United Airlines has announced that beginning in 2020, it is making changes to its MileagePlus frequent flier program, the company said.
Members will earn points based on the cost of their flights and the number of flights taken–not on the number of miles flown.
Premier qualifying miles, Premier qualifying segments, and Premier qualifying dollars are all going away. Instead, members will earn status based on two variables: Premier qualifying flights (PQFs) and Premier qualifying points (PQPs).
United said the move is intended to do away with things like fare class multipliers and confusing segment math. Under the new program, members will receive one Premier qualifying point for each US dollar spent–with only the base fare earning PQPs.
United admitted that the spend requirements for each tier are increasing, but it said that on the flipside there will be more ways to earn Premier qualifying points, including preferred seat purchases, paid upgrades, and flights ticketed and operated by Star Alliance partner airlines.
