With less than a month left in 2025, plenty of people are already making travel plans for the new year. Maybe you’re one of them. Or maybe you’re one of those travelers who won’t book unless you’re maximizing your loyalty points. If that’s the case, United members can now start plotting out flights.
This week, United Airlines revealed what travelers who have achieved MileagePlus Premier status can expect in 2026, along with a glimpse of what the MileagePlus program has in store for 2027. In some cases, the airline is keeping things consistent from year to year: the thresholds for flights and points that a traveler will need to qualify for different Premier status tiers — Silver, Gold, Platinum and 1K — will remain the same as they were in 2025.
One change set to go into effect on January 1, 2026, involves Premier qualifying points. If you’re at the Premier 1K tier or higher, you will be able to earn more PlusPoints through certain purchases made with a United Airline credit card. And on February 1, 2026, Premier members will be able to use Complimentary Premier Upgrades and PlusPoints for upgrades when booking award travel.
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Frequent travelers will have access in mid-December 2025As for what’s in store for 2027, that news is less auspicious: United will shift to using what the airline referred to as “a dynamic system” for PlusPoint upgrades. As The Points Guy’s Sean Cudahy reports, that means that the cost of some upgrades will shift depending on the demand for a given flight. This could translate into frequent travelers using more points (or fewer points, or the same amount) than what they had expected in years past. It’s something to keep in mind as you plan your travel for the year to come — and beyond.
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