United Airlines is getting rid of one path to achieve elite status in 2027 and making its top tier harder to reach.
The Chicago-based airline is removing the ability for MileagePlus members to earn status partially based on flight segments flown in a calendar year for 2027. Instead, starting Jan. 1, United will only consider the number of points members earn based on Premier qualifying points earned from eligible flight spending, award travel and eligible United credit card spending.
United announced the change Tuesday in emails to MileagePlus members and on its website. The change aims to simplify how customers earn Premier status, according to the email obtained by CNBC that United sent to members.
Previously, members could gain status in the lowest elite tier, Premier Silver, with a combination of 15 flight segments and 5,000 points earned in a year, or with 6,000 points. Now, customers will only be able to achieve the status through points at the 6,000 point threshold.
The number of Premier qualifying points it will take for members to reach the Premier Gold and Platinum tiers through points will also stay the same as the previous points-only option. However, to reach United’s highest rewards tier, Premier 1K, members now need 32,000 qualifying points, up from 28,000 in 2026.
Flyers earn one Premier qualifying point, or PQP, per dollar spent on United base fares and upgrades, and for every 100 miles they redeem for travel on United flights. United Chase cardholders also earn points when they spend money with their card.
MileagePlus members will still have to take at least four flights on United or United Express jets in a year to be eligible for Premier status.
In an interview with travel website The Points Guy, United’s President of MileagePlus Jarad Fisher called the flight segments metric an “old relic,” saying that the airline “thought it made more sense for them to have one consistent metric … that they could focus on across the board between their flight activity, their engagement in the airline.”
United also announced Tuesday that United cardholders who have Premier status will get a head start by automatically receiving 5% of the points needed to reach the status level they earned the previous year when a new year begins.
United earlier this year overhauled the way travelers earn miles to reward customers holding its credit cards. The carrier also slashed earnings for basic economy flights, following earlier changes to the same practice by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. United previously upped the thresholds required to earn Premier status in 2024 for the 2025 qualification year.
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