United Airways MileagePlus members with cobranded Chase bank cards can earn Premier qualifying factors towards United elite standing just by spending on these playing cards. And, as a part of United’s current bank card refresh, a few of these playing cards now permit you to earn much more PQPs.
There are two methods to earn United’s coveted Premier elite standing and all the advantages that include it: by incomes PQPs alone or by incomes a mix of PQPs and taking Premier qualifying flights. Both means, you will want plenty of PQPs. Apart from spending on United bank cards and buying PQPs (which is never value doing), the one technique to earn PQPs is thru flying — or, maybe extra precisely, spending plenty of cash on United and Star Alliance flights.
So, is incomes PQPs on a bank card by on a regular basis spending higher than breaking the financial institution on flights? Usually, you will have the very best luck utilizing a mix of the 2. Let’s take a look at how MileagePlus bank cards earn PQPs towards elite standing.
Associated: What precisely is elite standing in journey — and the way can I get it?
Incomes PQPs on United bank cards
Through the years, United MileagePlus has made it simpler and simpler to earn PQPs with bank cards — whereas additionally making it tougher to earn elite standing.
In 2024, United instituted an incomes fee of 25 PQPs per $500 spent on lots of its cobranded playing cards (as much as every card’s PQP most). This was notably higher than earlier than, as you needed to spend a minimum of $12,000 to earn any PQPs by way of United playing cards.
Since then, United has modified the incomes fee to 1 PQP per $15 or $20 spent, relying on the cardboard. This makes it simpler to work your means towards United elite standing, as you now not must spend in increments of $500 to start out incomes PQPs.
Moreover, all card-earned PQPs now depend towards any standing stage, together with the PQP-only requirement for top-tier Premier 1K. This wasn’t at all times the case for Premier 1K.
Nevertheless, even with these modifications, incomes PQPs from bank card spending is not as straightforward as incomes Loyalty Factors towards American Airways elite standing with a bank card. The incomes charges are comparatively low (in comparison with 1 Loyalty Level per greenback spent for American), and every card has a restrict on what number of PQPs you possibly can earn.
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Right here, we’ll break down how every United cobranded card earns PQPs towards elite standing and clarify their present welcome bonuses.
Playing cards that do not earn PQPs
There are just a few no-annual-fee United playing cards that do not earn PQPs by bank card spending:
- United Gateway℠ Card: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months from opening an account (see charges and costs).
- United MileagePlus Card with no annual price (now not open to new candidates)
- United TravelBank Card (now not open to new candidates)
The data for the United MileagePlus Card and United TravelBank 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.
Playing cards that earn PQPs
The next United playing cards earn PQPs, although incomes charges differ barely and incomes caps differ much more. As a part of United’s current bank card modifications, the PQP incomes caps on a number of of those playing cards have been raised, permitting you to earn much more PQPs every year than beforehand doable.
A few of these are now not out there to new cardmembers, but when you have already got them in your pockets, they might be a helpful addition to your United elite standing technique.
| Card | Welcome bonus | PQP incomes fee | PQP incomes cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| United℠ Explorer Card (see charges and costs) | Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months from opening an account, with the $0 intro annual price for the primary 12 months; after that, $150 annual price. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | as much as 1,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United MileagePlus Awards Card | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 1,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United MileagePlus Card with an annual price | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 1,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United MileagePlus Enterprise Card | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 1,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United MileagePlus Choose Card | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 3,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United℠ Enterprise Card (see charges and costs) | Earn 125,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months from opening an account. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | as much as 4,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United Presidential Plus Card | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 10,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United Presidential Plus Enterprise Card | Not open to new candidates. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | 10,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
| United Quest℠ Card (see charges and costs) | Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 500 PQPs after spending $4,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months from opening an account, plus earn 5,000 bonus miles after you add a certified consumer to your account within the first three months your account is open. | Earn 1 PQP per $20 spent | as much as 18,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months, plus 1,000 bonus PQPs every year (awarded inside six to eight weeks after Feb. 1 every year, beginning in 2026) |
| United Membership℠ Card (see charges and costs) | Earn 95,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months from opening an account. | Earn 1 PQP per $15 spent | 28,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months, plus 1,500 bonus PQPs every year (awarded inside six to eight weeks after Feb. 1 every year, beginning in 2026) |
| United Membership℠ Enterprise Card | Earn 125,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months your account is open, plus 5,000 bonus miles after you add an worker card to your account within the first three months your account is open. | Earn 1 PQP per $15 spent | 28,000 PQPs per calendar 12 months |
The data for the MileagePlus Awards, MileagePlus Card with an annual price, MileagePlus Enterprise, MileagePlus Choose, Presidential Plus, Presidential Plus Enterprise, and Membership Enterprise playing cards 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.
As you possibly can see, most playing cards make it easier to pursue United elite standing at a fee of 1 PQP per $20 spent. The United Membership and United Membership Enterprise playing cards earn at a sooner fee of 1 PQP per $15 spent.
Two of those playing cards additionally present a head begin towards standing: 1,000 bonus PQPs every year for the Quest card and 1,500 bonus PQPs every year for the Membership card. To place this in perspective, incomes 1,500 PQPs by spending on the Membership card would require $22,500 in purchases — so, if United elite standing is necessary to you, this PQP head begin perk might assist offset the hefty $695 annual price on this premium bank card.
Associated: The most effective bank cards to succeed in elite standing
Are you able to earn United elite standing with bank cards?
Since United raised the PQP incomes caps on so many playing cards, you might be questioning: Can I earn United Premier standing solely with bank card spending? The reply is … not likely.
First off, to be eligible for any United elite standing tier, you could take a minimum of 4 United or United Specific flights in a calendar 12 months. So, though United permits you to earn standing with PQPs alone (or a mix of PQPs and Premier qualifying flights), you could nonetheless fly a minimum of 4 occasions to earn any standing.
As soon as you’re taking these 4 flights, which can earn you a minimum of just a few PQPs (even on primary financial system tickets and flights booked with miles), you may earn the remainder of the PQPs wanted for standing with bank cards alone — in concept.
For instance, now you can earn as much as 18,000 PQPs on the United Quest card — sufficient to succeed in precious Premier Platinum standing. However this is able to require some critical spending. After receiving the Quest card’s annual bonus of 1,000 PQPs, you would wish to spend $340,000 on the cardboard to earn the remaining 17,000 PQPs wanted to realize Platinum standing. This sort of spending is not possible for many of us.
The one exception could be the United Membership Enterprise card. You’ll be able to earn as much as 28,000 PQPs in a 12 months (sufficient for top-tier Premier 1K standing) by spending $420,000 on the cardboard — which might be attainable for some enterprise house owners.
You are typically higher off taking pictures for standing with a mix of flights and PQPs. Paid United flights in all fare lessons earn 1 PQP per greenback spent on base airfare and carrier-imposed surcharges — a a lot sooner fee than incomes PQPs with bank cards. And in the event you pay to your flight with a United card, you possibly can double dip. For example, in case your base fare was $100 and also you paid with the Quest card, which earns 1 PQP per $20 spent, you’d nab a complete of 105 PQPs.
Remember you can now stack PQPs earned on a number of United playing cards. Prior to now, MileagePlus members have been restricted to a most of 15,000 whole PQPs throughout all bank cards, however these days are gone. You will nonetheless be restricted to every card’s PQP incomes cap, however in the event you max out one card, you may begin spending on one other to earn extra PQPs.
Associated: United launches new standing match supply for 2025
Backside line
MileagePlus members can now earn extra PQPs by United bank cards than ever earlier than. Nevertheless, you will want plenty of spending to earn a big variety of PQPs on these playing cards, regardless of some playing cards’ enhanced perks like annual PQP bonuses. Usually, it is not sensible to earn United elite standing with bank cards alone. Plus, you must take a minimum of 4 United flights to qualify for standing anyway.
Nevertheless, the flexibility to complement PQPs earned on flights with PQPs earned on bank cards makes United elite standing extra attainable. The most effective method for many vacationers is a mix of the 2. In the event you’re pursuing Premier standing this 12 months and also you maintain a United bank card — otherwise you’re contemplating making use of for one — be sure you assessment every card’s up to date PQP incomes pointers, advantages and annual charges to know your choices.
