Final-minute elite standing methods for United Premier standing

Because the solar begins to set on 2024, your time is operating out to qualify or requalify for airline elite standing for 2025. That is the second to test your mileage balances, calculate your journey for the remainder of the 12 months and see the place you’ll find yourself by Dec. 31.

Should you assume you’ll end wanting your United Airways MileagePlus Premier standing objective, listed below are some concepts for incomes the Premier qualifying factors and Premier qualifying flights you want earlier than the top of the 12 months.

Associated: Reader success story: How 1 reader leveraged free elite standing to attain an improve on his 2nd United flight ever

earn United standing

In 2019, United shifted away from Premier qualifying miles, Premier qualifying segments and Premier qualifying {dollars}. Now, there are two elite standing metrics: Premier qualifying flights (also referred to as PQFs) and Premier qualifying factors (aka PQPs).

Premier qualifying flights

To qualify for any standing with United, you need to fly no less than 4 paid segments on United or United Specific in a calendar 12 months. These 4 paid flights may even depend as PQFs, assuming you do not e-book fundamental economic system tickets. Here is how accruals on fundamental economic system fares examine with customary fares:

Your remaining PQFs will be on United flights or on eligible associate fares, which we’ll focus on later. On a paid United flight with one cease, you will earn two PQFs.

Consider it this fashion: For each takeoff, you earn one PQF. The one flights that do not depend as PQFs are fundamental economic system tickets, flights to Venezuela and flights to Cuba that aren’t operated by United.

Premier qualifying factors

There are a number of methods to earn PQPs, together with paid and award flights, seating assignments and upgrades, and bank card spending. We’ll cowl these intimately later.

You possibly can obtain every standing degree with a sure variety of PQPs alone or with a mixture of PQPs and PQFs. Listed here are the necessities for 2025 standing:

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Associated: Flights, bank cards and extra: earn miles with the United MileagePlus program

Methods to earn extra PQPs

The one strategy to earn extra Premier qualifying flights is to, effectively, fly extra. However there are a number of methods to earn PQPs, they usually do not all require leaving the bottom.

United flights

Let’s begin with the plain: You earn PQPs on paid United tickets.

Should you booked your flight by means of United in any fare class, all clients (together with these with Premier standing) earn 1 PQP per greenback spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges. This is applicable to all United-issued tickets (indicated with a 016 ticket quantity), whether or not the flight is operated by United or a associate airline.

Because of this each time potential, you need your flights on fares which are predominantly base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges (versus taxes). Sadly, worldwide itineraries typically have excessive government-imposed taxes and costs that do not earn PQPs.

As you seek for flights on United’s web site, you’ll be able to see the PQPs and PQFs you will earn on a given flight by clicking “Particulars.”

As you’ll be able to see, all fare lessons besides fundamental economic system earn 1 PQF for this flight from Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) to Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX). All tickets earn PQPs, however the quantity will increase with the fare worth.

You possibly can even earn PQPs on flights and upgrades booked with miles, albeit at a a lot decrease charge. You will get 1 PQP for each 100 MileagePlus miles redeemed on United and United Specific flights and seat upgrades. Award itineraries with non-United-operated flights will solely earn PQPs on the United segments.

You may as well earn PQPs on Most well-liked and Financial system Plus seating and paid cabin upgrades at a charge of 1 PQP for each greenback spent (excluding taxes and costs). Nonetheless, word that different nonflight purchases like baggage charges and United Membership lounge memberships do not earn PQPs, nor do sure personal bulk fares and journey trade fares.

Associated: journey extra for fewer miles with United’s Excursionist Perk

Companion flights

Companion itineraries — flights booked by means of a associate airline’s web site the place you enter your United MileagePlus quantity at reserving — are the place the fantastic thing about incomes a number of PQPs for a fraction of the traditional worth kicks in. Tickets with United’s companions have allowed TPGers to requalify for Premier 1K standing for a fraction of the $18,000-plus that it might take to achieve Premier 1K by flying completely on United flights.

You will earn 1 PQP per 5 award miles earned on most well-liked associate airways (as much as a most of 750 PQPs per flight for economic system and premium economic system, and 1,500 PQPs for first and enterprise class) and 1 PQP per 6 award miles earned on MileagePlus companions (as much as a most of 500 PQPs per flight in economic system and premium economic system, and 1,000 PQPs in first and enterprise class).

The complicated half is that “most well-liked companions” and “MileagePlus companions” don’t have anything to do with which airways are in Star Alliance. For example, Aegean Airways and Air Canada are each members of Star Alliance, however Aegean is taken into account a MileagePlus associate for the needs of incomes PQPs whereas Air Canada is classed as a most well-liked associate. You possibly can see a full checklist of most well-liked and MileagePlus companions right here.

The variety of miles, and thus PQPs, you earn is determined by the airline. With most United companions, together with Star Alliance and different companions, you earn miles based mostly on three elements: the gap flown, the fare class and the airline that operates your flight. You possibly can discover every associate’s miles-earning pointers right here.

For a full breakdown of how this works, try our information to incomes PQPs with companions. However here is an instance of a associate itinerary that will earn considerably greater than 1 PQP per greenback spent:

This one-way Lufthansa economic system ticket from Los Angeles to Krakow prices $438 and is ticketed within the T fare class (50% accrual foundation), so it might earn the next MileagePlus miles:

• L.A. to Frankfurt: 5,806 miles flown multiplied by 50% = 2,903 miles earned
• Frankfurt to Krakow: 500 miles flown multiplied by 50% = 250 miles earned
• Complete: 3,153 miles earned

Since Lufthansa is a most well-liked associate, it earns 1 PQP for each 5 award miles:

• 3,153 miles earned divided by 5 = 630 PQPs

Examine that to the identical flight on the identical worth booked and ticketed by means of United, which might solely earn 367 PQPs.

MileagePlus bank card spending

You possibly can earn PQPs by spending on most United bank cards. United Chase cobranded playing cards earn 25 PQPs for each $500 you spend, however every card has a special PQP restrict for the calendar 12 months. This information has the complete scoop on how you can earn PQPs by charging in your United bank card.

Listed here are three of our favourite United cobranded playing cards that earn PQPs, together with their present welcome bonuses:

• United℠ Explorer Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• United Quest℠ Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• United Membership℠ Infinite Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

Associated: Finest United Airways bank cards

Purchase PQPs

If in case you have an upcoming reservation with United, chances are you’ll be prompted to buy further miles to your journey. To view your affords, go to “My Journeys” and open your reservation. Then, scroll all the way down to the “Award Accelerator” possibility.

Click on “Study extra,” and you will be taken to a web page the place you’ll be able to buy MileagePlus miles and PQPs. Listed here are the choices for this one-way flight from Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) to Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT):

Except you are making an attempt to purchase as much as fill a small hole, it is not onerous to inform that is a fairly horrible deal, contemplating that you might earn extra PQPs and award miles on a paid United ticket for a similar worth. Nonetheless, you probably have no flexibility to take a flight within the remaining couple months of 2024, this might be a stable possibility — particularly if it’s going to enhance you to one in all United’s highest standing tiers (like Premier 1K).

Talking of shopping for standing, it’s normal for United to supply focused buy-ups to the subsequent standing tier someday in January or February, however traditionally, these have been exorbitantly costly.

Associated: Why I contemplate my United miles to be price 5 cents apiece

Backside line

Whereas 2024 is drawing to a detailed, there’s nonetheless loads of time left to requalify to your present United Premier elite standing or degree up for subsequent 12 months. Step one is figuring out the place you stand and what you will earn from any scheduled end-of-year journey so you’ll be able to determine if a mileage run is best for you. Within the “My United” part of your MileagePlus account, it is easy to see the variety of PQPs and PQFs you have already got underneath “Your Premier progress.”

To help elite members in sustaining their standing, United has made one-time Premier qualifying flight deposits into their accounts initially of the final couple of years. It is potential these will return in early 2025. Nonetheless, these will not make it easier to shut the hole for this 12 months’s qualification.