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If you have United MileagePlus Premier status but haven't checked your email inbox in a few days, you might want to. United is sending out targeted offers to upgrade your Premier status to the next tier, but it comes with a cost. If there's nothing in your inbox, check with United's promotional website to see if there's still an offer with your name on it.
Here's what you need to know about United's targeted buy-up status promotion.
United Is Offering Premier Status Upgrades — For a Cost
Upgrade offers for 2025 are out. And if the next level of United Premier status has caught your eye, chances are you can buy it with cash or MileagePlus miles.
United's Premier upgrade offers are generally targeted to those with status, plus some general members who credit flights to United MileagePlus with relative frequency. But if you haven't credited a flight to MileagePlus in the past year or two, like me, there's likely not a personalized offer waiting for you.
Moreover, if you picked up United status through the Marriott RewardsPlus partnership or via status match, it's also unlikely you'll be targeted with an upgrade — as is the case with a couple of AwardWallet team members and their extended family.
While none of us here are targeted, we do know a bit about the history of this promotion; these upgrade offers are pretty expensive. Last year, you'd pay anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 or 100,000 to 300,000 miles to upgrade — even from Premier Silver to Premier Gold.
And in the terms and conditions of these buy-up offers, United was sure to mention that the prices can and will change over time. So, if this promotion interests you, it might be worth your time to jump on it immediately — or wait a bit.
Upgrading isn't a great use of miles…or cash
To put these offers into perspective, AwardWallet users redeem United MileagePlus miles for 1.94¢ apiece. With rare exceptions, these offers almost always present poor value for your United miles. A few hundred thousand miles are worth a few thousand dollars to award travel, so we don't recommend burning the ones you have to get elite status.
The alternative is to pay cash to upgrade your status. But that's not exactly a great deal either. Instead of spending a couple thousand dollars to purchase status, you could instead spend the money on flights to speed up the process of picking up status organically. Even better, you'd earn MileagePlus miles in the process.
Related: Sweet Spots With United Airlines MileagePlus Awards
There are other ways to United Premier status
If you don't already have United MileagePlus status, there are other ways to get it that don't require spending a lot of money (or miles) on an offer with a limited return on investment. That's especially true since these offers don't provide permanent elite status.
United offers a status match. If you have status on another airline, you can match to United and participate in a challenge. This is a cost-effective way to earn status if you want to switch your airline of choice.
Or — and this goes for both those who do and don't have status — you could spend on a United credit card. A good handful of United's Chase-issued credit cards earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) on purchases, so you can start to earn your way toward that next MileagePlus status tier through your everyday spending.
Related: The Best Strategies for Earning United Premier Qualifying Points by Flying
Final Thoughts
United Airlines' status upgrade offers are generally, in a word, expensive. The outlay of miles or cash required to upgrade to the next tier of MileagePlus Premier status is not worth the cost in almost any instance.
But if you want to earn MileagePlus status or jump to the next tier, consider earning it organically this year. Even better, it'll be valid until January 31, 2027. But we think that you should save your miles for award travel and put your money toward paid trips that'll help you achieve your Premier status goals organically. It's a much better investment than just buying status outright.
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