After the competition (Delta) had unconditionally extended every frequent flyer status in the summer of 2021, United initially refused to draw level. Instead, United had two different promotions that made maintaining status much easier but were by no means a walk in the park.
Frequent flyers can now relax at United MileagePlus: An official announcement is still pending – but it looks like United has extended the status of all frequent flyers until January 2023. This information can be found on the digital membership card, which is only available in the United app (iOS / Android).
Although I could neither meet the regular status requirements nor complete the Fly to the Finish challenge, I now see January 31, 2023, as the expiration date:
Yesterday evening, January 2022 was stated on that same place and since users also report the same in the Flyertalk, an unconditional extension can be assumed. Official information on the extension will probably be available at some point during the weekend.
Unfortunately, there are no longer any new PlusPoints for the renewal. At least, the validity of all existing PlusPoints was extended until July 2022. Those who have reached the status through their flights this year will even receive an extension of all PlusPoints until January 2023, corresponding to the new expiry date of the status.
Conclusion
Finally! For a long time, United was avoiding this to generate a few more bookings. Now there is a status extension for everyone. It remains unclear whether this surprise was intended from the start, or whether the concerns about the Omicron variant contributed to the renewed extension.
Either way: I’m really excited about the extension and will be loyal to United for another year. In addition, with the new status requirements of 2020, it will be almost impossible for a European to maintain the 1K status.