The ultimate guide to earning elite status with United cards

United Airlines MileagePlus members with cobranded Chase credit cards can earn Premier qualifying points toward United elite status simply by spending on these cards. And, as part of United's recent credit card refresh, some of these cards now allow you to earn even more PQPs.

There are two ways to earn United's coveted Premier elite status and all the benefits that come with it: by earning PQPs alone or by earning a combination of PQPs and taking Premier qualifying flights. Either way, you'll need lots of PQPs. Aside from spending on United credit cards and purchasing PQPs (which is rarely worth doing), the only way to earn PQPs is through flying — or, perhaps more accurately, spending lots of money on United and Star Alliance flights.

So, is earning PQPs on a credit card through everyday spending better than breaking the bank on flights? In most cases, you'll have the best luck using a combination of the two. Let's look at how MileagePlus credit cards earn PQPs toward elite status.

Related: What exactly is elite status in travel — and how can I get it?

Earning PQPs on United credit cards

Over the years, United MileagePlus has made it easier and easier to earn PQPs with credit cards — while also making it harder to earn elite status.

In 2024, United instituted an earning rate of 25 PQPs per $500 spent on many of its cobranded cards (up to each card's PQP maximum). This was notably better than before, as you had to spend at least $12,000 to earn any PQPs via United cards.

Since then, United has changed the earning rate to 1 PQP per $15 or $20 spent, depending on the card. This makes it easier to work your way toward United elite status, as you no longer need to spend in increments of $500 to start earning PQPs.

Additionally, all card-earned PQPs now count toward any status level, including the PQP-only requirement for top-tier Premier 1K. This wasn't always the case for Premier 1K.

However, even with these changes, earning PQPs from credit card spending isn't as easy as earning Loyalty Points toward American Airlines elite status with a credit card. The earning rates are relatively low (compared to 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent for American), and each card has a limit on how many PQPs you can earn.

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Here, we'll break down how each United cobranded card earns PQPs toward elite status and explain their current welcome bonuses.

Cards that don't earn PQPs

There are a few no-annual-fee United cards that don't earn PQPs through credit card spending:

• United Gateway℠ Card: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on qualifying purchases in the first three months from opening an account (see rates and fees)
• United MileagePlus Card with no annual fee (no longer open to new applicants)
• United TravelBank Card (no longer open to new applicants)

The information for the United MileagePlus Card and United TravelBank Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Cards that earn PQPs

The following United cards earn PQPs, though earning rates vary slightly and earning caps vary even more. As part of United's recent credit card changes, the PQP earning caps on several of these cards have been raised, allowing you to earn far more PQPs each year than previously possible.

Some of these are no longer available to new cardmembers, but if you already have them in your wallet, they could be a useful addition to your United elite status strategy.

The information for the MileagePlus Awards, MileagePlus Card with an annual fee, MileagePlus Business, MileagePlus Select, Presidential Plus, Presidential Plus Business, and Club Business cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

As you can see, most cards help you pursue United elite status at a rate of 1 PQP per $20 spent. The United Club and United Club Business cards earn at a faster rate of 1 PQP per $15 spent.

Two of these cards also provide a head start toward status: 1,000 bonus PQPs each year for the Quest card and 1,500 bonus PQPs each year for the Club card. To put this in perspective, earning 1,500 PQPs through spending on the Club card would require $22,500 in purchases — so, if United elite status is important to you, this PQP head start perk could help offset the hefty $695 annual fee on this premium credit card.

Related: The best credit cards to reach elite status

Can you earn United elite status with credit cards?

Since United raised the PQP earning caps on so many cards, you may be wondering: Can I earn United Premier status solely with credit card spending? The answer is ... not really.

First off, to be eligible for any United elite status tier, you must take at least four United or United Express flights in a calendar year. So, although United lets you earn status with PQPs alone (or a combination of PQPs and Premier qualifying flights), you must still fly at least four times to earn any status.

Once you take those four flights, which will earn you at least a few PQPs (even on basic economy tickets and flights booked with miles), you could earn the rest of the PQPs needed for status with credit cards alone — in theory.

For example, you can now earn up to 18,000 PQPs on the United Quest card — enough to reach valuable Premier Platinum status. But this would require some serious spending. After receiving the Quest card's annual bonus of 1,000 PQPs, you would need to spend $340,000 on the card to earn the remaining 17,000 PQPs needed to achieve Platinum status. This kind of spending isn't feasible for most of us.

The only exception might be the United Club Business card. You can earn up to 28,000 PQPs in a year (enough for top-tier Premier 1K status) by spending $420,000 on the card — which could be attainable for some business owners.

You're generally better off shooting for status with a combination of flights and PQPs. Paid United flights in all fare classes earn 1 PQP per dollar spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges — a much faster rate than earning PQPs with credit cards. And if you pay for your flight with a United card, you can double dip. For instance, if your base fare was $100 and you paid with the Quest card, which earns 1 PQP per $20 spent, you'd nab a total of 105 PQPs.

Don't forget that you can now stack PQPs earned on multiple United cards. In the past, MileagePlus members were limited to a maximum of 15,000 total PQPs across all credit cards, but those days are gone. You'll still be limited to each card's PQP earning cap, but if you max out one card, you could start spending on another to earn more PQPs.

Related: United launches new status match offer for 2025

Bottom line

MileagePlus members can now earn more PQPs through United credit cards than ever before. However, you'll need a lot of spending to earn a significant number of PQPs on these cards, despite some cards' enhanced perks like annual PQP bonuses. In most cases, it's not practical to earn United elite status with credit cards alone. Plus, you have to take at least four United flights to qualify for status anyway.

However, the ability to supplement PQPs earned on flights with PQPs earned on credit cards makes United elite status more attainable. The best approach for most travelers is a combination of the two. If you're pursuing Premier status this year and you hold a United credit card — or you're considering applying for one — be sure to review each card's updated PQP earning guidelines, benefits and annual fees to understand your options.