Since March 2015, United has changed the way their members earn their award miles. To earn a United Mileage Plus Elite status, the airline made it more strict for members.  This means, elite members needed to spend a required amount of cash before they can earn and enjoy the perks.

For this reason, not all elite loyalty passengers were happy with the changes implemented. United Mileage Plus Elite members who are spending more for their journey can enjoy better bonuses compared to travelers, who can only spend a little.  The changes also cover the way loyalty members could earn miles. Instead of earning points based on miles, passengers earn points through the ticket cost, according to Forbes.

"If your flight is operated by a Star Alliance or MileagePlus partner, you'll earn miles based on the airline that issued your ticket:If the ticketing airline is United, you'll earn miles based on the fare. If the ticketing airline is not United, you'll earn miles based on flight distance and purchased fare class, Mileage Plus Updates reports.

Still, it will be the same as to how you can qualify for the United Mileage Plus Elite status, according to United website. To qualify for the status in 2016, the passenger must satisfy the requirements:

2016 Qualifying Requirements:

To reach Premier Silver: 25,000 miles and $3,000  for Premier qualifying miles (PQM)

To reach Premier Gold: 50,000 miles and $6,000 for Premier qualifying miles (PQM)

To reach Premier Platinum: 75,000 miles and $9,000  for Premier qualifying miles (PQM)

To reach Premier 1K: 100,000 miles and $12,000 for Premier qualifying miles (PQM)

With how members can earn miles with United Mileage Plus Elite status, passengers can still earn more miles when they fly using MileagePlus cobranded credit card.  When a passenger booked a ticket on Star Alliance or MileagePlus partner airline, they can still earn miles based on distance. The website claims that passengers can still earn 500 Premier qualifying miles (PQM) for flights shorter than 500 miles.