It’s going to get a little easier to earn MileagePlus Premier status, as you will be able to earn more United PQPs with credit card spend next year. These changes apply to cards issues by both Chase and First Hawaiian Bank. That’s right, FHB issues a United credit card – something I totally forgot about until now.
Before we get into the credit card changes, let’s discuss Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs). To earn status with United, you need to earn a certain number of Premier Qualifying Flight (PQF) credits and PQPs, or a higher amount of PQPs. At current, those requirements are:
- Premier Silver
- 12 PQFs + 4,000 PQPs, or
- 5,000 PQPs
- Premier Gold
- 24 PQFs + 8,000 PQPs, or
- 10,000 PQPs
- Premier Platinum
- 36 PQFs + 12,000 PQPs, or
- 15,000 PQPs
- Premier 1k
- 54 PQFs + 18,000 PQPs, or
- 24,000 PQPs
United MileagePlus members earn PQPs at a rate of one points per dollar on qualifying United flights or flight tickets issued by United (base fare + carrier-imposed surcharges), though government-imposed taxes, fees and charges do not count toward PQP. Qualifying purchases include:
- Flights operated by United® and United Express®
- Flights operated by our Star Alliance™ and connecting partners
- Flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Azul, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, Virgin Australia and Olympic Air
- Economy Plus® seat purchases or Economy Plus subscriptions
- Preferred seat purchases
- Paid upgrades on flights operated by United® and United Express®
- MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
- Award flights operated by United® and United Express®
- Eligible co-branded credit cards
Today, United credit cards earn 500 PQPs for every $12,000 spent, with a cap of up to 1,000 PQPs for the United Explorer Card & FHB card, 6,000 PQPs for the United Quest Card, and up to 8,000 PQPs for the United Club Infinite Card.
Earn More United PQPs with Credit Card Spend
In 2024, it’s getting easier to attain Premier status, as you’ll be able to earn more United PQPs with credit card spend. Beginning January 1, 2024:
- you’ll earn 25 PQPs for every $500 spent on any United credit card issues by Chase or First Hawaiian Bank
- credit card PQPs now count toward each status level, including Premier 1k
- the annual earning cap for United Club Infinite cardholders is increasing to 10,000 points
- the 15,000-point cap for combined spending across multiple Chase United cards is going away
PQP Boost
Have United Premier status this year? United is helping you to attain status quicker with a beginning of year boost:
- 250 PQPs for Premier Silver
- 500 PQPs for Premier Gold
- 750 PQPs for Premier Platinum
- 1,250 PQPs for Premier 1k
Final Thoughts
Clearly, United is taking advantage of the awful changes Delta Air Lines implemented recently by keeping MileagePlus mostly the same, while also making friendly tweaks such as letting members earn more United PQPs with credit card spend. But is that the best way to earn PQPs? Probably not. Sure, to earn 1,000 PQPs via credit card spend will drop to $20,000 from $24,000, but that’s still kind of crazy – especially if you can earn a better return using a different card.
That said, you do you. After all, I’m the guy that largely spent my way to Marriott Lifetime Platinum status… So who am I to judge?