On United's PQD Requirement for Non-US Denizens
United Airlines has a Premier Qualifying Dollar requirement which is summarized on there page here: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/mileageplus/premier/qualify/PQD-FAQs.aspx
The question of interest states:
Does the PQD requirement apply to all MileagePlus members?
In 2014 and 2015, the PQD requirement only applies to members whose primary address on their MileagePlus account is in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. Members who use U.S. military or diplomatic addresses (APO, DPO or FPO) are exempt from the PQD requirement.
Now, suppose I am student from Mexico studying in the US; my primary address can be my (parent's) Mexico address. If they send me something, I would surely know about it and receive it through my parents. That way, I could get around the PQD requirement. Is this a valid get-around?
Best Answer
Yes, that will work fine in practice. This kind of thing is quite common, eg. many Qantas frequent flyers register addresses overseas to avoid paying membership fees. (To be clear, you do need to be able to receive mail at this address, via a relative/friend/etc.)
Whether this violates the program's terms and conditions is up to the airline and their lawyers, but I've never heard of anybody getting "busted" over this. In your case, in particular, as a student you can quite easily argue that your permanent residence is in Mexico and you're only temporarily in the US.
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