United Airlines gets aggressive in battle for top Delta, American flyers

United Airlines wants you to defect from your airline.

The carrier is in the middle of an unusually pointed status-match campaign to woo travelers who have earned a spot in elite frequent flyer tiers with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines by offering similar treatment at United.

Here's how it works: Travelers with any tier of elite status on Delta or American will be granted United status for 90 days.

To keep it through Jan. 31, 2028, they'll have to take a flight and spend a certain amount on United mainline or regional flights within those 90 days.

For example, if a traveler has the lowest level Delta Medallion status, silver, or the same on American, which is gold, they would have to spend $1,500 on United in the roughly three months.

To get a status match of United's 1K, its highest level before invitation-only Global Services, the person would have to spend $7,000.

Delta and American have their own status matches for a host of other airlines, but United's call-out of rivals and social media campaign shows how heated the battle for big-spending customers has become, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group.

"This is war, airline style," he said. "It's very rare for an airline to be as blatant as United is being" with Delta and American.

Airlines have been adding new lounges, extra premium seats and more international routes to lure those high-spenders.

In this push, United is using its new Starlink Wi-Fi from SpaceX as a hook for customers looking to potentially defect from their airlines.

The carrier is in the process of outfitting its aircraft with the satellite Wi-Fi, which is free for frequent flyer program members, though it is not available across the fleet yet, and customers still have to pay at least $8 per flight with current providers. American Airlines also signed with Starlink for hundreds of its narrow-body jets, while Delta is planning to change the provider of its free, in-flight Wi-Fi to Amazon's Leo.

"Our long-term strategic partnership with Amazon Leo will provide high-bandwidth connectivity while creating opportunities to bring their broad ecosystem of entertainment and digital services to the skies," Delta said in a statement.

American, where United's CEO Scott Kirby worked until a decade ago, has said it expects to start offering Starlink Wi-Fi early next year.

"We consistently offer status pass promotions," an American spokeswoman said, pointing to a current offer that allows status holders on Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Delta and United to be matched on American's AAdvantage tiered system for four months or longer if they meet certain spending goals.