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The primary metric for earning United MileagePlus elite status is Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs). So, to earn United's elite status, you'll want to understand how to earn PQPs. While you can do this in multiple ways — including earning PQPs through credit card spending — the most conventional way to earn PQPs is by flying.
In this post, we'll cover what United PQPs are, how many you will need for each tier of Premier elite status, and the top ways to earn PQPs through flying. We'll also highlight a strategy for qualifying for United Premier status via partner flights.
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What Are United Premier Qualifying Points (PQP)?
Premier Qualifying Points are a qualification requirement for Premier elite status, and they primarily measure how much money you've spent with United Airlines. The primary way of earning PQPs is by flying United, United Express, and any of United's airline partners.
Eligible partners include all Star Alliance members plus some unique non-alliance partners like JetBlue, Emirates, JSX, and Virgin Australia.
You can also earn PQPs through spending on United's co-branded credit cards. And if you're serious about collecting PQPs, carrying a United credit card is almost necessary.
United Elite Status PQP Requirements
Below, you'll find United's elite status qualification requirements in 2025. You can qualify using a combination of Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) and Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) or strictly through PQP accrual.
- Premier Silver: 5,000 PQP + 15 PQF OR 6,000 PQP
- Premier Gold: 10,000 PQP + 30 PQF OR 12,000 PQP
- Premier Platinum: 15,000 PQP + 45 PQF OR 18,000 PQP
- Premier 1K: 22,000 PQP + 60 PQF OR 28,000 PQP
In addition, you'll also have to take at least four United- or United Express-operated flights.
Each calendar year marks a qualification period. Any Premier status achieved is good through the following calendar year and then January 31 of the ensuing year (i.e., qualifying for Premier status between January 1 and December 31, 2025, gives you elite status through January 31, 2027).
Related: Status Match to United and Get MileagePlus Status
How to Earn United Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) From Flying
You can earn PQP flying United and any of its more than 40 partners. However, the PQP earning rate will vary depending on which carrier issues your ticket.
Sometimes, you'll earn more by booking through United than through another airline, and vice versa. Make sure you understand how to compare options and calculate PQP earnings before booking your ticket. You'll want to book the ticket that earns the most PQP, as long as the price is similar.
United-issued tickets
You'll earn 1 PQP for every U.S. dollar you spend on United flights or on flight tickets issued by United. And you'll know it's a United ticket if your ticket number starts with “016”.
PQP earnings on United tickets include the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges but exclude the government-imposed taxes, fees, and charges. That means you'll earn fewer PQP than your ticket price, as taxes and fees are always tacked on. For domestic itineraries, these taxes and fees are reasonable, as you'll just pay the necessary U.S. government-imposed fees. However, they can really add up for international tickets, cutting significantly into your PQP earnings.
When booking directly with United, the website shows how many PQP and PQF you'll earn. You'll have to expand the details of each flight to see the earnings. United also shows how many base award miles you'll earn. These earnings totals are offered for all ticket types, allowing for an easy comparison. Just note that United basic economy tickets earn PQP but don't earn PQF.
The PQP and PQF will be credited to the United MileagePlus account of the member who travels. This may not be the same person who purchased the ticket.
Remember, United-issued tickets may include partner flight segments. If your ticket number begins with “016,” you'll earn PQP based on the United rate — meaning you'll earn more when you spend more and less when you pay less. However, things get interesting if your ticket number starts with a different number (i.e., it is on partner ticket stock).
Earn PQP on ancillary purchases
If you book a flight and later upgrade to Economy Plus, this purchase counts toward PQP. There are a handful of other United charges that also earn PQP, which are:
- Economy Plus seating or Economy Plus subscriptions
- Preferred seat purchases
- Paid upgrades on flights operated by United and United Express
- Award flights operated by United and United Express (1 PQP for every 100 miles redeemed)
- MileagePlus Upgrade Award co-pays (1 PQP per 100 miles redeemed, and PQP on the co-pay)
- Spending on select United Airlines credit cards
Partner-issued tickets
Earning United Premier Qualifying Points on partner flights not booked through United works differently. Rather than being based on how much you spent, you're awarded PQP as a fraction of the number of award miles earned. It depends on the partner:
- Preferred partners: Earn 1 PQP for every five (5) award miles earned.
- Other MileagePlus partners: Earn 1 PQP for every six (6) award miles earned.
United partners credit award miles based on a percentage of actual miles flown, which depends on the partner and ticket class. Thus, PQP earnings via United partner tickets are distance-based. Check out the United partners and view the partner airline accrual charts to determine how many award miles and PQP you'll earn for a flight.
United's Preferred Partners
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Dolomiti
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Azul Brazilian Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Discover Airlines
- Edelweiss
- Eurowings
- ITA Airways
- Lufthansa
- Lufthansa City Airlines
- Virgin Australia
Other MileagePlus Partners
- Aegean Airlines
- Air India
- Asiana Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- Juneyao Air
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Olympic Air
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- SWISS International Airlines — downgraded in September 2025
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- Turkish Airlines
Note that a handful of United partners do not earn Premier-qualifying credits. These include Aer Lingus, Airlink, Cape Air, Emirates, Flydubai, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, JSX, and Silver Airways. If you're flying a ticket on one of these airlines, consider crediting the earnings to another program.
And be sure to pay close attention to cabin class, as some partner basic economy tickets are also excluded from earning United PQP.
Limits on earning United PQP on partner flights
A major bummer is that United limits the number of PQP you can earn on partner flight segments. This earning cap can be unfortunate for those who buy paid premium economy-, business-, or first-class tickets.
| Class of service | Preferred partner PQP maximum | Non-preferred partner PQP maximum |
|---|---|---|
| First/business class | 1,500 | 1,000 |
| Economy/premium economy | 750 | 500 |
Earning caps for non-preferred partners are even lower than the already-limited amounts from preferred partners. These limitations can severely limit the number of PQPs you earn, especially in higher cabin classes.
Example United partner flight PQP earnings
Let's walk through an example of earning United Premier Qualifying Points through a partner flight booking. I've found a standard economy itinerary with Air Canada from San Francisco (SFO) to Barcelona (BCN) for $996.43. It connects via Montreal (YUL) both ways.
This itinerary features an Economy Standard ticket in fare classes T and S. Thus, it earns United award miles at 50% of miles flown. You can find the earning rates for Air Canada on United's site here.
The Great Circle Mapper tool shows a flight distance of 2,533 miles each way between SFO and YUL. The YUL–BCN segment is 3,674 miles each way. Since Air Canada is a preferred partner, we divide the award miles earned by five to determine the PQP. Here's the math:
- SFO-YUL PQP earnings each way: (2,533 flown miles x 50%) / 5 = 253 PQP
- YUL-BCN PQP earnings each way: (3,674 flown miles x 50%) / 5 = 367 PQP
After adding up all four segments, this ticket would earn 1,240 PQP, which is decent for an economy ticket. Plus, the PQP total exceeds the dollars spent — about 1.25 times the ticket cost.
Conversely, if this ticket were issued by United, you'd earn 1 PQP for every U.S. dollar you spend — and this would be far less than you'd earn by booking through Air Canada. So, again, if the ticket is available through a partner for the same price, there's a great chance you'll be better off booking through that partner site. But you should always price compare and crunch the numbers before you book.
Can you earn United Premier Qualifying Points on award flights?
United Airlines allows MileagePlus members to earn Premier Qualifying Points on award travel, though only on United and United Express-operated flights. The earning rates are simple:
- 1 PQP earned per 100 miles redeemed
- 1 PQF earned per United or United Express flight
Take your award ticket cost and divide by 100. That's the number of PQP you earn. You won't earn anything on the award ticket's taxes and fees.
Note that you must book through MileagePlus to receive PQP on a flight. Sadly, United and United Express flights booked using partner miles cannot accrue PQP.
Related: Earn Elite Status Credits on Award Travel on These Airlines
The best strategy for earning United Premier Qualifying Points through flying
With United flights, earning PQP is simple, as it's a product of your ticket price minus taxes and fees. You'll have a ballpark idea of your earnings when searching Google flights, and United will show them up front if you book through the airline.
Things are much different in the case of partner flights, and it is here that you can get creative. Here's a general strategy for finding the best PQP-earning flights with partners:
- Look for long-haul fare deals. With partners, your PQP earnings are a function of flight distance. The ticket cost doesn't matter, so the cheaper the better.
- Consider routes with connections. Long flights, especially in higher cabin classes, will hit the PQP caps. Flying to Europe from the West Coast on Air Canada is a prime example of an ideal route with a connection to avoid the PQP caps.
- Stick to preferred partners. The PQP earning rate is better, and the per-segment PQP cap is much higher.
With the best partner flights, you'll earn far more PQP by booking with the partner and crediting the flights to United than you would get by booking through United directly.
Other Ways to Earn United PQP
Outside of flying, United offers a couple of additional ways to earn PQP, such as through spending on its co-branded credit cards or by purchasing them outright.
Credit card spending
You can spend your way to status if you have a United card (or two). However, note that you'll still need to take at least four United flights in a calendar year to be eligible for Premier status.
Here's how you'll earn PQP on United credit card spending in 2025:
- Earn 1 PQP per $15 spent
- United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees) — up to 28,000 PQP
- United Club℠ Business Card — up to 28,000 PQP
- Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent
- United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees) — up to 1,000 PQP
- United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees) — up to 18,000 PQP
- United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees) — up to 4,000 PQP
- United℠ Explorer Business Card — up to 1,000 PQP
- United MileagePlus® Awards Card — up to 1,000 PQP
- United MileagePlus® Card — up to 1,000 PQP
- United MileagePlus® Business Card — up to 1,000 PQP
- United MileagePlus® Select Card — up to 3,000 PQP
- United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Card — up to 10,000 PQP
- United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Business Card — up to 10,000 PQP
- 2X miles per $1 spent on purchases from United®
- 2X miles per $1 spent on dining and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Earn 4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 2x on United® purchases
- 2x on local transit and commuting — including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
- 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
- 1x on all other purchases
In 2024, United removed the PQP cap. Previously, you could only earn 15,000 PQPs across all the United cards in your wallet, but this restriction is no longer in effect. Now, it's unlimited.
But of all the cards, the United Quest℠ Card is one of the best options for earning PQP, as you can accrue up to 18,000 PQP each year through credit card spending. You'll earn 1 PQP for each $20 spent on the card. And the card's welcome offer regularly includes bonus PQP for new applicants as well.
- Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 1,000 PQP
- 3x miles on United® purchases
- 2x miles on dining, select streaming services, and all other travel
- 1x mile on all other purchases
- Get a jump start on earning Premier status with 1,000 Card Bonus PQP each year, awarded within 8 weeks of February 1, starting in the calendar year following your account open date.
- Free first and second checked bags--a savings of up to $360 per roundtrip (terms apply)
- Receive a $200 United® travel credit and 10,000-mile award flight discount on each account anniversary
- Earn a 10,000-mile eligible award flight discount after spending $20,000 each calendar year
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 5 miles per $1 spent at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 3 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants
- 2 miles per $1 spent on select streaming services
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Related: Guide To Earning United Premier Qualifying Points Through Credit Card Spending
Buy PQP
United also offers the option to buy PQP outright. You can do this through a Premier Accelerator purchase, which must be done in conjunction with an Award Accelerator purchase. The number of PQP and the rate per PQP vary depending on the flight.
Final Thoughts
If you plan on chasing United Premier status, you should understand everything about how to earn Premier Qualifying Points. Knowing your options lets you plan for and meet your status goals. Don't be like me and fall short of a United status level by fewer than 10 PQP, a feat I managed in a recent qualification year.
Also, it's essential to distinguish between accruing PQP on United tickets and partner tickets. Partner tickets can work to your advantage to help you earn more PQP by booking your ticket through the method that yields the most PQP.
Finally, if you're going to fall short of United Premier status, consider spending on a United credit card that offers additional PQP. For a full rundown on earning and redeeming United miles and the basics of the Premier program, check out our complete guide to United MileagePlus.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
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