What Does It Take to Earn United Global Services Status in 2018?

In addition to published top tiers, like American's Executive Platinum, Delta Diamond and United Premier 1K, all three carriers offer an even higher level of status, reserved specifically for the biggest spenders.

While accruing more Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs) after reaching Premier 1K will earn you even more perks with United, when it comes to the somewhat-mysterious Global Services tier, additional flying can actually count against you, unless you spend significantly more to match.

On Monday, I caught up with a few current Global Services members to see where they've landed for 2019. While United's still calculating the results for one, two have already received the nod for next year — you can check for yourself at mystatus.united.com.

Of the two that have already re-qualified, the results vary significantly. One earned Global Services for another year with roughly 200,000 PQMs and over $28,000 in Premier Qualifying Dollars (PQDs). Another earned GS with more than 200,000 PQMs and roughly $55,000 PQDs — far more spend than contestant No. 1. (Update: The first member's balance was updated to reflect elite-qualifying miles vs. actual miles flown. Additionally, a third TPG reader shared this year's stats, with about 240,000 PQMs and $75,000 PQDs.)

For many flyers, earning Global Services can be worth the extra push — we dig into some of the top benefits here, which include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Expanded award availability (agents can book economy Saver awards using the "T" fare bucket, and "PZ" for business awards)
• Far improved upgrade availability (Global Services upgrades clear into "PN" class, which is more readily available than "PZ")
• Expanded upgrades for companions on some tickets
• Tarmac transfers for tight connections
• Access to United's best customer service agents, both at the airport and over the phone

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As for me, while I suppose I could luck out with a Global Services invitation some day, it probably won't happen this year — I just barely made the cut for Premier 1K. Let us know where you've netted out in the comments below.