I’ll cut right to the bad news: earning United Airlines status will be even harder next year.
The airline announced today its annual MileagePlus loyalty program update for 2025, and the changes aren’t exactly pretty.
It starts with increased Premier status thresholds across the board. United is raising the requirements for all levels by about 25%, which will undoubtedly lead to some rebalancing of the elite tiers. After many years with 1K status, I, for one, can’t imagine spending nearly $30,000 on United flights to retain top-tier Premier 1K status next year. (You can also earn Premier 1K by combining $22,000 in spending with 60 flight segments in a calendar year.)
The good news is that for those who do qualify, the perks of top status are getting better, and more valuable.
Historically, Platinum and Premier 1Ks receive PlusPoints to use for confirmed upgrades. But with so many premium seats getting sold to paying flyers, it’s no surprise that some frequent flyers haven’t found a good use for their PlusPoints.
Starting mid-next year, United will allow you to redeem PlusPoints for various non-upgrade perks, such as gifting status and bonus miles. According to United, more details will be shared at a later date.
Another welcome change in this announcement is an improvement in how you earn status credits from cobranded credit card spending, especially on the United Club℠ Infinite Card and United Club℠ Business Card.
There’s a lot to unpack, so be sure to catch the full update, where we break it all down.
The information for the United Club Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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