MileagePlus® Premier® membership is earned by flying United, Copa and select airline partners. You can earn Premier status based on either Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or Premier qualifying segments (PQS) in a calendar year.
PQM are based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased. PQS are determined by the number of paid flown segments traveled and the fare class purchased.
Please note, Premier status is not based on your total MileagePlus account award miles balance. Award miles earned through promotions and partner offers, as well as certain non-qualifying miles, do not apply toward Premier qualification. Additionally, certain fares such as those purchased with industry discounts or through Hotwire and priceline.com do not count toward Premier qualification or accrual of award miles.
Premier Status Has Four Levels
| To achieve |
You must earn |
| Premier Silver |
25,000 Premier qualifying miles or 30 Premier qualifying segments |
| Premier Gold |
50,000 Premier qualifying miles or 60 Premier qualifying segments |
| Premier Platinum |
75,000 Premier qualifying miles or 90 Premier qualifying segments |
| Premier 1K® |
100,000 Premier qualifying miles or 120 Premier qualifying segments |
| Premier qualification is based on the calendar year (January 1 - December 31). |
In addition, Global Services℠ is an invitation-only membership program exclusively for our top members.
To qualify for any Premier level, members must fly at least four paid flights operated by United or Copa during a calendar year.*
You always receive the highest status for which you qualify. As you qualify for a higher level, your Premier status will be upgraded automatically and a new membership card will be mailed to you. Benefits are effective as soon as you qualify for Premier status.
View your progress toward Premier status in My Account
*Members who hold a United MileagePlus Presidential Plus or Club Credit Card are exempt from the four segment minimum as long as they are the primary Cardmember and their Credit Card account is in good standing at the time of qualification.
Premier Status Membership Period
Upon qualification, Premier status is valid through the end of the program year in which you qualified, as well as the entire following year. For example, if you complete 25,000 Premier qualifying miles (PQM) between January 1, 2013, and June 1, 2013, you will earn Premier Silver membership for the remainder of 2013 and for 2014.
Premier benefits in subsequent Premier program years may not be the same as those contained herein. See current Premier benefits for more information.
Premier earnings on United
The chart below outlines Premier qualification earnings when flying United.
| Eligible United fare classes |
Award mile earnings |
MileagePlus Premier earnings |
| Purchased fare class |
Base award miles (including class of service bonus) |
Premier qualifying miles (PQM) |
Premier qualifying segments (PQS) |
| F, A (3-cabin Global First) |
250% |
150% |
1.5 |
| F, A (all other) |
175% |
150% |
1.5 |
| J, C, D |
175% |
150% |
1.5 |
| Z, P |
150% |
150% |
1.5 |
| Y, B |
125% |
150% |
1.5 |
| M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, N |
100% |
100% |
1 |
Premier members also earn bonus award miles for their status when flying United, Copa and select partner carriers. Learn more
Premier earnings on MileagePlus airline partners
You may also qualify for Premier status by flying with Star Alliance® airline members. Please note that earnings for each partner may vary. Visit the Airline Partners page for details.
MileagePlus members can also earn award miles (not PQM or PQS) on certain other airline partners and Amtrak
Earning Premier qualifying miles with MileagePlus Credit Cards from Chase
Some MileagePlus Credit Cards from Chase offer Premier qualifying miles (PQM) accrual as a benefit. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the applicable MileagePlus Credit Card from Chase for more information. Please also note that Flexible Premier qualifying miles (Flex PQM) earned via the MileagePlus Presidential Plus Credit Card may only be used to reach Premier Silver, Premier Gold or Premier Platinum status and do not count toward qualification for any higher status level. Flex PQM may not be combined with other miles to obtain status higher than Premier Platinum.
In addition, Flex PQM cannot be used toward earning additional Global Premier Upgrades or Regional Premier Upgrades.