The Complete Guide to U.S. Airline “Million Miler” Programs

Key Takeaways

• Million Miler programs reward travelers who have flown 1 million miles or more with lifetime elite status and other perks, varying by airline.
• Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines offer such programs.
• Only paid flights and flights paid for with reward currencies such as Chase Ultimate Rewards accrue miles that count towards your million miles total.

Many hard-working people have a goal in life of someday becoming a millionaire, but many travelers I know aspire to a far different numerical achievement: to become a Million Miler.

But is achieving Million Miler status even worth the time, cost, and effort? When achieved organically, Million Miler status is definitely worthwhile; you’re flying the miles anyway! For business travelers who rack up a lot of flown miles and eventually hit a million miles, benefiting from the ongoing status is a deserved reward.

But setting Million Miler status as your goal if you’re a leisure traveler who pays for every flight might be a foolish endeavor — and an expensive proposition.

With that said, there are leisure travelers who pay for flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, American Express Membership Rewards Points, Citi ThankYou Points, or other valuable credit card rewards currency. These travelers would earn flown mileage credit towards Million Miler status with those flights while minimizing costs.

Hang on to your seat — we’re going to explore the journey to becoming an airline Million Miler!

Why You’d Want to Be a Million Miler

The best and most practical reason to become a Million Miler is to receive lifetime airline elite status. Earning airline elite status on an annual basis has become increasingly difficult due to a trend in revenue-based requirements that must be met in order to qualify.

Million Miler, however, is a level of recognition you can achieve without having to jump through the hoops that are associated with qualifying for annual airline elite status.

For example, there are no revenue requirements or the need to reach a specific level of spending on a credit card to waive those requirements.

You fly, you earn miles, you live long enough…and you become a Million Miler. It’s all in your control (except maybe for the living long enough part).

When you reach Million Miler, you are bestowed with lifetime elite status that lasts as long as the program exists (not necessarily your personal lifetime).

Hot Tip: Elite status like this can be valuable for avoiding fees, getting priority service when things go wrong, earning complimentary upgrades, and much more.

Now, should you even work towards this achievement?

Let’s explore the path to Million Miler status and see if the effort is worth it.

How Do Million Miler Programs Work?

Million Miler programs are not based on how many frequent flyer miles you’ve earned — they’re based on how many airlines miles you have actually flown on paid tickets.

Each airline Million Miler program calculates miles differently.

For example, miles that count toward Million Miler status may be calculated based on only those flights operated by the airline and not partner airlines. Or you may receive the same amount of miles whether you paid for first class or economy.

In some cases, you’ll find that miles are easier to earn in one program over another — but the benefits you receive for flying a million miles may be less than stellar.

Let’s take a look at the domestic carriers with Million Miler programs and review the requirements. We’ll also tell you what to expect when you reach a million miles and show you how to find out if you’re approaching the milestone.

American Airlines Million Miler

The Program

Here’s what you can expect when you fly a million miles or more with American Airlines.

• 1 Million Flown Miles: AAdvantage Gold status for the life of the program plus 35,000 bonus miles
• 2 Million Flown Miles: AAdvantage Platinum status for the life of the program plus 4 one-way systemwide upgrades
• Each Subsequent Million: Additional 4 systemwide upgrades

And here’s a summary of the benefits you would receive with Gold and Platinum elite status:

Gold and Platinum Elite Benefits

• Dedicated customer service line
• Automatic flight upgrades
• Automatic companion upgrades
• Mileage bonuses
• Priority security, check-in, boarding, and preferred seating
• Complimentary standby
• Free checked bag
• Discounted Admirals Club membership
• Waived award processing fee
• Oneworld priority check-in and standby

Additional Benefits for Platinum

• Additional free checked bag
• Oneworld business and frequent flyer lounge access
• Oneworld priority boarding and security

For more information on elite status, see our guide on American Airline’s AAdvantage loyalty program.

Hot Tip: If you are interested in having elite status with American Airlines, we can walk you through the process of requesting and completing a status challenge. Find out more about participating in an AAdvantage status challenge in our expert guide that tells you everything you need to know.

How to Earn Miles Toward American Airlines Million Miler

Million Miler qualification miles are calculated based only on the actual distance flown. This is different than how Loyalty Points are calculated for elite status, as these are based on spending.

Base miles earned on partner airline flights do count toward Million Miler.

How to Track Your Miles

You can track your progress toward American Airlines Million Miler by logging into your AAdvantage frequent flyer online account. Once on the home page, click on “My Account” then “Your Activity.”

You will then see your Million Miler balance.

Delta Air Lines Million Miler

The Program

Here’s what you can expect when you fly a million miles or more with Delta Air Lines.

• 1 Million Flown Miles: Gold Medallion status for the lifetime of the program.
• 2 Million Flown Miles: Platinum Medallion status for the lifetime of the program.
• 3 and 4 Million Flown Miles: Diamond Medallion status for the lifetime of the program.
• 5+ Million Flown Miles: Delta 360 for the lifetime of the program.

Here’s a summary of Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Medallion status benefits.

Gold and Platinum Benefits:

• Bonus miles
• Complimentary upgrades
• Preferred seating and priority waitlist
• Priority check-in and boarding
• Discounted CLEAR membership
• Priority phone line
• SkyTeam Elite status
• Savings on Delta Vacations
• Waived same-day confirmed fees
• Priority security
• Expedited baggage service
• High-priority phone line
• Skyteam lounge access

Diamond Elite members receive these additional benefits:

• Complimentary CLEAR membership
• 3 Choice Benefits
• Higher priority phone line
• President’s Circle Hertz status

Visit the Delta Air Lines site for more information on the Medallion program.

How You Earn Miles Toward Delta Million Miler

Million Miler status with Delta is based on the actual number of miles flown, not including basic economy tickets.

How to Track Your Miles on Delta

It’s simple to track your progress toward Delta Million Miler status by logging into your SkyMiles account online and clicking on My SkyMiles.

Hot Tip: If you’re interested in earning Delta elite status, know that it is possible to get it from spending on Delta-branded credit cards. You can also status match your current airline status to Delta. 

United Airlines Million Miler

The Program

Here’s an overview of the status you can expect to be granted when you fly a million miles or more with United Airlines.

• 1 Million Flown Miles – Premier Gold
• 2 Million Flown Miles – Premier Platinum
• 3 Million Flown Miles – Premier 1K
• 4 Million Flown Miles – United Global Services

Here are the highlights of the benefits you’ll receive.

Premier Gold, Platinum, 1K, and Global Services Benefits

• Grant spouse or significant other equal Premier status
• Preferred seating
• Complimentary domestic upgrades
• Instant upgrades on Y/B class fares
• Mileage bonuses
• Priority check-in, security, boarding, baggage
• Priority standby
• Priority phone line
• No additional fees on same day changes
• Lounge access when traveling internationally
• Star Alliance Gold benefits

Platinum Premier, 1K, and Global Services Additional Benefits

• Complimentary regional upgrades
• No additional fees for award tickets, redeposit, and close-in fees
• Better award availability
• Discounted United Club Membership

Premier 1K and Global Services Additional Benefits

• 1K dedicated phone line
• Global Upgrades

Hot Tip: United grants additional unpublished benefits for their top United Global Services level!

No other airline Million Miler program offers the ability to earn top-level lifetime status or gift that same status to a spouse or significant other.

Visit the United MileagePlus website for more information on elite status with United.

Bottom Line: United’s Lifetime Million Miler program with the ability to grant a companion equal status is an exceptional program. You also receive Premier Gold status when reaching your first million lifetime miles — not entry-level Premier Silver. 

How to Earn Lifetime Miles With United

Miles toward Million Miler Lifetime status are earned based on flight distance flown. Only flights operated by United and United Express count toward lifetime miles.

How to Track Your Miles

You can track your lifetime flight miles on United.com by logging in to your United MileagePlus account and selecting “View Account.”

Alaska Airlines Million Miler

The Program

Fly a million miles with Alaska Airlines and receive mid-level status for life.

• 1 Million Flown Miles – MVP Gold status

Benefits Overview for MVP Gold Status

• Complimentary first and premium upgrades (+ companion)
• 4 guest upgrades annually
• Priority check-in and boarding
• 2 free checked bags (+ companions)
• Priority security, seating, phone line
• Complimentary same-day standby/flight changes
• Discounted Alaska Lounge membership
• Fee waivers
• Bonus miles

Find out more about Alaska Airlines elite status by visiting their Mileage Plan website.

Bottom Line: Alaska Airlines grants mid-level “MVP Gold status for life” once you have flown a million miles, unlike other airlines who have changed the duration of granted status to “lifetime of the frequent flyer program.”

How You Earn Miles

Miles are calculated based on the distance flown on Alaska Airlines flights.

How to Track Your Miles

As soon as you log in to your Alaska Mileage Plan account, you’ll see your mileage balance and progress toward Million Miler.

Everything Else You Need to Know

Only paid flights accrue miles that count toward Million Miler.

Flights paid for with rewards currencies accrue miles toward Million Miler under the same rules as if you paid in cash. Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards Points, Citi ThankYou Points, and U.S. Bank FlexPoints are examples of these types of rewards currency.

Lifetime Elite status received when you hit each million-mile threshold does not give you any miles toward the next level of elite status.

For example, if you fly 1 million miles on Delta, you will be granted lifetime Silver Medallion status. It normally requires 25,000 flown miles to achieve Silver Medallion status — but when granted, you do not receive 25,000 base miles to help you reach the next status level.

Note: You receive status only — this means you’ll start from zero each year and will need to fly 50,000 miles to qualify for the next level, Gold Medallion (in this example).

Also remember that “lifetime status” does not translate to your lifetime, but generally refers to the lifetime of the frequent flyer program.

There is no requirement to fly in any given year once you have Million Miler status; you will continue to have your granted status renewed for the lifetime of the program regardless of flight activity.

Final Thoughts

Hitting Million Miler status can be anticipated with expectations of grandeur, and then fall far short of that.

This is because when you hit a million miles…nothing much happens. Sure, you might get to select a special gift, receive bonus miles, or even get a congratulatory card.

You will also have your new granted elite status continuously renewed each year…but on the actual day you cross the million-mile mark, it’s likely that no one will notice.

Want your million-mile moment to be acknowledged? You can tweet your excitement about the upcoming experience and hope the airline notices it. Or you can call the airline and they may put a note in the record locator of your flight.

If you’re close to hitting a million flown miles, you should definitely go for it — just don’t make it the reason you fly and then expect fanfare.

Don’t plan to be flying a million miles, but want to learn more about having airline elite status? You might be interested in our guides to status matches and challenges.

• How to Status Match With American Airlines
• How to Status Match With Delta Air Lines
• How to Status Match With United Air Lines
• How to Status Match With Alaska Airlines
• How to Status Match With Southwest Airlines