Sunday, January 4, 2015

Aim for Airline Elite Status

I found the rocking chairs at Boston  Airport very relaxing, You can also de-stress in the relaxing Airline Club lounge. You can buy a lounge membership or can get in for free if you have Elite United Platinum Premier 1K status. Lounge access when traveling internationally is for Gold Platinum and 1K United and Star Alliance members. Perhaps the chairs are used most for rocking babies to sleep, so on slightly related news: … The USA has too many laws, but they keep adding more. 2015 has started with over 900 new laws in CA. One of the new laws is that there must be mandatory breast pumping stations at airports. Bizarre but you know that they will add a fee to cover this. The fuel sur-charge went up when oil prices were high but never came down when prices did. Fees and laws never disappear.

Boston Logan Airport

It is good to get Elite Status as early in the year as possible because it will last longer. Once you qualify for a Premier status, the status is valid from the date you qualified through the end of the following Program year.

For example, if you meet the four flight segment minimum, earn 25,000 PQM and earn $2,500 PQD on June 1, 2014, you will reach Premier Silver status, and it will be valid through the end of the 2015 Program year.United encourages all MileagePlus members to request an upgrade while booking to confirm an upgrade right away (if available) and avoid the wait-list process. You need Premier qualifying miles (PQM) to reach Elite Status. PQM are based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased and the fare price is what counts in 2015. (Previously it was the distance traveled)

You need 100,000(and $10,000) PQM’S to be eligible to get Premier 1K status. To qualify for any Premier level, you must fly a minimum of four paid flight segments on flights operated by United

When searching for flights, specify that you want upgrade availability displayed in the results by following these steps:

Sign in to the MileagePlus account you want to use to request the MileagePlus Upgrade Award.
On the united.com home page, under the flight search tab of the booking box, click on the “Advanced Search” link.
After entering your flight search criteria on the advanced flight search page, select “MileagePlus Upgrade Award” and select “Price” or “Schedule” under the “Search By” option found in the “How would you like your flight results displayed?” section. Click “Search.”
Select the flight(s) you want to upgrade, and continue.
You will be presented with a list of flight options and an indication of whether a MileagePlus Upgrade Award is available for each flight. Simply select an option that has upgrade availability, and continue with your booking. At checkout you will be prompted to pay for your original booking and provide any applicable miles and co-pay for your MileagePlus Upgrade Award. This process will confirm your upgrade.

If none of the flights in your itinerary have upgrade availability, you can still book that itinerary and later request the upgrade(s) using the steps in the “Request after booking” tab. You will be placed on a waitlist that will be cleared as upgrades become available.

Premier Silver status provides:

  • Complimentary access to Economy Plus at check-in (when available);
  • Complimentary Premier Upgrades (when available);
  • Premier Access(SM) priority airport services;
  • One complimentary standard checked bag (50 lbs.);
  • 25% Premier bonus award miles on United flights