good reminder. Did you purchase your Turkish Air on UA or somewhere else?
What is your strategy for next year then? I am trying to see what the heck I am going to do…
Didn’t UA introduce the “Skip Waitlist” feature? I have only seen that once or twice, and now basically not any more. They ever going to bring that back for plus points?
I have not seen “Skip the Waitlist” all year. I think UA is too greedy – it knows it will just sell the seats.
If domestic upgrades aren’t easy to score, what’s the benefit of going for UA top tier status as opposed to whatever level gets you *G, or indeed *G with an airline that would give you UA lounge access?
As a MM on UA, I have lifetime Gold. So when my business travel needs fell off a few years ago, I quit trying to reach even Platinum, to say nothing of 1K, because I hadn’t seen an upgrade in ages. SFO is my international gateway and it is solidly GS. The perks, back in the day, were nice. But it’s still a big beautiful world of travel out there, and I’m enjoying it even more as a primarily recreational traveler.
I also have lifetime gold being a 1MM, and getting the automatic economy plus is the only thing I have expected out of United for years now. I just splurge for first class payment out of my pocket when ticketing or the last minute come-on at check-in if it is a flight over a few hours, so they have me trained. In short I gave up on any upgrade hopes with permanent gold years ago and don’t expect anything else out of the program.
While this means I have no loyalty to them, they unfortunately are the only direct flight from where my am to my ailing parents so they have a monopoly on my most frequent flight.
United clearly thinks that we don’t have a choice. Every year the program was amended to try to extract more revenue from travelers. Mileage Plus is no longer a loyalty program as loyalty doesn’t make any sense. They simply want to try to extract as much revenue as possible from the people who can pay it either because of their employer or because they are rich.
If you haven’t figured it out by now … just fly whatever airline delivers the best service for the price. Almost every frequent flyer perk is available for purchase if it’s important to you. If flying internationally there are so many other really interesting airlines.
I’m a 1K for the last time (only because of extensions) but I’m also currently top tier with airlines in the other two alliances. I’m only flying United in international business or domestic first if they have the best price. Otherwise I’ll fly another airline. Go free agent and your life will be more fun with extra money in your pocket.
*G for the last 23 years but in a range of progammes over that time. I’ve seen them all tighten their qualification criteria regularly but almost never has there been an increase in benefits indeed the core *G benefits remain the ones there were from the outset while ancilliary charges which weren’t even thought of 23 years ago like seat selection are chargeable to *G just as to anyone else almost all the time.
My ploy, having jumped ship a few times is now just to collect the easiest *G to get because for the minmal cross network benefits, why try harder? In the programme I use, I find upgrades clear 90% of the time and I’m pretty well treated across the board by them.
Would I reconsider a scheme like UA or LH? No way, it’s take on their part, give on yours and expect nothing in return.
*G benefits have actually been reducing over the past few years – no contract lounge access with SK, UA, TP, no ability to guest someone into the lounge if they’re flying on another flight, no luggage entitlement on ‘light’ fares (SK, LH group), certain airlines refusing to check luggage through to another *A member when on separate tickets (I have experienced this with TP and seen others having to do it with SA)…
UA 1K is not, nor will it magically become worth anywhere close to $18/24k.
Anyone who thinks “thinning the ranks” will magically improve upgrades specifically or the 1K experience in general is delusional. We first heard that trope back in 2013 when UA introduced PQD – upgrades and status value have steadily declined ever since, even as UA has continued to raise the thresholds.
Remember when one mile = one mile. No PQD, XYZ or ABC. As an engineer this stuff makes my head spin.
Couldn’t agree with you more Lee. But that’s when United had a loyalty program. Now it’s all about some complex metrics related to extracting maximum spend. In any case I can’t be bothered to try to understand their BS Bingo of PQF, PQP, or whatever they want to come up with. So many other good airlines to choose from and in particular with better catering and service internationally.
The last time I had a comp upgrade as a 1K was before the merger with Continental.