2025 United Status Requirements

Since O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is our home airport, United Airlines is our preferred airline. And while we don’t always actively chase airline status, our travel the last few years (both work and personal) has meant that at least one of us has earned Silver status (or better) on United. With the perks that come with Silver (and Gold), it has become something we’re more conscious of for our travel.

In late October, United Airlines announced its 2025 status requirements. If you don’t want to read the full post, just know that it got even harder to earn United Premier status in 2025.

United Airlines Terms to Know

Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) – determined from the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharge of flight purchases, along with seating purchases and paid upgrades

Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) – the number of flight segments a MileagePlus member has flown. To qualify for any type of United status, a minimum of four flights must be taken.

Regardless of whether you pay for your flight with miles or by using cash / credit card, you obtain PQF and PQP on all eligible United flights.

How do you qualify for United Premier Status?

By earning PQPs and / or PQFs that meet the defined thresholds.

How do you calculate United PQPs?

MileagePlus members earn one PQP for every dollar spent on United flights. The PQP calculation includes the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges for United flights but does not include taxes and fees.

If you use miles to cover your flight, you will earn 1 PQP for every 100 miles redeemed.

How do you calculate United PQFs?

Every individual flight segment on United counts towards PQF. Was there a takeoff and landing? Then that flight earns you a PQF. If you take a flight with a layover, that’s two PQFs (assuming both segments were on United).

One thing to note – Basic Economy tickets do not earn PQF, but they do earn PQPs.

Can you see PQPs and PQFs when you’re booking flights?

Yes, however, this information isn’t on the first screen that comes up when you search flights on United. It can easily be found when you click Details on the left-hand side of the page. This button will show all PQP and PQF information for the available seats on a flight.

You’ll notice that the PQF and PQPs are for the flight from ORD to LAX. The price shows the round-trip. PQPs earned would be closer to the listed amount (i.e. $561) but minus taxes and fees. The PQFs earned for the round trip shown above would be 2 for all bookings except Basic Economy.

What are the 2025 United Status Requirements?

As in previous years, you can earn United Status by achieving a combination of PQPs and PQFs or by only meeting a higher PQP threshold. The requirements for earning United Premier status in 2025 are as follows:

• Premier Silver: 5,000 PQPs and 15 PQFs OR 6,000 PQPs
• Premier Gold: 10,000 PQPs and 30 PQFs OR 12,000 PQPs
• Premier Platinum: 15,000 PQPs and 45 PQFs OR 18,000 PQPs
• Premier 1K: 22,000 PQPS and 60 PQFs OR 28,000 PQPs

What were the 2024 United Premier Status requirements?

The 2024 thresholds for United Premier status were as follows:

• Premier Silver: 12 Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and 4,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) OR 5,000 PQP
• Premier Gold: 24 PQF and 8,000 PQP OR 10,000 PQP
• Premier Platinum: 36 PQF and 12,000 PQP OR 15,000 PQP
• Premier 1K: 54 PQF and 18,000 PQP OR 24,000 PQP

So tell me. What’s the increase in status requirements from 2024 to 2025?

• Premier Silver status requirements increased 25% for the PQP + PQF option and 20% for the PQP only
• Premier Gold status requirements increased 25% for the PQP + PQF option and 20% for the PQP only
• Premier Platinum status requirements increased 25% for the PQP + PQF option and 20% for the PQP only
• Premier 1K status requirements increased 22% and 11% for the PQP + PQF option and 17% for the PQP only

Will there be starter PQPs in 2025?

Any individual that earned United Premier status in 2024 will be granted starter PQPs in 2025. At the time of writing this post, that date had not been announced, but if it’s consistent with 2024, the deposit of starter PQPs into United MileagePlus accounts will take place in early February.

• Premier Silver: 300 PQPs
• Premier Gold: 600 PQPs
• Premier Platinum: 900 PQPs
• Premier 1K: 1,400 PQPs

These starter PQP amounts provide Premier Status holders with more than the 2024 PQP starter packs by 20% for Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and by 12% more for 1K.

Earning status from credit card spend

An enhancement to United MileagePlus in 2024 was that people who held United credit cards were finally able to earn PQPs from spend on their United credit card. In 2024, United cardholders were able to earn 25 PQPs for every $500 spent on their United card.

In 2025, United cardholders can still earn PQPs from credit card spend, but the potential earning is structured a bit differently.

Anyone who holds a United Club Infinite card or United Club Business card can earn 1 PQP for every $15 spent. All other United Chase cardholders (like the no-fee United Gateway) will earn 1 PQP for every $20 spent on the card. Doing the math, the “other” cardholders will still earn 25 PQPs for every $500 spent, it’s just easier to earn smaller amounts of PQPs without spending the full $500. United Club Infinite and United Club Business cardholders come out slightly ahead, earning 33.33 (although you can’t earn partial) PQPs for every $500 spent.

United has also increased the PQPs that cardholders can earn credit card spend on the United Club Infinite (up to 15,000 PQPs), United Club Business (up to 15,000 PQPs), and United Quest card (up to 9,000 PQPs). So hypothetically, United Club Infinite and United Club Business cardholders could spend their way to United Platinum status without ever taking a flight. That’d be a lot of spend, and not the most efficient way to increase your miles earnings, but hey, it’s an option.

Summary

While United has made it harder to earn status in 2025 than in 2024, they’ve enhanced their credit card earning structure to reward United cardholders slightly more.

I earned United Premier Gold in 2025 thanks to a targeted promotion. Based on our 2025 travel plans, I definitely won’t hit the updated thresholds without a similar over.

If you’re a frequent United flier, you may see added benefits from these changes as the people with elite status will go down thanks to increased thresholds.