Because the solar begins to set on 2025, your time is operating out to qualify or requalify for airline elite standing for 2026. Now’s the time to test your account balances, plan your journey for the remainder of the yr and see the place you’ll find yourself by Dec. 31.
In the event you assume you’ll end wanting your United Airways MileagePlus Premier standing objective, listed below are some suggestions for incomes the Premier qualifying factors and Premier qualifying flights you want earlier than the tip of the yr.
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The best way to earn United Airways Premier standing
United makes use of two elite standing metrics: Premier qualifying flights, or PQFs, and Premier qualifying factors, or PQPs.
You may choose to earn standing with PQPs alone, or with a mixture of PQPs and PQFs. Listed here are the necessities for 2026 standing:
| Standing tier | Necessities (PQPs solely) | Necessities (PQFs + PQPs) |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 6,000 PQPs | 15 PQFs + 5,000 PQPs |
| Premier Gold | 12,000 PQPs | 30 PQFs + 10,000 PQPs |
| Premier Platinum | 18,000 PQPs | 45 PQFs + 15,000 PQPs |
| Premier 1K | 28,000 PQPs | 60 PQFs + 22,000 PQPs |
Nevertheless, remember the fact that qualifying for any Premier standing requires flying a minimum of 4 paid segments operated by United or United Categorical in a calendar yr. Typically, these 4 paid segments can even rely as PQFs.
Premier qualifying flights
You’ll earn 1 PQF for each flight section on United, United Categorical and United’s companion airways — together with eligible award flights. So, in case your flight has one cease, you will get 2 PQFs.
The one paid flights that do not rely as PQFs are primary economic system tickets, flights to Venezuela and flights to Cuba that aren’t operated by United. As well as, award flights operated by companion airways will not accrue PQFs.
Premier qualifying factors
There are a number of methods to earn PQPs, together with paid and award flights, seating assignments and upgrades, and bank card spending. We’ll cowl these intimately later.
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Though primary economic system fares do not accrue PQFs, they do earn PQPs and rely towards the four-segment minimal for standing.
As with PQFs, you may’t earn PQPs on award flights with companion airways. You will solely earn PQFs and PQPs on the United-operated segments of your award flight.
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The best way to earn extra PQPs
The one approach to earn extra Premier qualifying flights is to, nicely, fly extra. However there are a number of methods to earn Premier qualifying factors, they usually do not all require leaving the bottom.
Flights booked by way of United
Let’s begin with the fundamentals: incomes PQPs on United tickets.
In the event you e book your flight by way of United in any fare class, all prospects (together with these with Premier standing) earn 1 PQP per greenback spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges. This is applicable to all United-issued tickets (indicated by a 016 ticket quantity), whether or not the flight is operated by United or a companion airline.
This implies you may maximize your PQPs on fares which can be predominantly base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges (versus taxes and different charges). Sadly, worldwide itineraries usually have excessive government-imposed taxes and costs that do not earn PQPs.
As you seek for flights on United’s website, you may see the PQPs and PQFs a given flight will earn by clicking on “Particulars.” Here is an instance of a one-stop flight from Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) to Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), with each segments operated by United. All tickets earn 2 PQFs, however the variety of PQPs will increase with the fare value.
You may even earn PQPs on flights and upgrades booked with miles, albeit at a a lot decrease fee. You will get 1 PQP for each 100 MileagePlus miles redeemed on United and United Categorical flights and seat upgrades. Award itineraries that embody partner-operated flights will solely earn PQPs on the United segments.
Here is an identical itinerary from DEN to BER, which prices the identical variety of miles — besides this feature earns fewer PQFs and PQPs as a result of one section is operated by a companion airline. That distinction may make our break your elite standing goals, so be sure you test all of your choices earlier than reserving.
You may as well earn PQPs on Most well-liked and Financial system Plus seating and paid cabin upgrades at a fee of 1 PQP for each greenback spent (excluding taxes and costs). Nevertheless, word that different nonflight purchases like baggage charges and United Membership lounge memberships do not earn PQPs, nor do sure non-public bulk fares and journey trade fares.
PQPs are awarded to the traveler, not the one who bought the ticket. So should you booked and paid for tickets in your whole household, you’ll solely earn PQPs in your ticket, not your kin’ tickets.
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Flights booked by way of companion airways
Companion itineraries — flights booked by way of a companion airline’s website the place you enter your United MileagePlus quantity at reserving — are the candy spot of United Premier standing, as a result of you may earn a number of PQPs for a fraction of the traditional value.
The variety of PQPs you may earn relies on the companion airline:
- Most well-liked companion airways: Earn 1 PQP per 5 award miles earned, as much as a most of 750 PQPs per flight for economic system and premium economic system and 1,500 PQPs for first and enterprise class.
- MileagePlus companions: Earn 1 PQP per 6 award miles earned, as much as a most of 500 PQPs per flight in economic system and premium economic system and 1,000 PQPs in first and enterprise class.
The complicated half is that “most well-liked companions” and “MileagePlus companions” don’t have anything to do with which airways are in Star Alliance. You may see a full listing of most well-liked and MileagePlus companions on United’s web site.
To make it much more advanced, the variety of miles (and thus PQPs) you may earn varies from one airline to the subsequent. With most United companions, miles are awarded primarily based on three components: the gap flown, the fare class and the airline that operates your flight. You may discover every companion’s miles-earning pointers on United’s web site.
Here is an instance of a companion itinerary that will earn considerably greater than the 1 PQP per greenback you’d get by reserving by way of United:
This one-way Lufthansa economic system ticket from Los Angeles to Krakow, Poland, prices $398 and is ticketed within the T fare class (50% accrual foundation per Lufthansa’s incomes chart), so it will earn the next MileagePlus miles:
- L.A. to Munich: 5,989 miles flown multiplied by 50% equals 2,994 miles earned
- Munich to Krakow: 500 miles flown multiplied by 50% equals 250 miles earned
- Complete: 3,244 miles earned
Since Lufthansa is a most well-liked companion, it earns 1 PQP for each 5 award miles:
- 3,375 miles earned divided by 5 equals 675 PQPs
Examine that to the identical flight on the similar value booked and ticketed by way of United, which might earn simply 344 PQPs:
On this case, you might earn almost twice as many PQPs just by shopping for your ticket on Lufthansa’s website as an alternative of United’s. That would make a giant distinction should you’re attempting to nab last-minute Premier standing.
MileagePlus bank card spending
Flights aren’t the one approach to shut the hole to your 2026 standing objectives; you can even earn PQPs by spending on most United bank cards.
The playing cards that provide PQPs earn them at a fee of 1 PQP per $15 or $20 spent, relying on the cardboard. Every card has a restrict to what number of PQPs you may earn in a calendar yr, however you may stack PQPs from a number of playing cards. This information has the complete scoop on incomes PQPs by way of bank card purchases.
As 2025 winds down, check out your incomes exercise to see what number of extra PQPs you might earn in your card — or if it would make sense to use for one more United card earlier than the tip of the yr.
Listed here are three of our favourite United cobranded playing cards that earn PQPs, together with their present welcome bonuses:
- United℠ Explorer Card (see charges and costs): Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add a licensed consumer to your account within the first three months your account is open.
- United Quest℠ Card (see charges and costs): Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 1,000 Premier qualifying factors after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add a licensed consumer to your account within the first three months your account is open.
- United Membership℠ Card (see charges and costs): Earn 80,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add a licensed consumer to your account within the first three months your account is open.
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Purchase PQPs
In case you have an upcoming reservation with United, you could possibly buy extra miles and PQPs in your journey. To view your provides, go to “My Journeys” and open your reservation, then click on “View all provides” and discover the “Award Accelerator” choice.
Click on on “Be taught Extra,” and you will be taken to a web page the place you may see your present PQP and PQF balances and select to buy MileagePlus miles and PQPs. Listed here are the choices for a one-way flight from Denver to Philadelphia:
It isn’t exhausting to inform that this is not an awesome deal, contemplating you might earn extra PQPs and award miles on a paid United ticket for a similar value. Nevertheless, when you have no flexibility to take one other flight within the final months of 2025, this might be a worthwhile choice — particularly if it’s going to enhance you to one in all United’s highest standing tiers, like Premier 1K.
Talking of shopping for standing, it’s normal for United to supply focused buy-ups to the subsequent standing tier someday in January or February, however traditionally, these have been exorbitantly costly.
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Backside line
Whereas 2025 is drawing to an in depth, there’s nonetheless loads of time left to requalify in your present United Premier elite standing or stage up for subsequent yr. Step one is figuring out the place you stand and what you will earn from any scheduled end-of-year journey so you may determine if a mileage run is best for you. Within the “My United” part of your MileagePlus account, it is easy to see the variety of PQPs and PQFs you have already got beneath “Your Premier progress.”
In the event you’re near your 2026 standing objectives however not fairly there but, put some thought into your journey plans and bank card spending for the remainder of the yr. Reserving flights by way of the appropriate avenue or paying for purchases with the appropriate card may help you recover from the end line.
