United Status Match for Delta and American Elites: Apply by October 15, 2026

United matches Delta SkyMiles and American AAdvantage elite status up to Premier 1K for 90 days, then through January 31, 2028 if you buy and fly enough United. The tier table, what counts, and who qualifies, checked October 2, 2026.

Checked October 2, 2026, against United's offer page for Delta and American members, its terms and conditions, and United's year-round MileagePlus status match page, all read that day.

TL;DR

United will match elite status from Delta SkyMiles or American AAdvantage to its own Premier levels, up to Premier 1K. Its page says to "Match your status from Delta or American by October 15."
The matched status lasts 90 days from approval. To keep it, you buy and fly United or United Express tickets worth a set dollar amount inside those 90 days. If you do, the status is valid through January 31, 2028.
Only base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges count toward the amount. Taxes, Economy Plus, seat fees and upgrade co-pays don't.
The dollar amount for each level isn't on United's public pages. The terms say it is "set forth in the program details", which we couldn't find on October 2.
United is selling the switch on its Starlink Wi-Fi: the page opens with "Don't keep buffering: switch to United and get the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky."

Which status you get

From the offer page's own "Find your match" tool (United):

Your status today	United status you're matched to
Delta Silver Medallion	Premier Silver
Delta Gold Medallion	Premier Gold
Delta Platinum Medallion	Premier Platinum
Delta Diamond Medallion or Delta 360	Premier 1K
American AAdvantage Gold	Premier Silver
American AAdvantage Platinum	Premier Gold
American AAdvantage Platinum Pro	Premier Platinum
American AAdvantage Executive Platinum or ConciergeKey	Premier 1K

How it works

Apply and upload proof of your status. United says it will tell you within 3 business days whether you're approved.
Use the 90 days. The status starts within one to three business days of approval and runs 90 days from the approval date. United calls this the "Challenge Period".
Buy and fly enough United. The terms: "the member must purchase eligible tickets totaling a specified amount (in USD) during the Challenge Period and fly those tickets on flights operated by United or United Express during the Challenge Period."
Keep it through January 31, 2028. "The MileagePlus status is valid through January 31, 2028 for customers who earn Premier status through this offer."

Finishing the challenge at Premier Platinum adds 20 PlusPoints, and finishing at Premier 1K adds 100, credited within 7 to 10 business days. You can't finish above the level you were matched to through this offer.

What counts toward the amount, and what doesn't

Counts: the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges on tickets you buy for yourself, "including the cash portion of any Money + Miles purchase."

Doesn't count:

Taxes, charges and fees other than carrier-imposed surcharges.
United-marketed codeshare flights operated by other airlines, Star Alliance partners included.
Tickets for anyone other than you.
Economy Plus seating, preferred seats, upgrade co-pays, paid upgrades and Economy Plus subscriptions.
Tickets that don't earn Premier qualifying credit.

Both the purchase and the flight have to happen inside the 90 days, and the flights have to post to your MileagePlus account.

The dollar amounts. The terms say the amount "depends on the Premier status level the member is matched to in MileagePlus, as set forth in the program details." The offer page and United's status match page didn't show those figures on October 2. Travel news sites reported them on October 1 as $1,500 for Premier Silver, $3,000 for Premier Gold, $4,500 for Premier Platinum and $7,000 for Premier 1K. We haven't seen them on a United page, so check the amount for your level when you apply.

Who qualifies

You live in the US, going by the address on your MileagePlus account, and your MileagePlus account is authenticated.
Your Delta or American status is valid for the current calendar year.
Status earned by meeting the airline's published criteria counts, and so does lifetime status. Trial, temporary or promotional status doesn't.
If you already hold the same or a higher level with United, there's nothing to match.

During the 90 days, United issues no Premier membership materials, and you "may not have access to all reciprocal Premier benefits with United's partners, including access to Star Alliance lounges."

How this differs from United's regular status match

United also runs a year-round status match for members of many airlines (United), open to applications from January 8 to December 21, 2026. The two read differently:

	Delta and American offer	Regular status match
Apply by	October 15	December 21, 2026
Approval	within 3 business days	up to 14 business days
Status starts	on approval, for 90 days	after an activating flight, for 120 days
To keep it	a dollar amount of United flying	Premier qualifying flights and points
Status through	January 31, 2028	January 2028, or January 2029 if completed on or after January 1, 2027

The regular match also excludes anyone who has used a United status match in the last 3 years or received a Premier status exception in the last 5. The Delta and American offer's terms, as published on October 2, don't include that line, and United doesn't say either way whether a past match affects this one.

About the Wi-Fi

The offer's footnote: "Starlink is available for free for MileagePlus members. Starlink is available on most United Express flights and is being installed on United mainline aircraft. Starlink may not be available on all flights."

Dates to know

October 15, 2026: the last day to match from Delta or American.
90 days from your approval: the end of your Challenge Period.
January 31, 2028: the end of the matched status if you complete the challenge.

United's offer page is at promo.united.com/offers/statusmatchbetterwifi. For a status match we covered earlier, United's Chicago status match offer ran through September 30, 2026. United also shows some cardholders business-class award seats other members don't see; that's in United's cardmember Polaris saver access.

Do this with your own numbers

Purchase optimizer — run your own spending through the same numbers this article used
Bonus tracker — today's welcome bonuses, verified on the issuer's page