Quick Points: Stack Premier qualifying points from United credit cards
One of the metrics you can use to earn United Premier status is Premier qualifying points, or PQPs.
You'll usually earn PQPs through flights, but you can also earn them by spending on select United Airlines credit cards. Best of all, you can stack PQPs from multiple United cards to reach status faster. Here's what you should know.
Related: Why someone in your family needs a United credit card
Requirements for United Premier status
To qualify for United Premier status valid through Jan. 31, 2027, you must take at least four United or United Express flights and meet one of the following requirements through your activity in 2025.
| Status tier | Requirements to qualify through PQPs alone | Requirements to qualify through PQPs and Premier qualifying flights |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 6,000 PQPs | 5,000 PQPs and 15 PQFs |
| Premier Gold | 12,000 PQPs | 10,000 PQPs and 30 PQFs |
| Premier Platinum | 18,000 PQPs | 15,000 PQPs and 45 PQFs |
| Premier 1K | 28,000 PQPs | 22,000 PQPsand 60 PQFs |
You can get United Premier Silver through United's partnership with Marriott, and frequent travelers may be able to snag lifetime United status. But otherwise, you must requalify for United Premier status each year to continue enjoying its benefits.
Related: United elite status is slipping further out of my reach — here's what I'm doing as a result
Earning Premier qualifying points through United credit cards
Most travelers will earn most of their PQPs through flights, but spending on United credit cards is a great way to earn a few more.
United made several changes for 2025, so now the earning rate for PQPs and the maximum number of PQPs you can earn vary based on card type as follows:
| Card | Earning rate | Maximum number of PQPs you can earn on this card within a calendar year |
|---|---|---|
| United Club℠ Infinite Card | 1 PQP per $15 | 15,000 PQPs |
| United Quest℠ Card | 1 PQP per $20 | 9,000 PQPs |
| United℠ Explorer Card | 1 PQP per $20 | 1,000 PQPs |
| United Club℠ Business Card | 1 PQP per $15 | 15,000 PQPs |
| United℠ Business Card | 1 PQP per $20 | 1,000 PQPs |
The information for the United Club Business 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.
The United Club Infinite Card and United Club Business Card earn PQPs at the highest rate. So, if you focus on earning PQPs through spending on a United card, you'll want to spend on one or both of these cards.
Taken to the extreme, you could spend $225,000 on one and $195,000 on the other during a calendar year to earn 28,000 PQPs. This and four United or United Express flights would let you snag top-tier United 1K status.
Related: Is the United Club Infinite Card annual fee worth it?
Bottom line
So, you could theoretically earn all of the PQPs you'd need for top-tier Premier 1K status from credit card spending.
But you'd need to split $420,000 of spending within a calendar year between these two cards to earn 28,000 PQPs. While this amount of spending might be attainable for some affluent consumers with small businesses, it's completely unreasonable for most of us. Plus, it's unlikely you'll get significant value from having United Premier 1K status if you don't fly with the airline enough to earn a decent chunk of PQPs from flying.
So, while you can stack United credit cards to earn more PQPs, I don't recommend it. Instead, I recommend earning most of your PQPs from flying. Then, consider using one United credit card — ideally the United Club Infinite Card or United Club Business Card since these earn PQPs at the highest rates — to top off your PQP balance and reach a slightly higher tier than flying alone would get you.