Qualify for elite status before the end of the year: Last-minute domestic flights you can book

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As the sun begins to set on 2024, time is running out to qualify for elite status.

Even the best of us make mistakes calculating elite mileage accruals; therefore, if you find yourself a few hundred dollars or a couple of flight segments off of your targeted status, you can employ the final, last-resort strategy known as a mileage run.

Many programs have now moved away from awarding status based on how far you fly, instead rewarding members based on how much they spend. So, if you need $500 of spend to reach the next status level before the end of the year, the cost of the flights would be the primary factor to look at over the destination or schedule, though being away from home for a minimal amount of time may also be important.

This guide will examine some of the most optimal North American mileage run options from major U.S. cities on some airlines with popular elite status programs. We’ll give you the price and mileage accruals on each itinerary; we’re filtering out basic economy fares, as those generally do not earn as much as standard economy tickets.

Check out some last-minute flight itineraries to help you earn elite status in major airline loyalty programs before 2025.

Note that prices were accurate at the time of writing.

Earn last-minute elite status with American Airlines AAdvantage program

American Airlines Boeing 737 — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

American Airlines AAdvantage program has four published elite status tiers that you can earn via accumulating Loyalty Points during the 12 months starting each March 1:

Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points
Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points
Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points
Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

Rather than a Jan. 1-Dec. 31 calendar year earning window, American uses a March 1-Feb. 28 earning window.

AAdvantage members earn 5 Loyalty Points for every dollar spent on American Airlines airfare (excluding taxes and government fees), except when booking a basic economy ticket.

So, if you’re 2,000 Loyalty Points short of reaching your elite status, you could choose a fare that costs at least $400 in base fare, like this same-day return from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) via Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) on Saturday, Dec. 14.

A Main Cabin fare would earn Loyalty Points at the 5 points per dollar rate, but remember you won’t earn Loyalty Points on fees and taxes, so click through to check the cost breakdown on the American Airlines website.

The base fare is $433.26, so you would earn 2,166 Loyalty Points toward next year’s status.

Or, if you wanted to spend even less time on a plane, a first-class round trip from Miami to Orlando International Airport (MCO) would take you just a few hours with a first-class fare costing $536.

Checking on the American Airlines website, this has a base fare of $475.12, which will earn 2,375 Loyalty Points.

Having a cobranded American Airlines credit card can help you earn American Airlines elite status. With most AAdvantage credit cards, you’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent, so consider this if you need to top off your Loyalty Point balance but don’t fancy boarding a plane.

Here’s a look at some of the currently available American Airlines credit cards:

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Best for Admirals Club membership
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Best for earning 2 miles per dollar on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard: Receive 25% back as statement credits when you use your card to purchase food and beverages on American-operated flights

The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Earn last-minute Medallion status with Delta SkyMiles program

Delta Air Lines economy class — TANNER SAUNDERS/THE POINTS GUY

Delta SkyMiles loyalty program now uses only Medallion Qualification Dollars as criteria for qualification — and the thresholds have increased significantly from the 2023 levels. Below are the requirements to obtain 2025 Medallion elite status by Dec. 31, 2024:

Silver Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 5,000 MQDs
Gold Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 10,000 MQDs
Platinum Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 15,000 MQDs
Diamond Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 28,000 MQDs

SkyMiles members earn 1 MQD per $1 spent on the ticket price for a Delta-marketed flight operated by Delta or a partner airline (excluding basic economy fares).

Unlike American Airlines, Delta awards MQDs on the entire ticket price, not just the base fare, so you don’t need to examine the cost breakdown to calculate your MQDs.

A same-day return from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) on Dec. 15, 2024, costs $562 in Main Cabin and would earn 562 MQD toward your 2025 Medallion status.

Or, for 661 MQDs and only a few hours of your time, a LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) trip can be done in Delta first class.

The following cards give you an automatic $2,500 MQDs each year (known as the MQD Headstart), plus additional MQDs when you spend on the card:

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD for each $20 in purchases you make on the card.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases you make on the card.

It may be worth applying for one of these cards to push you over the top for next year’s Medallion status.

Earn last-minute Premier status with United MileagePlus

In the MileagePlus loyalty program, you can qualify for United Premier elite status by reaching a certain number of combined Premier qualifying points (PQPs) and Premier qualifying flights (PQFs) or earning PQPs alone.

Premier Silver: 4,000 PQPs and 12 PQFs or 5,000 PQPs
Premier Gold: 8,000 PQPs and 24 PQFs or 10,000 PQPs
Premier Platinum: 12,000 PQPs and 36 PQFs or 15,000 PQPs
Premier 1K: 18,000 PQPs and 54 PQFs or 24,000 PQPs

You can earn 1 PQP per dollar spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges (not including taxes and other fees) on United and United Express flights booked with cash.

A same-day round-trip from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, might be pricey for two one-hour flights, but it is an easy way to rack up PQPs.

As United does not award PQPs on fees and taxes, you need to check the fare breakdown on United’s website to see that this itinerary would earn 387 PQPs on a base fare of $387.

The following credit cards earn 25 PQPs for every $500 in eligible spending:

United℠ Explorer Card: Best for frequent United flyers
United Quest℠ Card: Best for frequent United flyers
United Club℠ Infinite Card: Best for frequent United flyers who want United Club lounge access
United℠ Business Card: Best for frequent United flyers with an eligible business
United Club℠ Business Card: Best for frequent United flyers with an eligible business who want United Club access

The information for the United Club Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Earn last-minute MVP status with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program

Alaska flyers’ elite status in the Mileage Plan program is calculated via the number of elite qualifying miles (EQMs) earned, not to be confused with redeemable Alaska base miles. Here are the EQMs required in the 2024 calendar year for status in 2025.

MVP: 20,000
MVP Gold: 40,000
MVP Gold 75K: 75,000
MVP Gold 100K: 100,000

Unlike other loyalty programs that award status based on spending, Mileage Plan awards EQMs based on distance flown and fare class, so choosing your itinerary carefully is more important for this program than for other programs, where you just need to have spent a certain number of dollars.

The program no longer requires members to fly a minimum number of Alaska flights to earn status.

On a flight operated by Alaska, you’ll only earn 30% of flown miles as EQMs for the cheapest X fare economy class, so avoid that if you want to maximize your EQM earnings with just a flight or two.

M, L, V, S, N, Q, O or G economy class fares all earn 100% EQMs, while first class earns from 150% in D or I class up to 200% in J class.

Ideally, try to fly farther in a premium cabin for a relatively low price for most EQMs per dollar spent.

This itinerary is from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) via Portland International Airport (PDX) on Saturday, Dec. 14. You would fly 3,100 miles in D class (first class), which earns 150% EQMs. It would earn an impressive 4,650 EQMs for $879.61 and could be completed in a day.

If you’d like to make a weekend of it and perhaps are looking for fewer EQMs and less travel time, nonstop flights from Seattle to sunny Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) can be had for $236 in O class, which earns 100% EQMs.

Flying 2,212 miles would earn the same number of EQMs, putting you close to elite status in the Mileage Plan program.

Alaska Airlines has two cobranded credit cards with Bank of America: one personal and one business. In addition to earning Alaska miles on everyday spending, cardholders can earn up to 20,000 EQMs.

This means you could earn base-level MVP status purely through credit card spending. And if you are looking to reach a higher status level but do not have travel plans, you could earn 20% of the EQMs required for top-tier MVP Gold 100K status without stepping on a plane.

The Alaska cobranded cards are currently offering the following welcome bonuses:

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles and a Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, you will earn 1 elite qualifying mile for every $3 spent (up to 30,000 EQMs annually).

Using Google Flights to find your own flights

Of course, if you don’t live in these cities — or are trying to snag elite status with another airline — the above flights won’t help. However, a fantastic functionality in Google Flights lets you quickly identify the cheapest options from your home airport, the “Explore destinations” tool. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to Google Flights.
2. Scroll down and select “Explore destinations.”

3. Enter your home airport.
4. Click on the dates box, select “Specific dates,” then set your departure and return dates to your desired travel dates.

5. Click “Done.”
6. Review the map and adjust the maximum price using the slider. You can also filter for your preferred airline under the “Airlines” tab.

Once you select a city, review the flight results and ensure you fully understand what you’re getting into. Same-day turnarounds can be risky — especially with connections — and most cheap flights will book into basic economy unless you override that when you check out. Nevertheless, it may be worth it if one day’s travel can help you reach that next elite status tier.

Bottom line

While it might seem illogical to fly somewhere last minute, just for the day, to earn elite status, remember that securing your desired status level can provide an entire year’s worth of benefits to make your travel more comfortable, efficient and rewarding.

Ensure you’re calculating exactly what you would earn from a last-minute trip. Note that some programs award fewer status-qualifying miles for budget economy, and some only offer them on base fares without the fees and taxes.

How much you’re willing to spend will depend on personal preference, but if you’re within reach of top-tier status in your preferred airline program, this could be well worth a day of your time before the end of the year.