Check your PQDs today on United.com


a screenshot of a computer screen

United introduced the concept of Premier Qualifying Dollars (PQDs) to their elite status earning rules earlier this year for the 2014 program year. Alas, they haven’t made it easy to track what your number is today. That doesn’t really matter too much since it doesn’t take effect until next year but lots of folks want to know what their number is today. Turns out that the United.com website has the data there today, just a bit hidden. Or not so much if you know where to look.

PQDSnapshot

The new pop-up display includes individual progress details and also some info about what the rules are and how to get there.

image

So, how to you get that pane to show? Just takes a wee bit of scripting with GreaseMonkey or similar. Here’s the new script you need. To install in Chrome right-click on the link and save the file locally. Then open the extensions panel in settings and drag the file on to that window and say yes when prompted. Once it is installed go to your Account Summary page. Look in the top-left corner and you should see a new link there

Thanks to some help from a couple friends the script is updated and the link is now in a much more reasonable place:

PQDSnapshot3

Click on that link and the details will show up.

Let me know if you have troubles.

UPDATE (3:15pm EST 19 Nov 2013): Seems that UA didn’t really mean for us to see that. Or they’re otherwise tinkering with the site. Either way, the data might not be visible when you click the link. Good luck.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

21 Comments

  1. Interesting that if you are over $10,000 it doesn’t disclose how much over you are. Which is annoying – would like to know how much flex I have in planning next year.

    YTD Premier qualifying miles:
    89,784
    YTD Premier qualifying segments: 34
    YTD Premier qualifying dollars:
    Over $10,000
    4 flight segment minimum:
    Waived

  2. As I said on your face book, this is fascinating as I hadn’t thought much about this, but looking at that $6,373 PQD for 66k PQM I realize that this change WILL affect my getting Plat since I tend to buy A fares on US a lot using my MP#. Of course that will go away with the AA merger anyway.

    But it seems to me that I am EXACTLY the kind of customer Smisek wants: I always buy premium cabin. And right now the ONLY reason i will buy premium cabin on UA when others are around the same fare is to maintain my plat stauts. So if my $6 or $7k on 3 tickets or so do not allow me to maintain plat, I have no incentive whatsoever to buy premium fares on UA anymore.

    Which, really when I think about it, is fine. The only reason i keep Plat is for flexibility in award bookings. And with the coming devaluation I am burning award miles like crazy.

    Soon there will be no reason whatsoever to be stuck with 4-across in Business ever again!

    Thanks, Jeff!

    1. Sure, you’re buying “premium” fares, Koko, but you’re buying the discounted version. Those get rewarded the same as people buying discounted fares in economy. Hate to break it to you, but the very price-sensitive customer isn’t going to feel much love from loyalty programs in the long term. It is going away. Hope you enjoyed the ride.

  3. The link to the “Click here for PQDs” shows up on My Accounts page, but when I click it – it only shows me my PQM, PQS, and 4 flight segment minimum, and the credit card waiver. There isn’t even a line that includes PQDs. Oddly, though, there is a link to see conversions from USD to GPS on the qualification levels chart.

    Also, is there a link to a dicussion about how this will change qualifing via United in 2014?

  4. Oh wow, I am not the customer for the New UA…$261 PQD! I guess flying all those LX D fares really only is of interest to LX and not United. One would think with the LH JV, Lufthansa Group TATL would all be important. Oh well, I think it is time to consider M&M as my *A and at least have access to LH and LX F, with the high co-pay and with e-vouchers.

    Domestically, I will just have to make peace with Dougie and co. at the New AA, since we are not sure yet if it will be HPdbaAA.

  5. Forgot to add…great work Seth! Why don’t the airlines hire people with your skills to really engage their customers? At the very least, some of the OTAs could really make a push to serve the power travelers/users. I think about how the financial services/brokerage industry has done so well to segment and serve users/investors with various tools regardless if you are are HF in NYC or one man shop in a Colorado cabin.

  6. Wow – thanks for digging this one up. I wonder if this data was embedded for the new website rollout. But nice to see that in November I am nowhere close to meeting the 1K spent (~$5500 so far)

  7. Interesting that I have the UA Club cc, but it shows as “Presidential Plus PQD waiver: Eligible.”

  8. Well can tell you that for those of us w/ residences overseas when you click it NO PQD comes up, so they do recognize the overseas address.

  9. 2800 spent for 95k miles. Glad I will be switching my address to a ex-USA one to not be trapped by pqd requirements.

  10. I cried about that before and now have the proof… Since all my tickets are bought by the travel agent at work, I have very little control over what gets done. I got 72k miles, but just $4280 PQDs. Total spend on *A tickets was considerably higher. Bleh.

  11. Thanks so much for this! interestingly, my husband and I, who have flown exactly the same itineraries all year, are $2xx apart in PQD. Now to sleuth out whether it was e-certs or Gift Registry or what. E-certs don’t seem to be it, because the total seems right without them taken into consideration. One of my husband’s tickets, though, was booked through a “travel agent,” using credit card reward points. Wonder if that won’t count, even though it was all United metal and ticket #?

  12. Sorry if I’m a bit confused but does this count for qualifying this year which would of course roll into next year? Basically, I’ll meet the PQM requirement for Gold but not the PQD requirement (only have $552, need $5000)…Does this mean I wont get S* Gold status or does this really start becoming meaningful next year? Thanks in advance for any help…

    1. This only takes effect starting next year for the 2015 program year. But a lot of people were wondering what the data looks like and now that United has put it out there – albeit probably not meaning for the whole world to be looking seeing as how they hid it – I figured I’d share. πŸ˜‰

      So with 50,000 PQMs and $522 this year you will have UA Gold next year. If you fly 50,000 PQMs next year with only $522 in PQDs you will have no status in the UA program starting in February 2015.

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