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Which Airlines Offer the Best Million Miler Status Benefits?
Brian Kelly
Founder + "The Points Guy"
Since launching TPG in 2010, founder Brian Kelly has expanded the team to include a distinguished editorial staff and an extensive network of freelancer contacts from around the globe. Today, TPG reaches 11 million unique monthly visitors and more than 3 million followers across social media platforms and has offices in New York City, Charlotte and the U.K.
July 05, 2015
•
2 min read
Which Airlines Offer the Best Million Miler Status Benefits?
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TPG reader Sasha tweeted me to ask about elite status:
@thepointsguy – "What airlines offer the best million miler elite status benefits?"
To reward long-term loyalty, some airlines offer special lifetime benefits for customers who reach a cumulative total of one million miles flown. My pick for the best million miler elite status would be United, and you can see their benefits listed below.
United Airlines
- 1 million miles – Lifetime Premier Gold status
- 2 million miles – Lifetime Premier Platinum status
- 3 million miles – Lifetime Premier 1K status
- 4 million miles – Lifetime United Global Services status
The best part is that United allows your spouse or significant other to share your benefits, which is the clincher for me, as no other US airline does that. Automatic renewal is another perk here. I've listed some of the other program's million miler benefits below, but United (an airline I don't typically give a lot of props to) really takes the cake for million miler benefits.
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Delta
- 1 million miles – Lifetime Silver Medallion status
- 2 million miles – Lifetime Gold Medallion status
- 4 million miles – Lifetime Platinum Medallion status
- 7 million miles - One-time, customized experience
Delta also offers gifts from Tumi, Tiffany or Hartmann at various milestones along the way to multi-million miler status.
American
- 1 million miles – Lifetime AAdvantage Gold status and 35,000 AAdvantage bonus miles
- 2 million miles – Lifetime AAdvantage Platinum status and four one-way systemwide upgrades
- Each additional million – four additional one-way systemwide upgrades
If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.
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Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
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- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
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- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month