Oct 20, 2019, 6:42 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Partner ticket PQP calculator
Beginning in 2020, if you fly a partner airline (not UA metal) and your ticket is on the stock of another airline (not 016 ticket), you will earn PQP as a fraction of the distance flown. That fraction is determined by your fare class, and can be found in the tables below. 
Other Partner Airlines (not Star Alliance)
Warning: It is strongly recommended that you consult the United earnings page for your airline and confirm the earning rate here, as they have been to known to change without notice and apply retroactively to tickets purchased before the change.
GREEN background is a "preferred" partner.
Updated PQP calculator with new per-segment earning cap
More Information on earning PQP and PQF
Archive: Earning Status (PQP) on non-016 Tickets and Partner Metal {Archive}
Partner Earning
Beginning in 2020, if you fly a partner airline (not UA metal) and your ticket is on the stock of another airline (not 016 ticket), you will earn PQP as a fraction of the distance flown. That fraction is determined by your fare class, and can be found in the tables below.
The way to derive this fraction is to go to the United earnings page for your airline and determine the RDM (not PQM) earning rate for your fare class. Then divide this number by 5 for "preferred partners" and 6 otherwise.
If the fare class of a non-016 *A partner flight allows RDM earnings (and therefore PQDs), the flight also earns Premier Qualifying Flight (PQF) credit.
Preferred Partner Airlines: AC AD AV CA CM EN EW LH LX NH NZ OS SN VA WK
Other Partner Airlines (status earning): A3 AI BR ET HO LO MS OA OU OZ SA SK SQ TG TK TP ZH
Other Partner Airlines (NO Premier credit): 3M 4B 9K EI HA UK VW
Note that for the third category you will earn RDM but no PQP, regardless of ticket stock (this is no change from before when you would not earn PQM).
For flights on or after July 1, 2020, the maximum Premier qualifying points that can be earned per flight {segment} on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines are as follows:
MileagePlus members who purchased tickets on eligible partners prior to these new rules may submit receipts showing tickets were issued prior to April 29, 2020, to [email protected] with the subject line "OA PQP Review" to be considered for PQP earning under the prior rules. Receipts should not be submitted until after travel is completed for flights on or after July 1, 2020.
UA Capping PQP Earn with Partners (update -- per flight segment)
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I fly a United-operated segment on a non-United ticket? You will earn PQP equal to the portion of the fare assignable to that segment. This information is transmitted from the ticketing carrier to United, and will be a somewhat arbitrary number between 0 and the full value of the fare component which includes that segment**. (This is the same as earning PQD on such a segment today.)
**Many reports of this not working even this well, and the potential number being outside this range.
What about codeshare segments? As before, codeshares do not matter. Only the operating carrier (metal) of each segment and the stock of the ticket determine your earnings.
How do I get a non-016 ticket? Any ticket purchased directly from another airline will be a partner-issued ticket, even if it has United segments. (Any ticket purchased from United will be an 016 ticket, even if it has no United segments.) Tickets purchased from an agency will usually have a stock of the marketing carrier of the most significant segment ("first long segment" usually).
What's the trick here? Because PQP are earned as a fraction of the distance flown, flying long distances on low-priced fares can earn more PQP than dollars spent. For any given journey, you should consider where you are earning a favorable ratio of PQP to dollars of at least 1.0 when ticketing this way, and consider ticketing with United if you are not.
What about BULK fares? Bulk fares will also earn PQP by distance, as noted in the table below. This is the only way to earn by distance on United metal.
Earnings Tables
Last updated in the image on 17-Nov-23.
To use: Determine the flight miles of your trip, then multiply by the applicable percentage based on the fare class of the ticket. That is your PQP for that segment. Example: 1000 mile flight on Air Canada booked in W fare code: PQP = 1000*.15=150).
Note that values >= 20% are rounded to the nearest 1%, and smaller values are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. If precise calculations are needed, you should always use the original source material (United website).
Star Alliance Airlines
Warning: It is strongly recommended that you consult the United earnings page for your airline and confirm the earning rate here, as they have been to known to change without notice and apply retroactively to tickets purchased before the change.
Note: There are special rules for AC branded Economy fares on 014 tickets.
GREEN background is a "preferred" partner.
Preferred Partner Airlines: AC AD AV CA CM EN EW LH LX NH NZ OS SN VA WK
Other Partner Airlines (status earning): A3 AI BR ET HO LO MS OA OU OZ SA SK SQ TG TK TP ZH
Other Partner Airlines (NO Premier credit): 3M 4B 9K EI HA UK VW
Note that for the third category you will earn RDM but no PQP, regardless of ticket stock (this is no change from before when you would not earn PQM).
For flights on or after July 1, 2020, the maximum Premier qualifying points that can be earned per flight {segment} on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines are as follows:
MileagePlus members who purchased tickets on eligible partners prior to these new rules may submit receipts showing tickets were issued prior to April 29, 2020, to [email protected] with the subject line "OA PQP Review" to be considered for PQP earning under the prior rules. Receipts should not be submitted until after travel is completed for flights on or after July 1, 2020.
UA Capping PQP Earn with Partners (update -- per flight segment)
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I fly a United-operated segment on a non-United ticket? You will earn PQP equal to the portion of the fare assignable to that segment. This information is transmitted from the ticketing carrier to United, and will be a somewhat arbitrary number between 0 and the full value of the fare component which includes that segment**. (This is the same as earning PQD on such a segment today.)
**Many reports of this not working even this well, and the potential number being outside this range.
What about codeshare segments? As before, codeshares do not matter. Only the operating carrier (metal) of each segment and the stock of the ticket determine your earnings.
How do I get a non-016 ticket? Any ticket purchased directly from another airline will be a partner-issued ticket, even if it has United segments. (Any ticket purchased from United will be an 016 ticket, even if it has no United segments.) Tickets purchased from an agency will usually have a stock of the marketing carrier of the most significant segment ("first long segment" usually).
What's the trick here? Because PQP are earned as a fraction of the distance flown, flying long distances on low-priced fares can earn more PQP than dollars spent. For any given journey, you should consider where you are earning a favorable ratio of PQP to dollars of at least 1.0 when ticketing this way, and consider ticketing with United if you are not.
What about BULK fares? Bulk fares will also earn PQP by distance, as noted in the table below. This is the only way to earn by distance on United metal.
Earnings Tables
Last updated in the image on 17-Nov-23.
To use: Determine the flight miles of your trip, then multiply by the applicable percentage based on the fare class of the ticket. That is your PQP for that segment. Example: 1000 mile flight on Air Canada booked in W fare code: PQP = 1000*.15=150).
Note that values >= 20% are rounded to the nearest 1%, and smaller values are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. If precise calculations are needed, you should always use the original source material (United website).
Star Alliance Airlines
Warning: It is strongly recommended that you consult the United earnings page for your airline and confirm the earning rate here, as they have been to known to change without notice and apply retroactively to tickets purchased before the change.
Note: There are special rules for AC branded Economy fares on 014 tickets.
GREEN background is a "preferred" partner.
Other Partner Airlines (not Star Alliance)
Warning: It is strongly recommended that you consult the United earnings page for your airline and confirm the earning rate here, as they have been to known to change without notice and apply retroactively to tickets purchased before the change.
GREEN background is a "preferred" partner.
Updated PQP calculator with new per-segment earning cap
I created a updated version of the PQP calculator to handle the upcoming per segment PQP earning limits. It also calculates RDM:
https://pqp.economiles.com/
https://pqp.economiles.com/
More Information on earning PQP and PQF
Earning PQP on flights ticketed and operated by a Star Alliance Partner
Members can also earn Premier qualifying points on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines. Your PQP will be equal to award miles earned divided by 5 if you’re flying on a preferred partner; for other MileagePlus partner airlines, it will be award miles earned divided by 6.
Please note award miles is your base award miles earning plus your fare class bonus award miles earning, if eligible. Premier bonus miles earned are not included within this calculation and are ineligible for Premier qualifying points accrual.
For Star Alliance airlines as well as Air Dolomiti, Azul, Eurowings, Edelweiss, and Olympic:
Preferred partner PQP: Award miles divided by 5
MileagePlus partner PQP: Award miles divided by 6
For example, if you earned 360 award miles for your flight, you’ll receive 72 PQP if you flew with a preferred partner, and 60 PQP if you flew with a MileagePlus partner.
PQP Calculator with option to apply max PQP per flight:
https://pqp.economiles.com/
For flights on or after July 1, 2020, the maximum Premier qualifying points that can be earned per flight on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines are as follows:
MileagePlus members who purchased tickets on eligible partners prior to these new rules may submit receipts showing tickets were issued prior to April 29, 2020, to [email protected] with the subject line "OA PQP Review" to be considered for PQP earning under the prior rules. Receipts should not be submitted until after travel is completed for flights on or after July 1, 2020.
For more information on PQP accrual for a specific airline, visit our airline partner pages.
Members can also earn Premier qualifying points on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines. Your PQP will be equal to award miles earned divided by 5 if you’re flying on a preferred partner; for other MileagePlus partner airlines, it will be award miles earned divided by 6.
Please note award miles is your base award miles earning plus your fare class bonus award miles earning, if eligible. Premier bonus miles earned are not included within this calculation and are ineligible for Premier qualifying points accrual.
For Star Alliance airlines as well as Air Dolomiti, Azul, Eurowings, Edelweiss, and Olympic:
Preferred partner PQP: Award miles divided by 5
MileagePlus partner PQP: Award miles divided by 6
For example, if you earned 360 award miles for your flight, you’ll receive 72 PQP if you flew with a preferred partner, and 60 PQP if you flew with a MileagePlus partner.
PQP Calculator with option to apply max PQP per flight:
https://pqp.economiles.com/
For flights on or after July 1, 2020, the maximum Premier qualifying points that can be earned per flight on tickets issued and operated by Star Alliance partners and select MileagePlus partner airlines are as follows:
MileagePlus members who purchased tickets on eligible partners prior to these new rules may submit receipts showing tickets were issued prior to April 29, 2020, to [email protected] with the subject line "OA PQP Review" to be considered for PQP earning under the prior rules. Receipts should not be submitted until after travel is completed for flights on or after July 1, 2020.
For more information on PQP accrual for a specific airline, visit our airline partner pages.
Archive: Earning Status (PQP) on non-016 Tickets and Partner Metal {Archive}
Earning Status (PQP) on non-016 Tickets and Partner Metal
Mar 9, 2023, 7:57 am
#47
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,452
Bottom line is that UA penalizes its program members for flying on partners in a way that none of its US competitors does.
I credit SQ to AS.
I credit SQ to AS.
Mar 9, 2023, 8:28 am
#48
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,508
Crediting to AS only works if it's on a SQ-marketed and operated flight. I ended up having to credit the max 1000PQP on a SQ-operated/LH-coded flight.
Mar 9, 2023, 8:36 am
#49
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,452
All OW programs credit based on marketing carrier. It makes less sense than the *A rule (operating carrier) and is certainly something to be aware of.
Mar 9, 2023, 8:44 am
#51
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,400
Direct flights (same flight number) are treated as a single leg for the purposes of the cap. OP won't have that problem with LAX-SIN-SYD. OP will just have the problem of traveling an extra 70% of the nonstop distance, with the longer leg in the least comfortable long-haul J seat I've ever flown (and that includes Northwest World Business Class and pmCO BusinessFirst, neither of which were lie-flat): http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=LAX-SYD,LAX-SIN-SYD
OP: Seriously, while there are legitimate reasons to fly SQ to Singapore, I can't think of any to fly SQ from the west coast to Sydney.
OP: Seriously, while there are legitimate reasons to fly SQ to Singapore, I can't think of any to fly SQ from the west coast to Sydney.
Mar 9, 2023, 8:53 am
#52
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,452
OP will just have the problem of traveling an extra 70% of the nonstop distance, with the longer leg in the least comfortable long-haul J seat I've ever flown (and that includes Northwest World Business Class and pmCO BusinessFirst, neither of which were lie-flat): http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=LAX-SYD,LAX-SIN-SYD
OP: Seriously, while there are legitimate reasons to fly SQ to Singapore, I can't think of any to fly SQ from the west coast to Sydney.
OP: Seriously, while there are legitimate reasons to fly SQ to Singapore, I can't think of any to fly SQ from the west coast to Sydney.
Mar 9, 2023, 9:02 am
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,400
And even if the seat has improved, you're still talking about flying thousands of miles out of the way. If OP doesn't like UA, that's fine -- fly NZ or QF or VA. Heck, even a flight via Japan is only 37.5% longer than the nonstop.
Mar 9, 2023, 9:40 am
#54
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,203
This is on my mind today. How long should I expect SQ to credit to UA?
About 18 days ago, I had two paid segments, booked direct on SQ, on SQ and those should amount to about 300 PQP.
The ticket was problematic from the day I booked it. I could not add my UA # at the time of booking - 'invalid number'. I called in about 30 days before my flight and the UA # was manually added. I verified and the itinerary had UA *G recognized. At online check in, there was no mention of the UA #. It had it had to be manually added again at the airport.
Still no credit to UA. And while for some of you, 300 PQP is nothing, but for me it may make a difference between Silver and Gold for me in 2023.
Thanks!
About 18 days ago, I had two paid segments, booked direct on SQ, on SQ and those should amount to about 300 PQP.
The ticket was problematic from the day I booked it. I could not add my UA # at the time of booking - 'invalid number'. I called in about 30 days before my flight and the UA # was manually added. I verified and the itinerary had UA *G recognized. At online check in, there was no mention of the UA #. It had it had to be manually added again at the airport.
Still no credit to UA. And while for some of you, 300 PQP is nothing, but for me it may make a difference between Silver and Gold for me in 2023.
Thanks!
Mar 9, 2023, 10:50 am
#55
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,508
Mine was credited in around 2 days. I would submit a credit request form to claim the miles/pqp.
Mar 9, 2023, 9:20 pm
#56
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,884
This is on my mind today. How long should I expect SQ to credit to UA?
About 18 days ago, I had two paid segments, booked direct on SQ, on SQ and those should amount to about 300 PQP.
The ticket was problematic from the day I booked it. I could not add my UA # at the time of booking - 'invalid number'. I called in about 30 days before my flight and the UA # was manually added. I verified and the itinerary had UA *G recognized. At online check in, there was no mention of the UA #. It had it had to be manually added again at the airport.
Still no credit to UA. And while for some of you, 300 PQP is nothing, but for me it may make a difference between Silver and Gold for me in 2023.
Thanks!
About 18 days ago, I had two paid segments, booked direct on SQ, on SQ and those should amount to about 300 PQP.
The ticket was problematic from the day I booked it. I could not add my UA # at the time of booking - 'invalid number'. I called in about 30 days before my flight and the UA # was manually added. I verified and the itinerary had UA *G recognized. At online check in, there was no mention of the UA #. It had it had to be manually added again at the airport.
Still no credit to UA. And while for some of you, 300 PQP is nothing, but for me it may make a difference between Silver and Gold for me in 2023.
Thanks!
What fare class were you in, and are you sure it earns mileage? SQ is among the stingiest carriers in * for mileage - with only the few highest fare classes earning any. Personally, I’ve always been credited SQ flights within maybe 2-3 days of flight.
Mar 10, 2023, 12:57 pm
#57
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Houston
Programs: UA LT GS 4.2 MM, AA Gold 1MM, HH Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 394
I think after 15 days for partner flights, you can request missing miles online.
What fare class were you in, and are you sure it earns mileage? SQ is among the stingiest carriers in * for mileage - with only the few highest fare classes earning any. Personally, I’ve always been credited SQ flights within maybe 2-3 days of flight.
What fare class were you in, and are you sure it earns mileage? SQ is among the stingiest carriers in * for mileage - with only the few highest fare classes earning any. Personally, I’ve always been credited SQ flights within maybe 2-3 days of flight.
Mar 30, 2023, 10:01 am
#58
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: MP
Posts: 350
Question about miles/pqp accrual on partner airline
My apologies if this is basic. I stayed away from traveling during Covid and now I am a bit rusty on all those pqp and miles accrual nuances.
I need to travel from us to canada and back. Flights will be operated by Air Canada.
I can buy a ticket from United (even though the flight will be operated by AC). Or I can buy a ticket from AC and provide them my United MP number.
Which option is better from (a) PQP accrual perspective and (b) miles accrual perspective.
I am assuming that buying ticket from Uninted (operated by AC) will still be a better option, correct? Unless there are some nuances I am not accounting for.
I need to travel from us to canada and back. Flights will be operated by Air Canada.
I can buy a ticket from United (even though the flight will be operated by AC). Or I can buy a ticket from AC and provide them my United MP number.
Which option is better from (a) PQP accrual perspective and (b) miles accrual perspective.
I am assuming that buying ticket from Uninted (operated by AC) will still be a better option, correct? Unless there are some nuances I am not accounting for.
Mar 30, 2023, 10:18 am
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM
Posts: 23,302
It depends on the fare class and cost of ticket.
For example, I can buy an AC P class ticket for <$1000 which will earn 3000 PQP, in that case its better to buy from AC
On the flip side, you can buy a shorthaul AC low economy ticket that would earn 50 PQP for $500, in this case its better to buy from United
Use the pqp calculator https://pqp.economiles.com/ to see what the ticket would earn if bought from AC
For example, I can buy an AC P class ticket for <$1000 which will earn 3000 PQP, in that case its better to buy from AC
On the flip side, you can buy a shorthaul AC low economy ticket that would earn 50 PQP for $500, in this case its better to buy from United
Use the pqp calculator https://pqp.economiles.com/ to see what the ticket would earn if bought from AC
Mar 30, 2023, 11:07 am
#60
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 282