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United has announced that it has launched three new promotions and that it’s giving MileagePlus elites the choice of which one promotion they’d like to participate in. Two of the promotions give flyers a chance to boost their Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) balances while the third promotion offers an opportunity to earn bonus redeemable miles through MileagePlus X.
United’s “Pick Your Path” Promotion
- Only MileagePlus members with Premier status as of 19 April 2021 are eligible for the “Pick Your Path” promotion.
- The promotion period is 29 April to 11:59 PM local time on July 2021.
- Eligible members can choose one of three offers between 29 April and 11:59 PM CT on 13 May 2021.
- Premier elites who have not made an offer selection by 11:59 PM CT on 13 May 2021 will be automatically enrolled in the “Welcome Back Bonus” offer.
- Once made, an offer selection cannot be changed, including but not limited to selection by automatic enrollment in the Welcome-back Bonus offer.
Link to offer page and full terms and conditions
Pick One Promotion From Three
Easy PQP Offer
This is an offer that’s aimed squarely at MileagePlus elites who aren’t planning any travel before 27 July and it takes no effort whatsoever. United elites choosing this promotion will have 10% of the PQP requirement for their current elite status level deposited into their accounts. There is no requirement to fly or interact with United in any way to earn these PQPs.
With United’s 2021 qualifying criteria looking like this (ignore the standard requirements)…
…this is what United elites who choose this promotion can expect to earn:
- Premier Silver elites – 350 PQP
- Premier Gold elites – 700 PQP
- Premier Platinum elites – 1,000 PQP
- Premier 1K elites – 1,500 PQP
United elites choosing the “Easy PQP” offer will receive one PQP deposit on or prior to 24 May 2021. The deposit amount will be based upon the member’s Premier status as of 13 May 2021.
Welcome Back Bonus PQP Offer
This is an offer that’s aimed at MileagePlus elites who plan to travel with United before 27 July as it gives eligible flyers the option of earning up to 25% of the number PQPs required for their current status level by flying on up to 3 trips with United in the promotion period.
This is how the bonus PQP can be earned:
- Only the first three PQP-eligible Trips taken during the Promotional Period will be eligible for a PQP bonus under this offer.
- “Trip” is defined as a unique travel itinerary that includes at least one PQP-eligible flight segment operated by United or United Express, as documented by a unique ticket number, and that earns PQP and is flown within the Promotional Period.
- A Trip’s first flight segment must begin no earlier than 29 April 2021 to be eligible.
- A Trip does not need to be completed prior to the end of the Promotional Period to qualify, but a United or United Express flight segment must be completed within the Promotional Period for the Trip to be eligible.
- Trips booked before the beginning of the Promotional Period that are otherwise eligible will qualify for this offer.
- Trips made during the Promotional Period but before offer selection will qualify.
- PQP will be earned upon completion of the first United or United Express flight segment in a Trip, but may take up to 10 days to post to the MileagePlus account.
- Travel that is not otherwise eligible for earning PQP (such as award flights) will not count towards fulfillment of a Trip for this offer.
- Bonus PQP will be awarded based upon the member’s Premier status as of May 13, 2021.
Because United already deposited 25% of a Premier elite’s PQP requirement into member account earlier this year, the airline has made earning up to 50% of the PQP a member requires to retain status in 2021 remarkably simple.
Bonus Miles Through MileagePlus X
This is an offer aimed at US-based Premier elites who don’t need any help earning PQPs but who would like to boost their redeemable miles balances by earning double miles on purchases made via United’s MileagePlus X app (up to 10,000 bonus miles in total).
Here’s what you need to know about this offer:
- Members selecting the “2X miles on United MileagePlus X app” offer will receive bonus miles equal to 100% of the base miles earned from MileagePlus for MileagePlus X app transactions made within the Promotional Period.
- Qualifying mileage earning activity includes eGift Card purchases, MileagePlus Shopping transactions, MileagePlus Dining transactions, United Visa Rewards offer completions, and Featured App transactions.
- Only qualifying miles earning activity that is completed during the Promotional Period is eligible, including but not limited to completed hotel stays and completed rental car bookings.
- Transactions completed during the Promotional Period but before offer selection will still qualify.
- No bonus miles will be awarded under this offer for bonus miles earned in connection with another MPX offer, including but not limited to new member bonuses, spending bonuses, and the 25% bonus awarded to co-brand cardmembers on eGift Card purchases.
- Most bonus miles will be deposited within 14 days. Bonus miles for Mileage Plus Shopping transactions may take up to 45 days to post to the MileagePlus account.
- A maximum of 10,000 bonus miles may be earned by a member through this offer.
- The MileagePlus X app is only available for download in the United States and will not work outside the United States.
An Important Note
Because any qualifying activity prior to choosing an offer will count towards whatever offer a Premier elite chooses, it may be wise to hold off choosing an offer until the very last moment (13 May) to give yourself as much opportunity to see what your travel plans will be like in the promotion period.
Bottom Line
United has launched three new promotions and is asking MileagePlus elites to choose which promotion suits them best. Anyone harboring ambitions to earn or retain United elite status in 2021 would probably be wise to choose one of the two PQP-earning offers while elites with little or no interest in interacting with United more than they absolutely have to in 2021 will probably be better off choosing the bonus redeemable miles promotion (despite the fact that it’s a remarkably weak promotion).
Which promotion will you choose?
Thanks for the info, I wonder how many more times United and the other major airlines will be making adjustments this year. I’m surprised that Delta is only just now making changes. Many Diamond members I’ve spoken to have said they won’t be making Diamond status next year, for the first time in many years. So I wouldn’t be surprised if further changes come to frequent flyer programs later this year!
[…] the end of April, United Airlines offered its customers three different promotions which all gave flyers a chance to boost their progress along the path to elite status, and now […]