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
May 1, 2023, 3:48 pm
#76
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,411
I didn't note the fare class in the GF search, just chose Business or Premium Economy, didn't drill down to the fare coding rules.
So I'm using "P" more generically I suppose but it's some discounted business for both UA and NZ flights which show up in the GF search results.
So I'm using "P" more generically I suppose but it's some discounted business for both UA and NZ flights which show up in the GF search results.
* and operating carrier -- but only inasmuch as the carrier has to be a PQP-earning partner. If you fly, e.g., an ANA-coded Philippine Airlines (PR) flight, even on a 016 ticket, you'd get no credit for the PR flight.
May 1, 2023, 3:52 pm
#77
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,854
Also the itin can matter, lots of segments help partner PQPs look better.
The above is true for any partner but the preferred partners have a wider partner PQP advantage,
May 8, 2023, 7:18 am
#78
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 158
Does anyone have any tips for avoiding BULK fares?
My org uses amex gbt and I keep getting stuffed with bulk fares for 016 tickets in Z and P for travel between UK and US. I do check the fare rules prior to getting them to book and can't see any refs to bulk, and the fares are generally the same as those directly available using the UA app which I can't use...
I wouldn't mind, but a $7k ticket P or Z is only netting around 3200 pqp for a full round trip UK-NA so 1k renewal is going to be challenging...
My org uses amex gbt and I keep getting stuffed with bulk fares for 016 tickets in Z and P for travel between UK and US. I do check the fare rules prior to getting them to book and can't see any refs to bulk, and the fares are generally the same as those directly available using the UA app which I can't use...
I wouldn't mind, but a $7k ticket P or Z is only netting around 3200 pqp for a full round trip UK-NA so 1k renewal is going to be challenging...
May 8, 2023, 7:32 pm
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,889
So, didn't see this notated anywhere (though I didn't go back too far...), but looks like they changed the earnings for SQ, where more fare classes earn as of April 1. Sure, it's a paltry 10% on non-UA issued tickets in the lower classes, but still, better than nothing. We sometimes do some SE Asia flights when we are visiting family in India, and know that typically, it has only been SQ flexi or full flexi tickets that earned in the past, so this is an improvement. Even looked at a 'lite' fare for BLR-SIN, which books into K so would be included in the 10% earning category.
Again, not much, but something.
Not sure who maintains the calculation site (pqp.economiles.com), but seems that is still showing, for example, K and Q fares as earning nothing, so looks like that needs to be updated for the new earning.
Again, not much, but something.
Not sure who maintains the calculation site (pqp.economiles.com), but seems that is still showing, for example, K and Q fares as earning nothing, so looks like that needs to be updated for the new earning.
May 9, 2023, 5:49 am
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,055
So, didn't see this notated anywhere (though I didn't go back too far...), but looks like they changed the earnings for SQ, where more fare classes earn as of April 1. Sure, it's a paltry 10% on non-UA issued tickets in the lower classes, but still, better than nothing. We sometimes do some SE Asia flights when we are visiting family in India, and know that typically, it has only been SQ flexi or full flexi tickets that earned in the past, so this is an improvement. Even looked at a 'lite' fare for BLR-SIN, which books into K so would be included in the 10% earning category.
Again, not much, but something.
Not sure who maintains the calculation site (pqp.economiles.com), but seems that is still showing, for example, K and Q fares as earning nothing, so looks like that needs to be updated for the new earning.
Again, not much, but something.
Not sure who maintains the calculation site (pqp.economiles.com), but seems that is still showing, for example, K and Q fares as earning nothing, so looks like that needs to be updated for the new earning.
Does anyone have any tips for avoiding BULK fares?
My org uses amex gbt and I keep getting stuffed with bulk fares for 016 tickets in Z and P for travel between UK and US. I do check the fare rules prior to getting them to book and can't see any refs to bulk, and the fares are generally the same as those directly available using the UA app which I can't use...
I wouldn't mind, but a $7k ticket P or Z is only netting around 3200 pqp for a full round trip UK-NA so 1k renewal is going to be challenging...
My org uses amex gbt and I keep getting stuffed with bulk fares for 016 tickets in Z and P for travel between UK and US. I do check the fare rules prior to getting them to book and can't see any refs to bulk, and the fares are generally the same as those directly available using the UA app which I can't use...
I wouldn't mind, but a $7k ticket P or Z is only netting around 3200 pqp for a full round trip UK-NA so 1k renewal is going to be challenging...
May 22, 2023, 11:32 am
#81
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
The UA page for earning on TK includes :
Anyone have any experience with the bolded part (their bolding, not mine!). My presumption is that this is referring to UA fare classes S and T (the lowest UA fare classes that earn miles) and not the TK fare classes S and T (which are medium-level Economy fares, not deep discount). ie, a TK-ticketed S class international fare would be eligible for miles/PQP, right?
Fare classes A, B, C, D, E, H, J, M, P, Q, S, T, U, V, W, Y and Z are eligible for accrual. Fare classes S and T are only eligible for accrual on United-marketed, Turkish-operated flights within Turkey.
May 22, 2023, 11:40 am
#82
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,411
My presumption is that this is referring to UA fare classes S and T (the lowest UA fare classes that earn miles) and not the TK fare classes S and T (which are medium-level Economy fares, not deep discount). ie, a TK-ticketed S class international fare would be eligible for miles/PQP, right?
May 22, 2023, 11:55 am
#83
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,157
May 23, 2023, 2:13 pm
#85
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,889
if CityJet operates like UAX under another * carrier like SAS - where it’s essentially considered UA for mileage-earning purposes, then it should earn. Also, if a wet-lease - where, say, SAS is leasing the aircraft from CityJet, who provides aircraft/crew to SAS and is run otherwise as an SAS flight, then it should also earn. Back in the day, flew plenty of flights on TK to BOM, but that route was on wet leased aircraft from Jet Airways (yeah - back in the day) and always earned no issue.
May 23, 2023, 2:17 pm
#86
Join Date: Dec 2022
Programs: UA1K
Posts: 464
not sure who CityJet is. I suspect non-earning.
if CityJet operates like UAX under another * carrier like SAS - where it’s essentially considered UA for mileage-earning purposes, then it should earn. Also, if a wet-lease - where, say, SAS is leasing the aircraft from CityJet, who provides aircraft/crew to SAS and is run otherwise as an SAS flight, then it should also earn. Back in the day, flew plenty of flights on TK to BOM, but that route was on wet leased aircraft from Jet Airways (yeah - back in the day) and always earned no issue.
if CityJet operates like UAX under another * carrier like SAS - where it’s essentially considered UA for mileage-earning purposes, then it should earn. Also, if a wet-lease - where, say, SAS is leasing the aircraft from CityJet, who provides aircraft/crew to SAS and is run otherwise as an SAS flight, then it should also earn. Back in the day, flew plenty of flights on TK to BOM, but that route was on wet leased aircraft from Jet Airways (yeah - back in the day) and always earned no issue.
May 23, 2023, 3:11 pm
#87
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,134
This thread is for discussion on non 016 tickets, so if its booked thru UA this is the wrong place to ask. You'd earn via $ assigned to that segment if its on 016 stock.
However I'll venture to say that you'll earn credit either way. (via $ or distance, depending on the stock) Very common for carriers to have flights operated by subsidiaries or thru wet leases...its transparent for booking and earnings purposes. What changes things is when you book a ticket thru something like Lufthansa and its really flown and operated by a totally different airline someone UA has no relationship with all like ITA (the Alitalia reboot). Been there, done that, earned zero.
The earnings tables shown at booking are known to be misleading and erroneous even on UA's own flights.
May 23, 2023, 3:13 pm
#88
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,418
And, yes, realize technically this isn't a thread for this situation. Is there one for this question (though it has been answered).
May 23, 2023, 3:31 pm
#89
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,134
Yeah, has an SAS (SK) flight number. Booked through United. PQP doesn't really matter as I assume it's allocated all to the UA segment anyway.
And, yes, realize technically this isn't a thread for this situation. Is there one for this question (though it has been answered).
And, yes, realize technically this isn't a thread for this situation. Is there one for this question (though it has been answered).
May 23, 2023, 5:26 pm
#90
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,411
If it were not a wet-lease, then it would not earn miles or PQP, despite it being a 016 ticket, because CityJet itself is not a UA partner.
You can buy an AA flight on a 016 ticket; that doesn’t mean you’re going to earn PQP or MileagePlus miles for that flight.