In 2016, I flew 35,000 premier qualifying miles on United; however, I was less than $50 short on the $3,000 spend requirement that is now in place to obtain Premier Silver status.
As a former United 1K, it was quite an adjustment to go from a top-tier elite to just a “member”, but I know that my travel style (aka cheap fares) is just not compatible with United’s new revenue-based MileagePlus loyalty program in the long run; so I stopped pursuing status with the airline all together.
I even made the decision to swap out my United MileagePlus Explorer card that came with benefits that pretty much mimicked United’s Silver status. Another way to get complimentary United Premier Silver status is by being a Marriott or Starwood Platinum member, which I am neither.
With the United MileagePlus Explorer card, I could pay a $95 annual fee and get a checked bag, a better boarding group, and a waiver for the premier qualifying dollars required to obtain status (only up to Platinum status) once I hit $25,000 spend on the card within a calendar year.
I don’t do any manufactured spending, and there are better cards (some with even no-annual fee) to put my everyday-spend on, so I cleaned up my wallet and said goodbye to the card.
Anyway for the last 2 years, I’ve pretty much switched over my flying JetBlue and it’s been a phenomenal experience, but let’s be realistic – I’m Newark-based, so United will always be in the picture.
The good news is that I travel lightly and usually never have to check bags; however, when traveling with kids, I usually like to check bags just to lighten the load I bring onboard the plane- but if there is a fee to do so, I will suck it up and lug the bags with me. Go ahead, call me cheap – that’s how I roll. ;-P.
This morning I received an email from United inviting me to purchase Premier Silver status.
Many members have received similar buy-up offers, varying in price, and I will admit that I was surprised mine was so low, considering that I received a horrible offer in the past.
$199 seems like a bargain for a year of free checked bags, economy plus seating, and the .05% chance of getting a complimentary premier upgrade, but I still said no.
Why? Because it is a very little known benefit that you can get a free checked bag on United if you have Star Alliance Gold status with another airline.
By checking United’s baggage free calculator tool, you can see your checked-baggage cost by logging into your MileagePlus and viewing the bag-fees for your upcoming reservations, or you can check without logging in and selecting the “Any flights” tab.
I have Star Alliance Gold status with Aegean, and there are often many status match offers if you have status with another airline in a different alliance. In the past, obtaining Turkish Airlines Gold status was relatively easy via a status match.
One of the best benefits of having Star Alliance Gold status with another airline while flying United is United Club lounge access, even when flying domestically.
Bottom Line
It’s always good to have status and points in other programs and to know how to utilize the benefits to your advantage.
Sure, $199 is a fair price for a year of Premier Silver Status- especially since I didn’t meet the requirements to qualify on my own- Â but one free checked bag is all I need, and I’m happy with know that I can get that for free with my Aegean Gold status.
Did you also receive a status buy-up offer from United? If so, how much was it and did you go through with it?
Interesting………my offer was for $300, so yours at 199 really was a bargain. Any idea why there are such different numbers on United’s “deals?” At $199, I would seriously consider it– if for nothing else than the Economy Plus upgrades. But at $300, I think I will take a pass.
Hmm my guess is that they take in consideration how close you were to earning it? I flew 10K more miles than I needed to, but was short like $50 in the spend. How close were you from qualifying?
I was platinum with United through 2016 and they offered me the chance to buy into gold for a whopping $1549!! I flew less this year for sure, falling about 11,700 miles of the gold target, but I spent almost 42k on my card throughout the year (almost entirely paid in full). I found the offer insulting. I made a lot of effort to stay with United this year despite being disappointed with their worsening service and the fact that I am based out of Luxembourg. I flew Polaris at Christmas and the service was terrible. I will most likely switch to Lufthansa instead for 2017.
I achieved platinum last year. I flew 109 PQS, 87k PQD, and $14k PQD. My buy up to 1K offer came in at $3100! I really don’t think there are enough perks baked in to the tier difference to charge that much when i was only a few segments off.
Got my offer, $4159 to get back to 1k. I have 85k pqm and $11500 pqd. No thanks, I can just buy first class tickets…
That’s a bargain. They asked me for almost $4,000 to reach the next status.
I have the same absurd offer as Katie: $1549. I was platinum with United through 2016, but only made Silver for 2017. I made the spend requirement by a few dollars, but missed the milage by about 12K. The only difference I care about is the same day change fee ($75 vs free as a Gold member). I could change 20 flights at $75 before I reached the upgrade offer price!
$1100 for the next status. And I solely fly UA and exclusively use mileageplus CC. So glad I saw this pist. If it was half as much, they may have swayed me.
I got a offer for $649 for gold status , worth it?
I’d say so!
Hey guys. I just got an offer for $1699 to upgrade to Silver status !! I’m so happy that I read all your comments. I seriously considered purchasing it !! I know !! Am I that dumb ?! Yes I am !! I fly so much but only domestic fights. I would also have to purchase regular economy seats. No thanks. Basic seats are a bargain ! What does anyone think I should do ? Should I buy it for $1699 ? If they allowed me to use that money to fly with that would be a better offer. Like example : charge me the money and allow that to be paid towards flights. Yes I’m dreaming. Lol.