The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Advertiser disclosure
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
News
United unveils big Premier status, PlusPoints changes for 2025
Zach Griff is a senior reporter at TPG. He writes travel and product reviews, deep dives into loyalty programs, news about the airline industry and more.
October 29, 2024 • 10 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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.
Related stories
Quick summary
United is increasing the requirements to earn Premier elite status in 2025, making it significantly harder for travelers to qualify.
Thresholds for both flight segments and qualifying points are rising by about 25% across all status tiers, with at least four flights required on United-operated aircraft.
Top-tier members will have more ways to redeem upgrade credits (PlusPoints), including options like bonus miles, cash credits and gifting status to others.
Existing elite members will receive a higher head-start bonus of qualifying points early in 2025 to help with requalification.
What to consider
Travelers must meet higher qualifying thresholds, either through a combination of flights and points or points alone, with stricter requirements for each tier.
Upgrade credits (PlusPoints) will gain new redemption options, but full details will be announced mid-2025.
Some offers and program changes mentioned may no longer be available, as noted in the article.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of new status-earning requirements, PlusPoints redemption options and how these changes impact frequent United flyers.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
If you're a loyal United flyer, you might want to pay attention to this one.
The Chicago-based carrier just announced a slew of changes to its Premier elite status program, and they aren't necessarily all good news.
The updates start with earning Premier status, which is getting harder next year with new increased qualifying thresholds. But once you earn status, the perks may be a little bit more exciting, especially for those who've struggled to use PlusPoints in the past.
Here's everything you need to know about United's big Premier program update.
Earning Premier status in 2025
Earning Premier status next year is going to be harder than ever before, as United is raising the thresholds required to attain elite perks.
To earn status in 2025 (valid through Jan. 31, 2027), you'll need a bunch of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs), as you can see in the chart below.
Tier
Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) + Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs)
Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) only
Premier Silver
5,000 PQPs + 15 PQFs
6,000 PQP
Premier Gold
10,000 PQPs + 30 PQFs
12,000 PQP
Premier Platinum
15,000 PQPs + 45 PQFs
18,000 PQP
Premier 1K
22,000 PQPs + 60 PQFs
28,000 PQP
Note that there are two tracks to earning Premier status. The first combines PQPs and PQFs, and the second is a higher PQP-only goal. Each track requires at least four flights on United or United Express metal — i.e., not on partners.
On average, the thresholds are increasing by about 25% across the board. That's pretty significant, especially since the airline's existing thresholds weren't exactly too generous. To put some (rough) dollars to these numbers, a traveler would need spend a whopping $28,000 on United flights to earn Premier 1K status via the PQP-only track.
Luc Bondar, chief operating officer of MileagePlus, told TPG in an interview that this change is about “wanting to reward the value we get with the value we give, and make sure those two things are in balance.”
It's worth noting that United hasn't raised the Premier qualifying requirements since it first introduced PQPs and PQFs in 2019. During the peak pandemic years (2020, 2021 and 2022), United temporarily reduced the status requirements due to low travel demand, but in 2023, it finally enacted the requirements it first unveiled back in 2019 but hadn't actually implemented.
Now the airline is ready to raise the thresholds once again.
Of course, this move will sting for anyone who thinks that United's existing requirements are already a stretch. After all, higher requirements mean that you'll need to spend and fly more to achieve status.
However, the elite ranks have likely swelled in recent years. While it may feel good to unlock elite status, it's hard for airlines to deliver the elite benefits they promise when so many members are competing for the (often unavailable) first-class upgrade or extra-legroom exit row seat.
To that end, Bondar shared that “a lot of the benefits that play out through Premier program are capacity constrained … benefits like upgrades, like an early boarding experience ... if everyone's getting on the plane at the same time, no one's got status.”
You'll have to crunch the numbers to see if the new metrics work for your travel patterns. But the move reminds me of Delta Air Lines’ now famous quote, "When everyone's an elite flyer, no one is."
United adds new ways to redeem PlusPoints
While earning status will be harder than before, at least it should be much easier to actually redeem the best benefit of top-tier status: PlusPoints.
When Premier Platinum and 1K members earn status, they're awarded 40 and 280 PlusPoints, respectively. (You also receive 20 PlusPoints for every 3,000 PQPs earned from flying beyond 22,000.)
Ever since their introduction, PlusPoints have been an upgrade currency, allowing top-tier elites to apply them to bump into higher cabins, pending availability.
And in the nearly five years since PlusPoints have been in circulation, it's gotten harder than ever to actually confirm an upgrade. With premium demand so high, there are fewer business-class seats available for upgrades.
The good news is that instead of letting PlusPoints expire at the end of the year if you can’t confirm an upgrade, United will give you four new additional ways to redeem PlusPoints next year, including:
A PQP or PQF deposit
TravelBank cash
Bonus miles
Gifting Premier status to other MileagePlus members
The airline didn't have much to share beyond this tease. It promised more details about these PlusPoints updates in mid-2025.
”We call the overall strategy 'PlusPoints utility,'” Bondar said. He explained that customers have asked for years for more ways to use their PlusPoints, and now the airline is delivering on that with more utility for PlusPoints.
As it has done over the past few years, United will grant existing Premier members a starter pack of PQPs in the new year to give them a head start on requalifying.
Specifically, you'll receive the following number of PQPs in early 2025 (at a yet-undisclosed date) based on the status you earned in 2024:
Premier Silver: 300 PQPs
Premier Gold: 600 PQPs
Premier Platinum: 900 PQPs
Premier 1K: 1,400 PQPs
Note that these amounts represent a roughly 20% increase compared to the bonus PQPs awarded last year.
Free PQPs certainly don't hurt, but they alone won't do much to help you requalify for status. You'll still need to do a lot of flying (or swiping, more on that below) to help you cross the finish line.
This starter bonus effectively makes it a bit easier for someone to requalify. If you're rising the ranks to Premier status for the first time, you'll need to earn the full set of PQFs and/or PQPs, as outlined in the table above.
Earn Premier status from credit card spend
Of the three big U.S. airlines, United has been the stingiest about awarding status for spending on a cobranded credit card. The airline isn't doing a 180 next year, but it will at least make it a bit easier to boost your status using your United credit card.
For one, United will improve the PQP earning rate across its credit card portfolio, with the best improvement coming to its top-of-the-line cards.
United Club℠ Card (see rates and fees): 1 PQP per $15 spent
Note that while the earning rates are improving on the Club cards, all other cards will still earn at the same rate as before (it's just the frequency of earning that will be higher). In the past, United has awarded 25 PQP for every $500 spent on these cards. Now, there won't be a $500 minimum.
In addition to the changes to the earning rates, United will increase the maximum number of PQPs you can earn from certain cards.
United Club℠ Card: 28,000 PQP (from 15,000 PQP)
United Club℠ Business Card: 28,000 PQP (from 15,000 PQP)
United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees): 18,000 PQP (from 9,000 PQP)
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.
Bondar explained the rationale behind this move by saying that United has historically been among the weakest in offering status earning for cobranded spending.
But now that this segment is more important than ever to the bottom line, the airline is readjusting its strategy (but stopping short of letting flyers just spend their way to top-tier status, a la American).
“We’ve been very intentional and thoughtful about how we've integrated more earning opportunity on our credit cards. We have continued to increase both the rate of earning and the range of products on which that earning can apply from what was a relatively thin offering five or six years ago.”
Speaking about why United won’t simply let travelers spend their way to top-tier status, Bondar emphasized that “this is a program that reflects the relationship that customers have with United Airlines, and flying is the ultimate reward that all of our travelers are seeking. We see it in all the redemption activity. 97% of all redemption is for travel.”
United is gearing up for what's poised to be another busy year of travel with some major adjustments to its Premier program.
The changes are headlined by the introduction of higher requirements to earn status and upgrades to PlusPoints. Bondar said the higher requirements are designed in part to help rebalance elite tiers.
“These thresholds are very much a function of where the market sits today. They're a function of fares. They're a function of demand, they're a function of the population that we see at each one of those Premier tiers. And we're very confident that what these thresholds do is help us ensure that the Premier population doesn't get bloated.”
Though the increased thresholds will sting for many, United is sweetening the deal for its best elites with more ways to use PlusPoints, such as gifting Premier status and converting them to miles. This should definitely help people use their PlusPoints (instead of letting them expire unused at the end of the year if upgrades don't clear).
Of course, the news will benefit those who fly United and its partners a lot. But for casual travelers who might have ended up with Gold or Platinum status in previous years, you might want to enjoy those perks now before they get significantly harder to achieve.
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.
