United Is Scrapping Its Flight-Based Path to Elite Status. Is Chasing Premier Still Worth It?

Starting January 1, 2027, flying a lot on United Airlines will no longer be enough to earn elite status. The airline announced October 13 that it is eliminating the flight-count path to Premier status in its MileagePlus frequent flier program, leaving spending—measured in Premier qualifying points or PQPs—as the only way in. It’s also making top-tier Premier 1K harder to reach. The Chicago-based carrier is the latest to shift to dollars spent as the only factor that matters to reach those coveted Premier tiers.

“The changes for 2027 make earning Premier status simpler and easier to track,” a spokesperson for the airline told Afar.

Fliers currently have the option to qualify for tiers through a certain number of PQPs, or through a minimum number of segments plus a lower number of PQPs. Starting January 1, only the PQP threshold will count. (The chart above shows how members currently earn elite status and how it changes in 2027 for 2028 status.)

While the spend-only model may be “simpler” to track, it kills a path to elite status for many travelers who relied on a mix of flight segments and PQPs earned through spending.

What are United’s MileagePlus Premier requirements in 2027?

The good news is that the minimum PQPs needed for its three lowest tiers remain the same: 6,000 for Silver, 12,000 for Gold, and 18,000 for Platinum. Premier 1K, however, rises from 28,000 PQPs to 32,000. For 1Ks who currently qualify with 60 flights and 22,000 PQPs, that’s an extra 10,000 PQPs—roughly $10,000 more in United airfare.

As before, every status tier also requires at least four flights operated by United or United Express; partner flights don’t count toward that minimum.

United said it made the change to “more directly reflect how customers interact and invest in the MileagePlus program.” The airline said core tier benefits—upgrades, preferred seating, priority check-in, boarding, and bag handling—aren’t changing.

One caveat: PlusPoints—upgrade currency United Premier elite members earn—are changing. Starting with travel on February 1, 2027, the number of PlusPoints that Platinum and 1K members will need to upgrade will vary with demand. Factors include your destination, your original ticket, and the seat you want to upgrade to.

“The upside of removing the ability to earn elite status through a combination of PQF and PQP in lieu of focusing just on PQP, is it removes confusion,” NerdWallet lead writer Sally French says. “For a passenger who has earned enough PQF but not the corresponding PQP, it can be confusing—and downright upsetting—to think you earned status when you didn’t.”

What it really means is that MileagePlus is now less about, well, mileage. “United is doubling down on members earning elite status through spend, whether that’s by spending on United flights or a cobranded credit card,” says Jordan Rozum, director of loyalty at award travel search platform point.me.

He notes that the airline has been moving away from distance-based qualifications for years; this week’s news marks the surest sign, while seriously rewarding its credit card holders.

As a case in point, I was so desperate to hang onto my Gold status last year that I applied for a United MileagePlus Quest card to bank on those extra PQPs. The previous year I had just barely made the cutoff—with a December 31 evening flight landing just in time to be my final segment—so I was desperate to eliminate that stress.

Now my everyday purchases incrementally help me tiptoe to my status, as I found myself securing Gold status midyear with roughly the same amount of travel. As an added perk, I’ve noticed that I get discounts on award travel for for being a cardholder. Most recently, I found one-way Thanksgiving flights between my home base of Newark Liberty International (EWR) and my parents near San Francisco International (SFO) for 12,700 miles—that’s 78 percent off the price non-cardholders were offered for the same flight (57,400 miles)—a pretty great deal even with one stop. (Nonstop flights were 15 percent off.)

Courtesy of United.com

There’s another cobranded credit card perk. MileagePlus members with Premier status used to earn an annual jump start to their PQPs, but now only those who have a United-branded credit card by December 31, 2026, will get a 5 percent bonus to start the new year, which comes out to 300 PQPs for Silver, 600 for Gold, 900 for Platinum, and 1,600 for 1K.

Can you still earn status without earning United PQPs?

Photo by Y S/Unsplash (L); courtesy of United Airlines (R)

While United is putting the emphasis on dollars spent, both on airfare and on its credit cards, there remain ways to maximize the system. “You can still earn elite status by flying partner carriers, with the number of miles flown and booking class being converted to PQPs,” Rozum says. Those ratios vary by airline—and also have capped limits. Still, it offers the chance to rack up those now-needed PQPs through mileage on other Star Alliance carriers.

There’s also the ability to match status from other airlines. For example, United announced this month that it’s offering an exclusive status match with American and Delta tiers for 90 days and the deadline to apply has been extended to October 22. Additionally, you can earn matched status from other airlines’ programs—including Aer Lingus, Aero Mexico, Air France–KLM, Alaska and Hawaiian’s Atmos, China Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, Frontier, Japan Airlines, Kenya Airways, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic—by submitting a form and then taking an activating flight on United or United Express. To keep status beyond 90 days, the traveler must follow instructions provided by United at the beginning of the match period.

Is it easier to get status with American or Delta?

On the whole, United’s focus on PQPs falls in line with what other carriers have been doing. As French pointed out, United is actually the last of the major U.S. airlines to follow suit. On October 15, 2026, Southwest showed signs of moving in that direction by revamping its loyalty program and mimicking the names of United’s tiers. (That said, Southwest will still allow you to reach status based on the number of flights alone, just 25 flights for silver.)

While United’s PQPs are solely based on its fares and credit card spending, American Airlines still allows for other avenues in. Its Loyalty Points—its name for PQPs—can also be earned by booking American Airlines Vacation packages, booking a hotel through its AAdvantage Hotels platform, renting a car via AAdvantage Cars, staying at its partner hotels (Marriott and IHG properties are included), eating at AAdvantage Dining restaurants, or shopping through its eShopping portal or with a linked SimplyMiles account. In contrast, when I go to restaurants that participate in MileagePlus Dining, I only earn miles and not PQPs.

Delta has a more limited means to its PQPs, called Medallion Qualification Dollar (MDQs): They must be earned through flights, credit cards, or Delta Vacations packages.

Atmos—the loyalty program shared by Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines—remains the most flexible. Currently it only allows members to earn based on distance, but starting in 2027, there will be three ways to accrue status: through miles traveled, price spent, and flight segments.

What does this mean for frequent flier programs?

Does this mean the days of making mileage runs are behind us—and that it’s more efficient to just splurge on a higher class flight to earn those PQPs or stop worrying about elite status altogether and become a free agent—booking the seat you want on any airline? It depends.

Rozum says that those who are already spending significant amounts with a single airline might continue to find tier-chasing valuable if it’s just about booking an extra trip or two, since the benefits could outweigh the cost. However, for those starting from scratch, he points out that it likely doesn’t make financial sense anymore. “Airlines frequently sell premium cabin upgrades at a discount instead of giving them to elites, which historically was the biggest perk of having elite status,” he said.

European carriers including British Airways and Iberia are already following suit, and Rozum predicts more will do the same: “We expect other programs to follow and award status for spending money with an airline.”

But as a whole, French says: “The days where people took long flights to cheap destinations just to rack up literal mileage earnings are over.”