Premier status qualification
Premier status qualification requirements
Our approach to Premier® status qualification is designed to ensure that our program is valuable for all Premier members, whether you travel hundreds of miles each week, or a few thousand miles multiple times a year. Now, you'll earn Premier qualifying credit based on just two factors: the value of the tickets you’ve purchased, and the number of flights you’ve taken.
A minimum of 4 flights on United or United Express is always required to achieve Premier status
Why did we update our program?
Measuring Premier qualification based on the dollars you spend and number of flights you take rewards customers equally. We updated the program to ensure our most loyal members get the best value from their benefits.
We also wanted to get rid of factors like fare class multipliers, which made it harder to track your qualifying activity.
Read on to delve into the details of Premier qualification.
About Premier qualifying flights and Premier qualifying points
With Premier qualifying flights (PQF), every flight you take gets you closer to status. And by a flight, we mean a takeoff and landing — no more fare class multipliers and confusing segment math.
Basic Economy tickets will be eligible to earn Premier qualifying points, but will not accrue PQF. Award tickets also do not accrue PQF.
You’ll receive 1 Premier qualifying point (PQP) for each U.S. dollar you spend. Only the base fare of your flight earns PQP. Taxes and fees don’t count toward your spend requirements.
The following purchases earn PQP:
- Base fare + surcharge
- Economy Plus® seating or subscriptions
- Preferred seat purchases
- MileagePlus Upgrade Award co-pays
- Paid upgrades on flights operated by United and United Express
- Flights ticketed and operated by our Star AllianceTM partners
Qualification requirements for Premier status through 2022
We lowered our requirements for all Premier levels so it’s easier to qualify through 2022. Here’s how to qualify for each Premier status level beginning on January 1, 2021, for status through the 2022 program year1:
| 2022 Premier status | PQF + PQP | Or PQP only |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 8 PQF and 3,000 PQP | 3,500 PQP |
| Premier Gold | 16 PQF and 6,000 PQP | 7,000 PQP |
| Premier Platinum | 24 PQF and 9,000 PQP | 10,000 PQP |
| Premier 1K® | 36 PQF and 13,500 PQP | 15,000 PQP |
We’re giving you more PQP to help maintain your status
We’re going to automatically give PQP to Premier members at the beginning of 2021 based on the 2021 Premier status you hold at the end of 2020 in order to give you a jump-start on earning status through 2022.
Learn moreJump-start your journey toward 2022 Premier status
We’re offering a bonus PQP promotion for the very first time and all MileagePlus members are eligible. From January 1 through March 31, 2021, MileagePlus members and current Premier members can earn bonus PQP for the first three PQP-eligible trips you take with United. And the more trips you take, the more PQP you’ll earn, which means you’ll reach Premier status even sooner.
Learn more about this special offerEarning PQF and PQP on partner flights
Previously, if you flew on a Star AllianceTM partner airline and your flight was not ticketed by United, you couldn’t earn Premier qualifying dollars. Today, you’ll receive spend credit on these flights in the form of Premier qualifying points. Your PQP will be equal to award miles* earned divided by 5 if you’re flying on a preferred partner; for other MileagePlus partner airlines, it will be award miles earned divided by 6.
For Star Alliance airlines as well as Air Dolomiti, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Eurowings, Edelweiss, Juneyao Airlines and Olympic Air:
| Airline partner | PQP total |
|---|---|
| Preferred partner PQP | Award miles divided by 5 |
| MileagePlus partner PQP | Award miles divided by 6 |
For example, if you earned 360 award miles for your flight, you’ll receive 72 PQP if you flew with a preferred partner, and 60 PQP if you flew with a MileagePlus partner.
The maximum PQP that can be earned per flight on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines are as follows:
| Class of service | Preferred partner PQP | MileagePlus partner PQP |
|---|---|---|
| First/Business | 1,500 | 1,000 |
| Economy/Premium Economy | 750 | 500 |
You’ll earn PQF on partner airlines as well, except when flying on light fares, basic fares, and award tickets. Learn more about earning with partner airlines.
While we no longer waive the spend requirement for members with international addresses, we have expanded the ability to earn spend credit for these members, which makes qualification consistent for all of our members.
Information for co-branded MileagePlus credit cards
For the 2021 program year, we’re making changes to the way some of our cards earn PQP and qualify for Premier status. Now you can apply PQP earned from your United MileagePlus credit card toward Premier 1K status, when the PQF requirement is met. Learn more
Frequently asked questions
As a special promotion in 2021, we’re making it easier to earn extra PlusPoints after you reach Premier 1K status. Once you reach 1K status and earn 15,000 PQP you’ll receive an additional 20 PlusPoints for every 2,000 PQP you earn thereafter, instead of every 3,000 PQP.*
Qualifying for Premier status through 2022
The 2021 requirements are a reduction from the standard Premier status qualification levels we originally announced for the 2020 program year. In April 2020, we reduced the standard Premier status requirements by 50% for 2020 activity due to interruptions caused by COVID-19.
We recognize that while many members are returning to travel, most members aren’t necessarily flying as much as they used to. For this reason, we updated Premier status requirements for status through 2022, introduced our first ever bonus PQP promotion to help you jump-start your journey toward status, will automatically deposit PQP in Premier accounts based on the 2021 Premier status you hold at the end of 2020, and we will allow PQP earned from your MileagePlus co-branded credit card to count toward 1K status. Best of all, the MileagePlus program is simpler than some other frequent flyer programs because there’s no distance requirement for Premier status, meaning every flight gets you closer to status, no matter how far you fly.
If your status was extended through the 2021 program year, flight activity during 2021 will determine if you have status during the 2022 program year and will help you maintain status after January 31, 2022.
In addition to the normal travel you’ll do in 2021, the easiest way to qualify for status in 2021 through the 2022 program year is to take advantage of our PQP bonus offer and take at least three eligible trips between January 1 and March 31, 2021. For details on what qualifies as an eligible trip, see terms and conditions. We want all members to benefit from this promotion which is why you’re automatically eligible for this offer without registration and regardless of when you booked your trips. If you’re not flying as much, you can take comfort in the fact that PQP earned from your eligible co-branded MileagePlus credit card will count toward Premier status all the way up to 1K status. Members must still fly a minimum of four United flights to be eligible for status, and members using PQP earned from their eligible credit card toward 1K status must also satisfy the PQF requirement for 1K.
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1 New qualification requirements will be effective on January 1, 2021, for status in the 2022 program year.