“Mileage run.” The term elicits blank stares from some travelers, and a knowing smile from many elite frequent fliers.
Now all this may change, starting with 2014 qualification for 2015 status. United is tightening the rules for all Mileage Plus members in the United States.
The mileage run — basically taking a long trip for as low a cost as possible to get frequent flier miles to qualify for elite status — may become a thing of the past.
To be fair, some of these trips aren’t done only for reasons of status. Take a long vacation flight from, say, Washington, D.C. to Asia or Australia, or a trip from San Francisco to India or Asia, and you’ve got about 20,000 miles. That’s almost enough for the minimum premier level of 25,000 miles a year.
Some trips, however, are almost completely planned to get the necessary miles. Other bargain hunting elite travelers may not do mileage runs, but they monitor sales carefully, and may have regular routes they book in advance at deep discounts.
Still others achieve elite status by barely flying on United at all, but instead getting miles on partner airlines like Air Canada and Lufthansa.
But, coming soon, United has announced a new reality that will all but eliminate mileage runs, unless there is significant cash involved.
Want basic premier status? It will be 25,000 miles and a minimum of $2,500 spent. To be a 1k, it will take 100,000 miles and $10,000 minimum. Also, for those who prefer to fly partner carriers, all elite programs will require at least four flights booked on United, United Express, and for some reason Copa Airlines.
The money minimum is in “Premier Qualifying Dollars” (PQDs), which is money spent on “most” United tickets, partner flights and Economy Plus seat purchases.
“Most” may be a work in progress. A very helpful woman at Mileage Plus noted that “opaque” bookings like Priceline and some discounted online fares through consolidators and third party sites were excluded, but she wasn’t sure about, say, a tour operator’s package fare to Hawaii.
Another question has to do with flights being paid for by customer service vouchers, either apology vouchers for a flight problem or a denied-boarding voucher. She said those had not been addressed yet.
Then there’s the issue of whether taxes count and those much-despised fuel surcharges. Two United Mileage Plus agents said they weren’t sure, but thought fuel surcharges at least would be included. (They did add that the airline will be soliciting feedback before the final changes go into effect.)
Now, admittedly, at least the four flight rule is pretty easy, unless you do a lot of international travel and want the United miles mostly for freebies to places like Hawaii.
And most business travelers, who tend to book higher fares, should have no problem meeting the threshold. In addition, for the lower levels — Silver, Gold and Platinum — spending $25,000 with a United-branded credit card will be exempt from the four flight/Premier Qualifying Dollars.
But the changes could still make a big difference. For a 1k traveler who books a few discount international tickets and discount cross country flights, it would be quite easy to come up a few thousand short.
And for the real pros, the ones who do crazy international routes with stopovers to maximize miles, they could end up seriously short of what they need to spend.
Will United Airlines miss those people?
Clearly they don’t think so. But, it’s the end of a quirky era. For many elites, it’s a new consideration to worry about. One has to wonder how many people will just say they don’t care anymore.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
