Last-minute elite status strategies for United Premier status
As the sun begins to set on 2024, your time is running out to qualify or requalify for airline elite status for 2025. This is the moment to check your mileage balances, calculate your travel for the rest of the year and see where you will end up by Dec. 31.
If you think you will finish short of your United Airlines MileagePlus Premier status goal, here are some ideas for earning the Premier qualifying points and Premier qualifying flights you need before the end of the year.
How to earn United status
In 2019, United shifted away from Premier qualifying miles, Premier qualifying segments and Premier qualifying dollars. Now, there are two elite status metrics: Premier qualifying flights (also known as PQFs) and Premier qualifying points (aka PQPs).
Premier qualifying flights
To qualify for any status with United, you must fly at least four paid segments on United or United Express in a calendar year. Those four paid flights will also count as PQFs, assuming you don’t book basic economy tickets. Here’s how accruals on basic economy fares compare with standard fares:
| Type of fare | Accrue PQFs | Count toward the four-flight minimum for Premier status | Accrue PQPs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic economy | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Standard fares (economy, premium economy, business and first) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Your remaining PQFs can be on United flights or on eligible partner fares, which we’ll discuss later. On a paid United flight with one stop, you’ll earn two PQFs.
Think of it this way: For every takeoff, you earn one PQF. The only flights that don’t count as PQFs are basic economy tickets, flights to Venezuela and flights to Cuba that are not operated by United.
Premier qualifying points
There are several ways to earn PQPs, including paid and award flights, seating assignments and upgrades, and credit card spending. We’ll cover these in detail later.
You can achieve each status level with a certain number of PQPs alone or with a combination of PQPs and PQFs. Here are the requirements for 2025 status:
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| Status tier | Requirements (PQPs only) | Requirements (PQFs + PQPs) |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 5,000 PQPs | 12 PQFs + 4,000 PQPs |
| Premier Gold | 10,000 PQPs | 24 PQFs + 8,000 PQPs |
| Premier Platinum | 15,000 PQPs | 36 PQFs + 12,000 PQPs |
| Premier 1K | 24,000 PQPs | 54 PQFs + 18,000 PQPs |
Related: Flights, credit cards and more: How to earn miles with the United MileagePlus program
Ways to earn more PQPs
The only way to earn more Premier qualifying flights is to, well, fly more. But there are several ways to earn PQPs, and they don’t all require leaving the ground.
United flights
Let’s start with the obvious: You earn PQPs on paid United tickets.
If you booked your flight through United in any fare class, all customers (including those with Premier status) earn 1 PQP per dollar spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges. This applies to all United-issued tickets (indicated with a 016 ticket number), whether the flight is operated by United or a partner airline.
This means that whenever possible, you want your flights on fares that are predominantly base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges (as opposed to taxes). Unfortunately, international itineraries often have high government-imposed taxes and fees that don’t earn PQPs.
As you search for flights on United’s site, you can see the PQPs and PQFs you’ll earn on a given flight by clicking “Details.”
As you can see, all fare classes except basic economy earn 1 PQF for this flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). All tickets earn PQPs, but the number increases with the fare price.
You can even earn PQPs on flights and upgrades booked with miles, albeit at a much lower rate. You’ll get 1 PQP for every 100 MileagePlus miles redeemed on United and United Express flights and seat upgrades. Award itineraries with non-United-operated flights will only earn PQPs on the United segments.
You can also earn PQPs on Preferred and Economy Plus seating and paid cabin upgrades at a rate of 1 PQP for every dollar spent (excluding taxes and fees). However, note that other nonflight purchases like baggage fees and United Club lounge memberships don’t earn PQPs, nor do certain private bulk fares and travel industry fares.
Related: How to travel more for fewer miles with United’s Excursionist Perk
Partner flights
Partner itineraries — flights booked through a partner airline’s site where you enter your United MileagePlus number at booking — are where the beauty of earning lots of PQPs for a fraction of the normal price kicks in. Tickets with United’s partners have allowed TPGers to requalify for Premier 1K status for a fraction of the $18,000-plus that it would take to reach Premier 1K by flying exclusively on United flights.
You’ll earn 1 PQP per 5 award miles earned on preferred partner airlines (up to a maximum of 750 PQPs per flight for economy and premium economy, and 1,500 PQPs for first and business class) and 1 PQP per 6 award miles earned on MileagePlus partners (up to a maximum of 500 PQPs per flight in economy and premium economy, and 1,000 PQPs in first and business class).
The confusing part is that “preferred partners” and “MileagePlus partners” have nothing to do with which airlines are in Star Alliance. For instance, Aegean Airlines and Air Canada are both members of Star Alliance, but Aegean is considered a MileagePlus partner for the purposes of earning PQPs while Air Canada is classified as a preferred partner. You can see a full list of preferred and MileagePlus partners here.
The number of miles, and thus PQPs, you earn depends on the airline. With most United partners, including Star Alliance and other partners, you earn miles based on three factors: the distance flown, the fare class and the airline that operates your flight. You can explore each partner’s miles-earning guidelines here.
For a full breakdown of how this works, check out our guide to earning PQPs with partners. But here’s an example of a partner itinerary that would earn significantly more than 1 PQP per dollar spent:
This one-way Lufthansa economy ticket from Los Angeles to Krakow costs $438 and is ticketed in the T fare class (50% accrual basis), so it would earn the following MileagePlus miles:
- L.A. to Frankfurt: 5,806 miles flown multiplied by 50% = 2,903 miles earned
- Frankfurt to Krakow: 500 miles flown multiplied by 50% = 250 miles earned
- Total: 3,153 miles earned
Since Lufthansa is a preferred partner, it earns 1 PQP for every 5 award miles:
- 3,153 miles earned divided by 5 = 630 PQPs
Compare that to the same flight at the same price booked and ticketed through United, which would only earn 367 PQPs.
MileagePlus credit card spending
You can earn PQPs by spending on most United credit cards. United Chase cobranded cards earn 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend, but each card has a different PQP limit for the calendar year. This guide has the full scoop on how to earn PQPs by charging on your United credit card.
Here are three of our favorite United cobranded cards that earn PQPs, along with their current welcome bonuses:
- United℠ Explorer Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- United Quest℠ Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- United Club℠ Infinite Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Related: Best United Airlines credit cards
Buy PQPs
If you have an upcoming reservation with United, you may be prompted to purchase additional miles for your trip. To view your offers, go to “My Trips” and open your reservation. Then, scroll down to the “Award Accelerator” option.
Click “Learn more,” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can purchase MileagePlus miles and PQPs. Here are the options for this one-way flight from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):
Unless you’re trying to buy up to fill a small gap, it’s not hard to tell that’s a pretty terrible deal, considering that you could earn more PQPs and award miles on a paid United ticket for the same price. However, if you have no flexibility to take a flight in the final couple months of 2024, this could be a solid option — especially if it’ll boost you to one of United’s highest status tiers (like Premier 1K).
Speaking of buying status, it’s common for United to offer targeted buy-ups to the next status tier sometime in January or February, but historically, these have been exorbitantly expensive.
Related: Why I consider my United miles to be worth 5 cents apiece
Bottom line
While 2024 is drawing to a close, there’s still plenty of time left to requalify for your current United Premier elite status or level up for next year. The first step is determining where you stand and what you’ll earn from any scheduled end-of-year travel so you can decide if a mileage run is right for you. In the “My United” section of your MileagePlus account, it’s easy to see the number of PQPs and PQFs you already have under “Your Premier progress.”
To assist elite members in maintaining their status, United has made one-time Premier qualifying flight deposits into their accounts at the beginning of the last couple of years. It’s possible these will return in early 2025. However, these won’t help you close the gap for this year’s qualification.
