United Quietly Extending Elite Status Free On Request — Here’s How

Last year I advised United MileagePlus members who were about to lose their status to ask to have it extended. Many elites who hadn’t re-earned their status during 2024 were successful just by asking.

It appears United still has this policy in place. They may first try to sell you status for as much as $12,000 but you should decline and ask to have it extended. The policy appears to be that they’ll do this once every five years. Loyalty Lobby reports success with 1K extensions. So if you missed earning status in 2025, just ask for it.

Many airlines and hotel programs have formal offers for this.

• Alaska Airlines has elite “leave” for new parents where they’ll extend your status a year.
  
• Hilton offers once in a lifetime Diamond status extension.
  
• And Delta has ‘reclaim my status’, an offer of temporary status and a challenge to keep that status.
  
• Meanwhile, it’s far more common elsewhere in the world, especially Europe, for loyalty programs to offer some form of family leave.

While United Airlines doesn’t have a formal, published program to support status extensions, calling or emailing with a request for status extension worked for many last year. If you just saw your status drop February 1, you might reach out to MileagePlus by phone or chat via the app.

• Offer a reason why 2025 was different, like medical issues, that explains why you couldn’t requalify
  
• They may offer you a buy up first, before offering the extension when you decline the offer to pay.

It’s a lot cheaper for United to keep a customer than to acquire one. You’ve already proven your value and you cannot request this year after year. Without a published policy you aren’t guaranteed a result, but you should certainly ask – and United knows that you’ll appreciate with your loyalty when they grant your request.