One of many metrics you should utilize to earn United Premier status is Premier qualifying factors.
You will normally earn PQPs by way of flights, however you can too earn them by way of choose United Airlines credit cards. Better of all, you’ll be able to stack PQPs from a number of United playing cards, which is able to turn into extra helpful in 2026. Here is what you need to know.
Necessities for United Premier standing
United made some changes for 2025, making it more durable than ever to earn standing. To qualify for United Premier standing legitimate by way of Jan. 31, 2027, it’s essential to take not less than 4 United or United Categorical flights and meet one of many following necessities by way of your exercise in 2025.
| Standing tier | Necessities to qualify by way of PQPs alone | Necessities to qualify by way of PQPs and Premier qualifying flights |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Silver | 6,000 PQPs | 5,000 PQPs and 15 PQFs |
| Premier Gold | 12,000 PQPs | 10,000 PQPs and 30 PQFs |
| Premier Platinum | 18,000 PQPs | 15,000 PQPs and 45 PQFs |
| Premier 1K | 28,000 PQPs | 22,000 PQPs and 60 PQFs |
You will get Premier Silver standing by way of United’s partnership with Marriott, and frequent vacationers could possibly snag lifetime United status. However in any other case, it’s essential to requalify for United standing every year to proceed having fun with its advantages.
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Incomes PQPs by way of United bank cards
Apart from flights, you can too earn PQPs by way of United bank cards. United recently overhauled several cards, so now the incomes charge for PQPs and the utmost variety of PQPs you’ll be able to earn differ primarily based on card kind as follows:
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The data for the United Membership Enterprise Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.
That is proper: You could possibly, in principle, earn Premier 1K standing primarily based solely on card spending with the United Membership Card or the United Membership Enterprise Card. These two playing cards carry excessive annual charges however earn PQPs on the highest charges. So, in the event you resolve to give attention to earning PQPs through spending on a United card, you may need considered one of these two playing cards.
Beginning in 2026, some United playing cards will provide card bonus PQPs every year to vacationers who had been cardmembers as of Dec. 31 of the prior 12 months. Particularly, United Quest Card members will earn 1,000 card bonus PQPs every year, whereas United Membership Card and United Membership Enterprise Card members will earn 1,500 card bonus PQPs every year. Better of all, these card bonus PQPs will likely be stackable when you’ve got a number of United playing cards.
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Backside line
You could possibly earn all of the PQPs wanted for top-tier Premier 1K standing from bank cards alone, however doing so would require plenty of spending. To not point out, you possible will not get vital worth from having United Premier standing in the event you do not fly with the airline sufficient to earn a good chunk of PQPs from flying.
As such, I like to recommend incomes most of your PQPs from flying and utilizing a number of United bank cards to high off your PQP steadiness with spending (and, beginning in 2026, card bonus PQPs). For those who’re concerned with stacking card bonus PQPs in 2026 and past, guarantee you might have some mixture of the United Quest Card, the United Club Card and the United Membership Enterprise Card in your pockets on the finish of 2025.