Always a fan of flying, Spencer wanted to find ways to upgrade his travel experience. Over the years, Spencer has been a guest speaker on multiple YouTube shows as well as podcasts on maximizing point...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
57 comments
Phenex
April 11, 2018
40K USD actually is enough, that’s how I did it the last two years.
Mike
June 20, 2018
$40K could be enough but the point is, as the author states, the invitation is “given to some of United’s most elite and *profitable* customers”. So you’re stating revenue ($40K), we can’t tell how profitable your tickets were to United. I’ve hdone over $40K for several years but all on low margin non-refundable tickets so I’ve not been invited. Buying more refundable tickets, or buying business class outright is definitely going to help your chances of getting a Global Services invitation.
Distant Traveler
August 05, 2018
I was confirmed yesterday for GS, YTD I’m ~$70K of spend with 7x Polaris round-trips to EU from NA and eighth R/T in another week plus a lot of mainline United flights (not only regional).
mwall
August 26, 2018
One of your members shoved an oversized bag into an overhead compartment. Flight 4149 Halifax to Newark today after staff told him not to. The “guy” gave the staff member a hard time. He shoves it in and busted the door. We sat in airport for 6 hours to finally be told flight canceled. Now spending night. That “AH” got on the next flight that was booked up. So to let you know you have an “AH” in your program. I’ll spread the word. Hope he wasn’t a united executive. And why can’t your 14 dollar voucher buy booze?
Alex Miller
August 28, 2018
We are not an airline, we are a blog that publishes content.
Mike
January 19, 2022
You know your writing is great when the readers actually think it’s from United, very good blog and content thank you!
Jarrod West
January 19, 2022
Hi Mike,
We appreciate the kinds words, and thank you for reading!
lmao
December 24, 2021
LMAO!
Nengadai
September 07, 2018
It is published that Global Services for Life is a perk after 4 million paid miles. I am at 3.9 million, so UA only has a little time left to close that loophole.
Note also that Global Services is the FOURTH boarding group, not the first, after handicapped, military, and families with children. Boarding Group 1 is FIFTH. UA skirts this by referring to the others as “preboarding”, but they rearely start preboarding until after the published boarding time.
BTW, while GP members may not have United Club automatically, I received United Club for life at 2 million and 1K for life at 3 million. Nice perks, but recently UA reduced the awards miles by roughly a factor of 3, giving 11 miles/dollar instead of 2.5 miles per mile flown. A huge reduction in benefit. THey are compensating slightly by giving free meals and drinks to 1K flyers.
Stephen Au
September 17, 2018
Hey Nengadai,
Thanks for providing us with this information! It’s very helpful. Congratulations on nearly achieving Global Services for life.
Scott Cate
January 06, 2019
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/airport/boarding-process.aspx
Shows GS is 4th now, Pre-boarding before Group 1.
1. Unaccompanied minors
2. Customers with disabilities
3. Active members of the military
4. United Global Services® members
5. Families traveling with children age 2 and younger
6. Premier® 1K® members
Van
July 30, 2022
Global Services is not the Fourth Boarding Group. It is: 1. Folks needing extra help to board. 2. Active Military 3. Global Services 4. Families traveling with children under the age of 2, 5. 1K , 6. Boarding Group 1.
Christine Krzyszton
July 30, 2022
Hi Van. According to United’s website, unaccompanied minors have been added to the pre-boarding group as #1. In practice, however, the order you have described is accurate as we never hear them announce unaccompanied minors who are being escorted through boarding by United personnel.https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/airport/boarding-process.html
Joost de Jong
November 17, 2018
I am not sure about the $40K. I do about $500k miles a year, mostly in business. Only crickets regarding GS so far.
Frqt Flr
February 11, 2019
Um, sorry, nope. If you spent $500k per year, you would be flying private, not United, and if you spent $500k per year, United would have granted you GS long ago. Nice try though.
AB
April 04, 2019
good answer sir, you got this right.
chogne
December 13, 2019
I’m pretty sure he meant 500K miles, not 500K dollars.
Louie Z.
September 09, 2019
Well, let’s talk about what spending $500k a year on business class looks like. The average round-trip business class price w/ tax as the longest flight UA hold, from SFO/LAX to PEK/HND/HKG/ is about $5k and it takes 11+12 +2= 25 hours per round-trip, so basically you spend more than 1/3 of your life on an airplane with no social life and jet lag every second. Can’t imagine how a human being would survive that.
Elvin Lee
January 07, 2019
GS for 2019: 68k PQD, 212 PQM
Jan Chaddock
February 01, 2019
Thank you for this information.
GO
April 07, 2019
I have been given GS status since the United-Continental merger every year but two, when I was Premium 1K.
While I cannot 100 % verify what I am presenting here, I feel that it makes sense and this is what I think.
There is no pre-set $ value for GS, rather they look at the normal distribution of money spent and give it to probably to the top 1%. There is a factor if someone is renewing the GS or has a long continuous history of being GS member.
So if the economy is bad, to be in the top 1% is easier as business people travel less so you would need less revenue to qualify. On the other hand, in a good economy, with more business and flying, the amount needed for qualification would be higher.
One important aspect though, you must fly on actual UA flights, not on a codeshare. You get points and miles on a codeshare, but they do not count toward GS.
Christine Krzyszton
April 13, 2019
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective, GO. We appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Samuel Haines
June 20, 2019
GS used to be a better program before the United merged with Continental. A downgrade as far as the customer experience is concerned both at airports and flights. Having Newark and Houston as hubs after the merger certainly made it even worse.
Bob
August 23, 2019
My company gets GS if you’re at a certain tier (job level) or above. About 30 people get it. We have United as a preferred partner for all travel. (4k employees)
Joanna Karatzas
August 31, 2019
My husband got GS for 2019 with about 175,000 miles and $43,000 in premier qualifying dollars. He has received the status every year since 2012. We have liked the service although we have never experienced the top tier of other airlines.
Doug Nelson
September 11, 2019
The going spend has been $50k – in the major markets. If you are in a big hub city like SFO where the United loyalty runs deep, the spend requirement is higher than a smaller non-hub city.
On another web site, we did polls of spend and miles flow to hit GS. We found the mileage didn’t matter, I had a co-worker that didn’t even hit 1k, yet his spend was north of $50k and received GS.
$50k was the pretty solid number, everyone on my team that crossed it got GS the following January. Under $50k in our major market and no love.
Stephen Au
September 11, 2019
Hi Doug! Thanks for your stories and for sharing your experience.
Plane Princess
November 13, 2019
I travel what I feel like is a boat load for work. But my flights are not long. I rack up segments.
I am at 105k miles for the year and 135 segments with multiple flights remaining from now until the end of the year.
I have 1k from last year and clearly achieved for this year.
I have paid $35k PQD.
I am RARELY upgraded and feel no love or perks.
Does this year seem to be easier for people to gain perks with United? It seems everyone is 1k.
I am thinking of switching to delta…. thoughts?
Lee Cruise
November 16, 2019
I am at 254k (PQM) & 160 (PQS) with over $60K spent, with several trips yet to finish this year. Would this get me to GS with United? Almost all flights were Business class.
Thanks
Lee
Jarrod West
November 18, 2019
Hi Lee,
The eligibility requirements for Global Services are not published, so there is no way to be certain. With that said, I would think those figures would give you a very good chance of being invited.
Lee Cruise
December 31, 2019
Jarrod
Thanks for the Info..
I ended up with the following
PQM 302,988
PQS. 184
PQD $81,534.00
99% of PQD was first or Business Class.
Let’s see if that qualifies for GS…
Tiffany
February 13, 2022
Did you??
United reinstate GS 3 years for me from 2019-2020-2021-2022
J w
December 26, 2019
Keep me posted. I hope to get it this year too. Best of luck, I have had 1k for 5 years and spent $54,000.
Mike T
December 05, 2019
I’m lucky at almost 5M miles so I crossed the threshold at 4m a while ago. My sense is you need ~ 150-200k miles with 4-6 international business class trips to drive up your $. Another benefit across mileage plus program that is great is the spouse/significant other shared status. I think this works at all levels (e.g., 1K as well), but my wife has Global Services status. This is great when she travels, and in helping get upgrades for her family on combined trips. I think it is why she is still married to me …..
GD
January 02, 2020
Is the Private Check-In benefit only useful if one has luggage or is there something else the GS flyer would use it for?
Jarrod West
January 03, 2020
Hi GD,
It can also be useful when checking in for the flight if you haven’t already done so online.
Jetsetter
January 06, 2020
I just made GS myself with $77k spent in 2019. In order to qualify you have to use United Only, not flying let’s say Lufthansa and think that because they are partners, you get points too with United. So remember:
* Use only United (aka UA metal);
* If you can use business class versus economy, that’s a plus…
* you have to have spent minimum 100k for the past 3 years…
* it also helps if you are not flying out from a very busy airport… like SFO… where people/corporate people are traveling out of big cities and also have a larger portfolio…
I flew $40k in 2018 and didn’t manage to get GS. So now I am GS for 2020 and can’t be happier.
It’s achievable if work allows you to travel, otherwise, I guess you must have to win the lottery. 😉
Jarrod West
January 07, 2020
Hi Jetsetter,
Thanks for sharing this data point with the community. Congratulations and enjoy GS!
Helen Hoesing
February 12, 2020
Why does my comment state that it “is waiting moderation”? Helen
Christine Krzyszton
February 12, 2020
Hello Dr Helen. We get dozens of questions and comments each day. These go into a queue and are answered by one of our staff members or writers who is familiar with the topic and can answer your question as accurately as possible. This process can take a couple days. It also ensures spam and profanity are not posted automatically
to the blog. Thank you for your patience and for reading.
Dr Helen Hoesing
February 13, 2020
I am a global for life united member. Recently I booked a ticket for the least expensive and most restricted fares I read that premium seats for these tickets were not available but were for global members. However, when I tried to book the seat I was told that was not true. Has this changed and if so why? Helen
Christine Krzyszton
February 17, 2020
Hello Dr. Helen. First, to be clear, we are not affiliated with United Airlines, we are Upgraded Points, a blog specializing in providing travel, points, and miles resources. Regarding your question, I am assuming you are referring to purchasing a basic economy fare ticket. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, these tickets are not upgradeable. Additionally, I was unable to find any information that Global Services members would get upgraded on such fares. You might want to make a call to your Global Services dedicated customer service line and ask them this question for a definitive answer.
Markus
August 10, 2020
Basic Economy fares are not eligible for upgrades, no matter what status.
Eric
December 22, 2020
Odd, I buy basic economy tickets and I am upgraded all the time. I’m just a gold member. Looks like I will miss platinum by $700.
Christine Krzyszton
December 24, 2020
Hi Eric. The official policy is that basic economy tickets are not upgradeable. There are occasions, however, where it does happen and it sounds like you’ve been the fortunate recipient.
Duke Bolter
March 08, 2021
I (and my spouse) are GS for life. I used to believe that was our lives that was the metric–now I am thinking it’s UAL life. We usually have our “Welcome stuff” by this time of the year. I wonder if this delay is normal for the times.
Ex Global Service
March 20, 2021
As a global service member for years, during Covid I lost the status and then was given the status challenge option. I met the challenge status and it has been a month and I have not heard anything. I’ve called and emailed several times. First they said it would take 7 days from the point I completed the status challenge to have the status re-instated. It has now been a month. Calling the service center does no help, no one seems to know. Had I known that this was going to be this much delay and painful I would have never bothered. I’ve not lost a month of status flying. Some would say that I’m being extra difficult, but spending the challenge status amount is no small feat. That is still a lot of money. About to dispute the charge on my Amex now and fight to get my money back. Unfortunate that United can’t get its’ act together and continues to polarize its’ top customers.
Fred
August 30, 2021
No one lost the status during covid, they extended everyone.
Jack Rayburn
September 14, 2021
Correct. I’ve been GS since 2016 as 12 NA to EU and 3 or 4 NA to China business class trips a year on United. Several are last minute so full fare tickets.
My last trip was February 2019 back from Europe. United extended my GS for 2020 & 2021.
They have also contacted me to arrange a call as they wanted to understand when my work would resume international travel again. In that call they said it was highly likely to extend again for 2022 as travel has not yet resumed for many and they would make that decision in late 2021.
Dean Irwin
June 30, 2023
I’m a GS, and have been since 2017. I’m a 3M++ mile flier since 1984. I had several friends and colleagues who were GS in 2020, but were dropped to 1k and then gold. I was flying quite a bit more through the pandemic than they were, and I’m still GS. I am also an “influencer” meaning that I have many people connected to my account that also fly a huge amount, 1K or GS levels for years and years. I booked (my admin did) their tickets through my account, and their MP number are still on my MP list. I think that can help steer the invitation if you’re close. My highest years were in the +$80k range, and over 200k miles with well over 100 segments. This year I’ll do +100k miles, 60 segments, and more than $40k. I sweat the decision at the and of the year because GS is truly great.
Claudio
November 16, 2021
To conclude, Yes, all Global Services members were extended till January 2023. Big relief!
That was the right move. United was the last one to extend Global services I believe 2 years ago but this time around, Global services were the first to be extended.
JB
July 30, 2022
I was GS for 8 years between 2008 to 2016. At the time, word was it’s not about the absolute spent, but rather you got to be in the top 1% spenders, with some additional considerations regarding fare types. So during recessions, the threshold is lower and during the gogo years, it’s higher.
Christian V.
September 15, 2022
How do you know what your annual $ flight spend is? I’m Premier 1K and made that after 3.5 months this year (my first full year flying United). I was also 1K last year flying half a year with United. Ever since then, it doesn’t show me my qualifying spend anymore since I already met their top qualification requirements. I have no idea what my $ is so far this year. I am also Executive Platinum on American but recently moved to Denver (United Hub) so fly exclusively now on United. I buy business class on every flight with several International trips. I don’t know if not having a history with united might hurt me for GS invite (or if they look at it fresh every year). Any help or feedback would be appreciated.
HP
January 08, 2023
I just got GS for 2023 after many years as 1K. It took just over 57K PQP in 2022, mostly flying international business class out of SFO. My last flight was mid-dec and the status suddenly showed up on my profile early Jan. No welcome email or package yet but I can access the benefits page.
I don’t see any mention of companion saver award ticket or Jaguar/Benz transfers so those may be discontinued. For upgrades on award trips you have to call in.
Kevin
January 14, 2023
Was GS for 5 years and just got email not in 2023. Flew 51k PQP and did not get including several trips to Europe and Hawaii. I think I did not get as I complained twice this year about the terrible service I got on those 2 trips so payback is no GS this year! Guess United can’t take constructive criticism!
CT
January 20, 2023
Looks like you sealed your deal for 2024 as well if they read this… (let’s hope they don’t recognize you).
dean irwin
June 30, 2023
I think they would like you to be happier about how they handled things so you can tell other fliers how great United is! 😉
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