United Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members have the ability to earn Regional Premier Upgrades after qualifying for their elite status. Premier Platinum members earn two Regional Premier Upgrades after qualifying for status, and Premier 1K members earn an additional two Regional Premier Upgrades after qualifying.

Additionally, every 25,000 Premier qualifying miles or 30 Premier qualifying segments earned thereafter during the same calendar year that Premier 1K was reached, you’ll earn two more Regional Premier Upgrades. Earned  Regional Premier Upgrades are valid through the end of the following Premier program year.

Where Can You Use Regional Premier Upgrades: 

You can use on United, United Express and Copa Airlines operated flights in the following regions:

• Continental U.S.
• Central America
• Hawaii
• Caribbean
• Alaska
• South America (Copa flights only)
• Canada
• Oceania
• Mexico

Additionally, Regional Premier Upgrades area allowed to be used on flights from the U.S. to Hawaii, as well as on  transcontinental routes, which include flights between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles or San Francisco, as well as flights between Boston and San Francisco, which are some of the best flights to use these certificates to receive maximum value.

How To Redeem Regional Premier Upgrades: 

Once the traveler′s ticket has been issued, members can redeem Regional Premier Upgrades by viewing the reservation on united.com and selecting the Upgrade Reservation link. Regional Premier Upgrades may also be redeemed by calling the United Customer Contact Center.

You can even use these for another traveler if you’re not flying. United describes the process as following: 

Members may request an upgrade for any other traveler using a Regional Premier Upgrade, even if they are not traveling on the same reservation. In order to sponsor a Regional Premier Upgrade for another traveler, the sponsoring member will need to sign in to united.com using their own account, then search for the reservation using the traveling member’s confirmation number and last name. The sponsoring member can then redeem the Regional Premier Upgrade by selecting the Upgrade Reservation link. Waitlist confirmation priority is based on the Premier status of the traveler.