The Beginner’s Guide to Airline Elite Status
With some strategic spending, airline elite status is in reach even for less-frequent flyers.
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Contributing Editor Airline elite status comes with benefits such as free upgrades, bonus miles, early boarding and flight discounts. And if you fly frequently and use the right credit cards, it might be relatively easy to earn, too.
What is airline elite status?
Every airline has a loyalty program, commonly called a frequent flyer program, that you can join for free. American Airlines has its AAdvantage program. United has MileagePlus. Southwest Airlines calls its loyalty program Rapid Rewards. There are several more.
As a member, you can earn miles or points every time you fly. Your miles or points are redeemable for flights and other rewards.
» Learn more: How to get started with frequent flyer programs
With frequent flyer programs, flights will not only earn you miles or points, but also credit toward elite status. These can get a little confusing, especially since airlines usually have different benchmarks you must hit to qualify as elite.
For example, to earn elite status on United Airlines, you have to:
- Accumulate a certain number of Premier Qualifying Flights and Premier Qualifying Points, which are based on how many flights you take and how much money you spend with the airline.
- Hit a higher number of Premier Qualifying Points, which is based on how much money you spend on flights, upgrades and other purchases with the airline.
Other airlines, like American, Alaska and Delta, use one simple metric: the number of points you earn throughout the entire loyalty program, including flights, credit card spending and more.
Most airlines tally these credits over the course of a calendar year. If you hit the minimum threshold, you automatically become an elite member for the remainder of the year in which you qualified plus all the following year, enjoying perks that whole time.
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Typical benefits of airline elite status
Each airline rewards its elites a little differently. Most U.S. airlines award elite members bonus miles when they fly. For example, American AAdvantage elite members earn from 40% to 120% more AAdvantage miles when they fly than non-elite AAdvantage members. Southwest Airlines gives its A-List members a 25% bonus on Rapid Rewards points earned when they fly.
Airlines typically divide their elite members into tiers like silver, gold and platinum, with increasingly difficult requirements to earn the status (but better benefits).
» Keep reading: The beginners guide to points and miles
Requirements to earn airline elite status
Status tiers and benchmarks differ across airlines. Here are some of the most common perks for elite members of some of the biggest U.S. airlines: American, United, Delta and Southwest.
American Airlines elite status requirements
Here’s how many Loyalty Points you need to reach each tier in the AAdvantage program.
| Elite status level | Loyalty Points |
|---|---|
| Gold | 40,000 points. |
| Platinum | 75,000 points. |
| Platinum Pro | 125,000 points. |
| Executive Platinum | 200,000 points. |
United Airlines elite status requirements
United Airlines uses two metrics to determine elite status in its MileagePlus program: Premier Qualifying Flights, which are essentially flight segments flown, and Premier Qualifying Points, which are awarded based on how much money you spend with the airline.
To reach elite status, you must earn either a certain number of PQFs and PQPs combined or a higher number of PQPs alone, in addition to flying a minimum of four flight segments on United or United Express. United has no distance requirement to reach elite, making it a potentially good choice for travelers who take a lot of short flights.
United's PQF and PQP requirements
You can qualify for each Premier status level through Jan. 31, 2028, based on your activity between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2026.
| MileagePlus Premier level | Status requirements |
|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 15 PQF and 5,000 PQP, or 6,000 PQP. |
| Premier Gold | 30 PQF and 10,000 PQP, or 12,000 PQP. |
| Premier Platinum | 45 PQF and 15,000 PQP, or 18,000 PQP. |
| Premier 1K | 60 PQF and 22,000 PQP, or 28,000 PQP. |
Delta Air Lines elite status requirements
The Delta SkyMiles program calls its elites Medallion members, and they get there by earning Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs).
As of 2026, here are the requirements for each level of elite status:
- Silver Medallion: 5,000 MQDs.
- Gold Medallion: 10,000 MQDs.
- Platinum Medallion: 15,000 MQDs.
- Diamond Medallion: 28,000 MQDs.
Southwest Airlines elite status requirements
Southwest has two elite tiers in its Rapid Rewards program, both of which come with priority boarding, upgrades to Preferred or Extra Legroom seats and free checked bag benefits.
- A-List: 20 one-way qualifying flight segments or 35,000 tier qualifying points.
- A-List Preferred: 40 one-way qualifying flight segments or 70,000 tier qualifying points.
Other ways to qualify for airline elite status
Beyond flying, travelers have a few other avenues to become elite status members depending on the airline.
Use the right airline credit card
Some airline credit cards help you qualify for elite status faster. For example:
- United Quest℠ Card earns 1 PQP each time you spend $20 on the card, up to 18,000 PQPs per year. You'll also earn 1,000 PQPs each year.
- United Club℠ Card earns 1 PQP each time you spend $15 on the card, up to 28,000 PQPs per year. You'll also earn 1,500 PQPs each year.
» Learn more: The best airline credit cards
Tap your elite status from a partner airline
Already have elite status with an airline? Many times, you can automatically enjoy the equivalent perks on a partner. For example, if you have Gold status in American’s AAdvantage program, you can automatically enjoy the perks of Oneworld Ruby status when you fly partner airlines in the Oneworld alliance.
Fly a partner airline
Most major airlines partner with other airlines that let members earn credits toward elite status when they fly. Get to know which airlines partner with your preferred airline so you can earn credit toward elite status on your favorite domestic airline even when you fly a different airline internationally.
For example, if you fly Air France, you have the opportunity to earn credits toward Medallion status on Delta Air Lines.
Purchase an upgrade
When you pay cash to upgrade your seat or your cabin on a Delta flight, the money you spend counts toward your Medallion Qualification Dollars. Other airlines have similar policies that can help you become an elite flyer faster.
How to pick the right airline elite status program for you
Many travelers wonder if they should be loyal to a single airline. While you can spread out your spending, you may also sacrifice your ability to earn status. As you shop around for an airline elite status program, consider the following factors.
- Know your preferred airline. To decide which airline elite status is best for you, one question overrules all others: Which airline will you fly the most? If you live in a Delta hub like Atlanta and usually fly that airline, consider pursuing elite status on Delta. If you live and fly places well served by multiple airlines, consider the qualifications to earn the level of elite status you want.
- Figure out your priority perks. Also ask yourself which perks you’d most enjoy from elite status. Lots of bonus miles? Flight upgrades? Easy same-day standby? A chance to board the plane before all the overhead baggage space is snapped up? Remember, most elite status benefits can also be purchased or might come as a credit card benefit (like cards with complimentary checked bags or lounge access).
- Do some simple math. If upgrades to extra-legroom Economy Plus seats on United sound irresistible to you, price out how much you’d pay in cash to earn status. That way you’ll have a rough dollar value of the benefits you’d get as an elite and a better idea of how much the status is worth to you. If the cost to earn status outweighs paying out of pocket for upgrades each time you fly, you might be better off purchasing your preferred conveniences a la carte.
Airline status could be within reach
Don’t assume airline elite status is out of reach. Skim your favorite airline’s benefits and requirements to see if you could reasonably spend enough to reach your desired level of status. Log in to your frequent flyer account to see how many miles, points, segments or dollars you’ve racked up so far without even trying. You might already be on your way.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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