My United elite status is becoming increasingly out of reach — here's what I'm doing to cope with it

I fly frequently, much more than most people. Whether it's for work or leisure, I'm in the air multiple times a month, and almost all of my flights are with a single airline. You'd think that flying over 40 times a year would automatically earn me top-tier elite status perks, but you'd be mistaken these days.

Just before the pandemic, U.S. airlines raised the requirements for elite status. While thresholds were temporarily lowered between 2020 and 2022 due to fewer travelers, things have since gotten much tougher, making it harder to achieve premium airline elite status.

For many airlines — including United, my main carrier — it’s no longer just about the number of flights you take. Ticket prices also play a crucial role in determining your elite status.

Living in Texas means most of my trips are short hops across the country. Airfares have been reasonable this year, so even though I'm flying often enough to qualify for higher-tier elite status, I'm not spending enough on tickets to reach the highest levels of status.

After holding United's top-tier status, Premier 1K, for several years, I gave up on requalifying for it last year and dropped to Premier Platinum. This year, I might fall even further down the airline's elite status ladder.

While I’m mostly okay with this, I’ve been doing a few things to boost my United elite status as much as possible... and some things I’ve decided not to do.

Flying frequently but not spending enough

Here's a bit more context: To re-qualify for Premier Platinum status (the second-highest level) by the end of the year, I need to take 36 United flights and earn 12,000 Premier qualifying points (PQPs). If you're not familiar, earning PQPs is roughly equivalent to spending $12,000 on base fares and eligible charges with United this year.

I've already completed 25 United flights for 2024, with seven more booked and a couple more likely trips still to schedule. In short, I’ll probably exceed the 36-flight requirement for elite status by the time 2025 rolls around.

However, the PQP side of the equation isn't looking promising.

So far, I've earned 6,546 of the 12,000 PQPs needed for United's Premier Platinum status. I’m booked to earn a bit over 7,000 PQPs, and with a few more trips I could hit 8,000. But that still leaves a huge gap between 8,000 and the 12,000 needed. In fact, 8,000 PQPs is only enough to qualify for Premier Gold status with United.

In other words, I’m flying frequently enough to earn Premier Platinum status, but I’m not spending enough on my tickets.

Here's what I’m doing to rack up United PQPs without increasing my spending.

To boost my United MileagePlus PQP earnings, I've started charging as much of my everyday expenses as possible to my United credit card.

High-ticket expenses like medical bills, insurance payments, and estimated taxes are all going on that card. This move was a no-brainer since I qualified for Hyatt Globalist status earlier than expected this year. That allowed me to reduce spending on my World of Hyatt card and redirect those funds to my United card for this elite status push.

However, this isn’t a quick fix; it's a slow process. My United card earns 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, up to certain limits depending on the type of United credit card you have.

For simplicity, let’s assume I can charge an average of $5,000 a month on my United card for the next three months. That would add $15,000 in charges, translating to only 750 additional PQPs from that spending. While that should help me reach Premier Gold status, it still leaves a significant gap to Premier Platinum.

I might be able to charge more to the card, but to close the gap on the roughly 4,000 PQPs I still need, I'd have to spend $80,000 on the card by year's end. And while prices seem to keep rising, my everyday expenses won’t come anywhere close to that figure.

That said, especially with the nature of my work, it's always possible a big United or Star Alliance partner flight will pop up. So, unless I’m absolutely certain it's impossible to achieve Premier Platinum status, I’ll keep putting as much as I can on my United card to inch closer to my PQP goal.

What I’m not doing to requalify for United status

I’ll admit, in the past I’ve booked unnecessary flights just to qualify for elite status. But I haven’t done that in a while, and I have no intention of repeating those mileage runs this year. I also don’t have the budget to splurge on more airline tickets or regularly purchase first-class fares just to earn more PQPs (although that’s an option if your budget allows).

Some experienced travelers know that you can earn more PQPs on United partner flights than on United itself. But for me, that would fall into the category of booking unnecessary flights. Still, it’s an option.

You can also take advantage of the Premier Accelerator, which allows you to purchase additional PQPs at a discounted rate when you have a United flight booked. To explore this option, go to one of your United bookings and look for the Award Accelerator option, typically found by scrolling past the initial trip details.

The price varies (and may rise as the year goes on). Keep in mind that only the last two options listed below include PQPs, and they aren't cheap. If you compare the price difference between packages with and without PQPs, you'll see that you're essentially paying about the same amount per PQP as you would if you were buying United tickets to fly.

I would consider using this to close a small gap in my status. However, at nearly $1 per PQP, I’m not taking advantage of this option at the moment. (Plus, I’d still need thousands of PQPs to requalify for Premier Platinum status.)

What I'd lose if I don't requalify for Premier Platinum status this year

To be honest, I haven’t really missed having top-tier Premier 1K status.

My chances of getting a first-class upgrade were low as a Premier 1K member, and they’re still pretty poor as a Premier Platinum member. Even when I had a lot of PlusPoints as a 1K, they rarely cleared. I haven’t even bothered trying this year with the few PlusPoints I get as a Premier Platinum.

I didn’t really miss the free snack boxes I got as a Premier 1K member. And after getting used to boarding a bit later, flying started feeling just like it always did.

But there is one thing I’ll really regret losing if I drop to a lower status: the ability to book extra legroom seats without paying extra.

I travel frequently with my family — and sometimes even with extended family — so having the option to book up to eight complimentary Economy Plus seats at the time of booking is a fantastic perk of Premier Platinum status. These Economy Plus seats often go for anywhere between $50 and over $100 each way on domestic flights.

At Premier Gold status, I’ll only get two complimentary Economy Plus seats when booking. That works fine for me on solo work trips. However, for family trips next year, those Economy Plus seat fees could easily add up to thousands of dollars, depending on seat prices, how often we fly with United, and how many of us are on each trip — if we continue to opt for those extra-comfortable rows.

Bottom line

With just over three months left in the year, I haven’t given up hope of requalifying for Premier Platinum status. That said, I’m also realistic about the possibility that it might not happen, and I could drop to yet another tier in the status hierarchy.

For now, I’m funneling as much of my spending as possible onto my United credit card to rack up PQPs, and I’m making United flights my top priority for any remaining trips this year. I’m also closely tracking my PQP totals to see if I can get within striking distance of the 12,000 PQPs I need for Premier Platinum status. If I get close, I may consider using the Premier Accelerator or a similar option to close the gap.

But from experience, I know that flying with a lower status doesn’t actually feel that different. I would lose the tangible benefit of Economy Plus seat assignments if I drop further, which does have real monetary value to me. However, it’s not worth doing anything drastic just to keep that perk.

As many frequent flyer enthusiasts are discovering, the ultimate status to aim for may be not having any frequent flyer status at all. Instead of chasing airline status, the idea of gaining freedom from that pursuit and simply buying the flights you want when you need them is becoming more attractive. This guarantees a better return on your investment.