Questions and Answers

Hi all.

After having status in the past, but not flying much the past couple years I am back to a good ole “regular” member on a few airlines. So I am trying to get of “regular” membership on a couple airline programs and have a question about getting to silver on either United or Delta. Here is the situation.

United: 16,619 PQM and $956 PQD
Delta: 14,,979 MQM and $928 MQD

I am biased towards flying United because they have more options on the routes I routinely fly. Within the next 30 days what is the best and most economical way to get to silver on either airline?

Many thanks in advance for peoples thoughts.
AK

AK–why are you angling for Silver? Is there a specific benefit you hope to realize?

@AK I guess the big question is how much you expect to fly next year and how you expect the silver status is going to benefit you. As folks have discussed before, lower level elite benefits have been significantly pared and you can get many of the benefits just by holding a credit card.

I don’t know of any way to earn enough UA PQM to get you over the hump. You MIGHT be able to do Delta if you are capable of getting a DL reserve card and spending $30,000 before the end of the year. Not really worth it in my opinion.

You could also check out the mileage running forums on FT. If you are able to fly and pay enough to meet the spending needs you should be able to gather the missing miles with a couple of strategic flights.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 9946, member: 79″]AK–why are you angling for Silver? Is there a specific benefit you hope to realize?[/QUOTE]
Thank for replying Gaurav. While I know there aren’t huge benefits to silver. You pass through it to get to the next. So I’d rather be at Silver and get some benefits the status is otherwise be covering if I can. And because of bonus will help me get to gold faster. Besides a free bag, what card offers bonus accruals on each flight, Economy seating, upgrades, priority services, reduced fees on booking, etc?

[URL]https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/mileageplus/premier/default.aspx?Mobile=1[/URL]

Maybe this is the easiest solution: Is it worth it to just take one trip that covers the PQD and remaining PQM? I sort of see that cost as a way to “buy” the status and if I amortize it over the year and the benefits received it wouldnt be so bad. And with a few days off!

Let me know which card(s) you think would get close to the silver benefits. If any.
Huge thanks.

AK, you are right that you have to pass through Silver to get to the next level of status. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are not a frequent traveler, you might not get much benefit from lower level status and it might be worth it to just buy a higher fare when you travel to get guaranteed benefits through something like comfort plus seating and credit cards rather than spend time and money flying around to gather miles.

I find the mid-level cards from airlines to usually be the sweet spot. They get you free checked bags, priority boarding (generally after the elites), and in Delta’s case a free companion ticket and bonus MQMs when you hit spending thresholds. When you combine that with premium economy you’ll also get a decent seat unlike Silvers, most of who will never see those space available upgrades unless they are traveling at very low traffic times.

Now, if you’re going to be traveling enough to hit Plat or Diamond levels, then status starts to really pay off but otherwise I’d consider just keeping my options open.