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Guides
Last-minute strategies for earning United Airlines Premier elite status
Featured image by NICOLAS ECONOMOU/NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
Rachel Craft is a travel writer at TPG. She's excited about introducing more people to the world of points & miles and helping fellow travel newbies make the most of their points.
Kyle Olsen is the former points and miles reporter at TPG. He specializes in maximizing points and miles, elite status and credit cards so readers travel more comfortably and at a lower cost.
also contributed to this story
October 27, 2025 • 10 min read
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Quick summary
United Airlines elite status for 2026 requires meeting specific thresholds of Premier qualifying points (PQPs) and Premier qualifying flights (PQFs) by December 31, 2025.
You can qualify with PQPs alone or a combination of PQPs and PQFs, but at least four paid United-operated segments are always required.
PQPs can be earned through paid and award flights, seat upgrades, select seating purchases and certain credit card spending, while PQFs are primarily earned by flying eligible segments.
Booking flights through partner airlines may yield more PQPs for the same price compared to booking directly with United, depending on the partner and fare class.
What to consider
Basic economy fares do not earn PQFs but do count toward the four-segment minimum and can earn PQPs.
Not all purchases or flight types qualify for PQPs or PQFs—award flights on partner airlines and some nonflight purchases are excluded.
You may have the option to purchase additional PQPs for upcoming trips, but this is often less cost-effective than flying or using other methods.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed strategies for maximizing PQPs and PQFs, including partner booking nuances and end-of-year planning tips.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
As the sun begins to set on 2025, your time is running out to qualify or requalify for airline elite status for 2026. Now is the time to check your account balances, plan your travel for the rest of the year and see where you will end up by Dec. 31.
United uses two elite status metrics: Premier qualifying flights, or PQFs, and Premier qualifying points, or PQPs.
You can opt to earn status with PQPs alone, or with a combination of PQPs and PQFs. Here are the requirements for 2026 status:
Status tier
Requirements (PQPs only)
Requirements (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
However, keep in mind that qualifying for any Premier status requires flying at least four paid segments operated by United or United Express in a calendar year. In most cases, those four paid segments will also count as PQFs.
Premier qualifying flights
You will earn 1 PQF for every flight segment on United, United Express and United's partner airlines — including eligible award flights. So, if your flight has one stop, you'll get 2 PQFs.
The only paid flights that don't count as PQFs are basic economy tickets, flights to Venezuela and flights to Cuba that are not operated by United. In addition, award flights operated by partner airlines won't accrue PQFs.
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.
Although basic economy fares don't accrue PQFs, they do earn PQPs and count toward the four-segment minimum for status.
As with PQFs, you can't earn PQPs on award flights with partner airlines. You'll only earn PQFs and PQPs on the United-operated segments of your award flight.
United Polaris business class. KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Flights booked through United
Let’s start with the basics: earning PQPs on United tickets.
If you book 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 by a 016 ticket number), whether the flight is operated by United or a partner airline.
This means you can maximize your PQPs on fares that are predominantly base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges (as opposed to taxes and other fees). 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 a given flight will earn by clicking on "Details." Here's an example of a one-stop flight from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), with both segments operated by United. All tickets earn 2 PQFs, but the number of PQPs increases with the fare price.
UNITED AIRLINES
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 that include partner-operated flights will only earn PQPs on the United segments.
Here's a similar itinerary from DEN to BER, which costs the same number of miles — except this option earns fewer PQFs and PQPs because one segment is operated by a partner airline. That difference could make our break your elite status dreams, so be sure to check all your options before booking.
UNITED AIRLINES
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.
PQPs are awarded to the traveler, not the person who purchased the ticket. So if you booked and paid for tickets for your entire family, you would only earn PQPs on your ticket, not your relatives' tickets.
Partner itineraries — flights booked through a partner airline's site where you enter your United MileagePlus number at booking — are the sweet spot of United Premier status, because you can earn lots of PQPs for a fraction of the normal price.
The number of PQPs you can earn depends on the partner airline:
Preferred partner airlines: Earn 1 PQP per 5 award miles earned, up to a maximum of 750 PQPs per flight for economy and premium economy and 1,500 PQPs for first and business class.
MileagePlus partners: Earn 1 PQP per 6 award miles earned, 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. You can see a full list of preferred and MileagePlus partners on United's website.
To make it even more complex, the number of miles (and thus PQPs) you can earn varies from one airline to the next. With most United partners, miles are awarded 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 on United's website.
Here's an example of a partner itinerary that would earn significantly more than the 1 PQP per dollar you'd get by booking through United:
LUFTHANSA/THE POINTS GUY
This one-way Lufthansa economy ticket from Los Angeles to Krakow, Poland, costs $398 and is ticketed in the T fare class (50% accrual basis per Lufthansa's earning chart), so it would earn the following 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
Total: 3,244 miles earned
Since Lufthansa is a preferred partner, it earns 1 PQP for every 5 award miles:
3,375 miles earned divided by 5 equals 675 PQPs
Compare that to the same flight at the same price booked and ticketed through United, which would earn just 344 PQPs:
UNITED AIRLINES
In this case, you could earn nearly twice as many PQPs simply by buying your ticket on Lufthansa's site instead of United's. That could make a big difference if you're trying to nab last-minute Premier status.
MileagePlus credit card spending
Flights aren't the only way to close the gap to your 2026 status goals; you can also earn PQPs by spending on most United credit cards.
The cards that offer PQPs earn them at a rate of 1 PQP per $15 or $20 spent, depending on the card. Each card has a limit to how many PQPs you can earn in a calendar year, but you can stack PQPs from multiple cards. This guide has the full scoop on earning PQPs through credit card purchases.
As 2025 winds down, take a look at your earning activity to see how many more PQPs you could earn on your card — or if it might make sense to apply for another United card before the end of the year.
Here are three of our favorite United cobranded cards that earn PQPs, along with their current welcome bonuses:
United℠ Explorer Card (see ): Earn up to 80,000 bonus miles: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after adding an authorized user in the first three months from account opening.
United Quest℠ Card (see ): Earn up to 90,000 bonus miles and 500 PQP: Earn 500 PQP after your first purchase and 80,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after adding an authorized user in the first three months from account opening.
United Club℠ Card (see ): Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after adding an authorized user in the first three months from account opening.
If you have an upcoming reservation with United, you may be able to purchase additional miles and PQPs for your trip. To view your offers, go to “My Trips” and open your reservation, then click "View all offers" and find the “Award Accelerator” option.
UNITED AIRLINES
Click on “Learn More,” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can see your current PQP and PQF balances and choose to purchase MileagePlus miles and PQPs. Here are the options for a one-way flight from Denver to Philadelphia:
UNITED AIRLINES
It’s not hard to tell that this isn't a great deal, considering 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 another flight in the last months of 2025, this could be a worthwhile 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.
While 2025 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."
If you're close to your 2026 status goals but not quite there yet, put some thought into your travel plans and credit card spending for the rest of the year. Booking flights through the right avenue or paying for purchases with the right card can help you get over the finish line.
