United Airlines is currently informing its status customers about a few improvements to the Premier Silver status. Holders of the silver United MileagePlus card can now use priority or business class check-in with selected partner airlines:
- Business Class check-in on flights with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti & Discover Airlines
- Priority check-in on flights with Air Canada
- Priority boarding (Zone 3) on flights with Air Canada
United also indicates that the benefits may be further improved in the future:
We’re excited to bring you these new Premier Silver status benefits and our team is looking forward to expanding them in the future.
Star Alliance Silver frequent flyers also benefit on United flights. They receive priority boarding in the form of Group 2, a benefit they have enjoyed for some time. However, preferred check-in is only available for Premier Silver members, not for Miles&More FTL or other holders of a silver card.
Benefits of the Premier Silver Status
Since the Silver status at United is sometimes underestimated, here is a brief list of the benefits. Especially the free baggage allowance on transatlantic flights can be very interesting:
On United flights:
- Priority check-in, security & boarding
- 1x 32 kg free baggage allowance on domestic flights
- 2x 32 kg free baggage allowance on long-haul flights (even in Basic Economy!)
- 7 instead of 5 award miles per USD flight price
- Free seat selection in Economy Plus from 24h before departure (including 1 guest)1
- Complimentary upgrades to Domestic First Class (low priority, almost impossible)1
- Better availability of award flights
On flights with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Air Dolomiti & Discover:
- Business Class check-in
On Air Canada flights:
- Priority check-in
- Priority boarding (Zone 3)
On flights with other Star Alliance members:
- Preferred priority on the waitlist or standby list (Star Alliance Silver)
1 – except in Basic Economy
Conclusion
The Star Alliance currently lags behind Oneworld and SkyTeam in terms of overarching status benefits. For example, within the respective joint ventures of Delta, Air France, and KLM or British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, and American Airlines, there are advantages regarding seat selection. In contrast, each airline group within the Star Alliance currently operates independently.
If there are advancements, it would be beneficial. Perhaps the priority check-in for Silver members is just the beginning. Since revenues are shared among the airlines, why not share status benefits as well?
Cover Picture: Peer Linder