Premier Status on United Airlines
 

I figured it out that if I take a a cheapie flight from Albany, New York to LAX by December I will have acquired a little over 25,000 Elite miles on United Airlines for the year 2005 which would make me a Premier Member. Will this carry over to 2006? The ticket will cost me about $130 dollars plus a $100 voucher that I need to use by March 2006. Would this be worth it? Does anyone know what the perks are for a Premier Member (which is the lowest status one can become with elite miles.) I've looked at the web site but I find the information confusing. I will most likely take at least one if not 2 trips on United in 2006. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, status earned in 2005 will carry over until the end of February 2007.

Benefits include:

-Bonus redeemable miles when you fly United, United Express, Ted, US Airways and Lufthansa transatlantic flights; you'll earn 125% of actual miles flown.

-Premier check-in and security lines in some airports.

-Ability to pre-reserve Economy Plus seating for yourself and one other passenger. E+ is the front section of the economy cabin with 3-5 extra inches of legroom.

-Potential for a blocked middle seat next to you. All bets are off, of course, when the flight is full, and United has been selling E+ for a fee at check-in, but you never know when you might luck out with this; I ended up with a blocked seat next to me on an 8 1/2 hour Chicago-Honolulu flight recently.

-Boarding zone 1: however, I haven't flown since United changed its boarding procedures last month, so I don't know if this affects Premiers or not.

-Ability to earn four complimentary 500-mile e-upgrade certificates for every 10,000 miles flown on UA/UX/Ted; now whether you can actually use them is another story (I currently have 12), as Premiers are low on the priority list when it comes to clearing the upgrades. Also a bit of an edge over general members when trying to use miles to upgrade.

-They say you get preferential phone service. I guess that's true as I've never had to wait on hold, but about have the time I get agents who aren't very well trained....

Is it worth it for one or two flights and $130, tough call. If the one or two flights are long-haul flights, maybe so just for the E+ and 3-5 extra inches of legroom.

You also will have Star Alliance Silver status, which may provide some benefits if you fly US Airways more regularly (I don't fly US much, so I can't really say how it affects check-in, seating, etc.).

I'm making something of a mileage run myself in a couple of weeks in order to get to Premier Executive (the 50,000 level), which has better benefits.

Ugh...see what happens when I try to type before finishing my coffee. Pardon the typos.

I am a Premier Exec flier with UA. That means I fly 50k per year. Is it worth it to maintain that status? I say YES it is. You have a good list in the above post of benefits. Go ahead and get your Premier miles and just see how well you like or don't like the program and its benefits. You are so close, I say go for it!!

Thanks for the great information.