Change is in the air, and I don’t mean the changing seasons. Rather, it seems as is now is the time for airline loyalty program changes, with the latest announcement being for the upcoming United MileagePlus 2025 changes. However, these aren’t like those recently announced by Alaska Airlines.
In its recent announcement, Alaska Airlines made largely consumer-friendly changes to its Mileage Plan program. Some may chock this up to regulatory pressure to not devalue its program as a condition of obtaining approval to acquire Hawaiian Airlines. However, if that were the case, Alaska Air could have made no changes at all. Instead, they made changes that rewards its frequent fliers more, while also making it easier to earn status.
Unlike the Alaska Mileage Plan 2025 changes, the United MileagePlus 2025 changes seems to be aimed at thinning the number elites the program has. Though, it’s worth noting that both programs seem to be pushing credit card use more.
United MileagePlus 2025 Changes
Announced on October 29, 2024, the United MileagePlus 2025 changes are the polar opposite of what Alaska is doing. At this stage, virtually nothing about the program is changing, expect for the number of Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) and Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) you’re required to earn to obtain status.
For 2024, MileagePlus members must earn the following PQPs and PQFs to earn or maintain status in 2025:
- Silver: 5,000 PQPs or 12 PQFs + 4,000 PQPs
- Gold: 10,000 PQPs or 24 PQFs + 8,000 PQPs
- Platinum: 15,000 PQPs or 36 PQFs and 12,000 PQPs
- 1K: 24,000 PQPs or 54 PQFs and 18,000 PQPs
As a reminder, you earn 1 PQP for every $1 you spend with United BEFORE tax. Moreover, at least four of your flight must take place on United or United Express metal in a given qualifying year.
With the upcoming United MileagePlus 2025 changes, we’ll see the above requirements change to
- Silver: 6,000 PQPs or 15 PQFs + 5,000 PQPs
- Gold: 12,000 PQPs or 30 PQFs + 10,000 PQPs
- Platinum: 18,000 PQPs or 45 PQFs and 15,000 PQPs
- 1K: 28,000 PQPs or 60 PQFs and 22,000 PQPs
As you can see, these are not minor increases – especially when you consider that even the smallest increase represents an additional $1,000 in spending.
Starter PQPs
As was the case this past year, United is offering current elite members a kick-start to their PQP earnings in 2025. If you earn 2025 Premier status by December 31, 2024, you’ll receive the specified amount of PQPs in 2025 as follows:
- Silver: 300 PQPs
- Gold: 600 PQPs
- Platinum: 900 PQPs
- 1K: 1,400 PQPs
That’s not a lot of PQPs, especially compared to how many you must earn next year to maintain status. But, every little bit helps, I suppose.
Co-Brand Credit Card Updates
As I mentioned earlier, some of the United MileagePlus 2025 changes focuses on credit cards. This is to be expected, as cards are the cash cows of these types of programs. And while there aren’t large changes occurring in the area, you can see United trying to push people towards their most expensive card products. Why do I say this? Well, they’re enhancing the PQP benefit of their top-tier cards – the United Club Infinite Card and United Club Business Card – both of which will now earn 1 PQP for every $15 spent rather than the $20 threshold all other cards have.
With the above enhancement, credit card PQP earning limits are also changing for select cards. Specifically, the United Club Infinite Card and United Club Business Card will see their cap increase from 10,000 PQPs to 15,000 PQPs per year, while the United Quest card will go from 6,000 PQPs to 9,000 PQPs.
Hilariously, the First Hawaiian Bank United and United Business World Elite Mastercard are also mentioned, as they will now earn 1 PQP per $20 spent, up to a maximum of 1,000 PQPs per year.
PointsPlus Updates
The final part of the United MileagePlus 2025 changes is more of a teaser than a formal announcement, as new benefits were unveiled, but how they’ll work, what their pricing looks like, etc. wasn’t disclosed at the time. However, we do know that the new benefits include:
- Premier qualifying points (PQP) or Premier qualifying flights (PQF)
- TravelBank cash
- Bonus miles
- Gifting Premier status to other MileagePlus members
As a reminder, PointsPlus is an award program for Platinum and 1K members. You receive 80 Points Plus points after achieving Platinum status and another 240 after obtaining 1K status. You’ll also earn 20 PointsPlus points for every 3,000 PQPs earned beyond 18,000. Today, you can redeem these points for seat upgrades, with prices ranging from 10 to 80 points, and the new benefits will become available in mid-2025.
United MileagePlus 2025 Changes, Final Thoughts
I’m not a United person, so I have no skin in this game. However, I’m sure feelings are mixed about the United MileagePlus 2025 changes, as it’ll make earning the status more difficult – especially for those who don’t travel for business on someone else’s dime – while also potentially thinning the ranks of elites, which could make for better upgrade availability. But, what do you all think?