US Airways Dividend Miles members can get a boost to elite status with the new Hop, Skip and Jump for Preferred Status promotion. Members will receive credit for flying to, from or within a region (hop); completing a flight segment on US Airways Shuttle (skip) or flying on a new route (jump) through Oct. 10, 2010. Complete four eligible hops, skips or jumps and you will move up one Preferred level. Complete eight eligible hops, skips or jumps and move up two levels, move up three levels with 12 and move up four Preferred levels with 16 or more. Each flight can count as multiple hops, skips or jumps. For example, a flight from Boston to New York La Guardia counts as both a North America, east hop and a Shuttle skip. You can only earn one hop, skip or jump in each category so if you then fly from New York to Washington, D.C. the following week, you would not receive any hop, skip or jump credit. Registration is not required and your Preferred status will be valid for the entire 2011 Preferred year, ending Feb. 29, 2012.

Bottom line: It isn’t too difficult to reach four hops, skips or jumps and move up one Preferred level but in order to move up four Preferred levels, you’ll need to plan your flights carefully and include flights on quite a few of US Airways new routes, most of which involve Charlotte, N.C. There are only 20 eligible categories for this promotion and over half of them are new routes (jumps).