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 23, 2023, 6:24 pm
#91
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,157
The fare will be allocated between the UA and the CityJet flight. SK isn’t flying you for free. 
Actually, no, there would be ambiguity here, except that CityJet is indeed a wet-lease operator for SK and so the flight will be treated as an SK flight and therefore eligible for PQP.
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.
Actually, no, there would be ambiguity here, except that CityJet is indeed a wet-lease operator for SK and so the flight will be treated as an SK flight and therefore eligible for PQP.
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.
However, post where I can buy an AA operated flight on UA 016 stock right now and I'll purchase it just for giggles. I'll post the receipt on here as proof. And I'm not talking about a roundabout booking via an obscure low-rent *A partner's codeshare or some Expedia.com combined carrier purchase like an EWR-PHX OW where its really EWR-DFW on UA and DFW-PHX on AA.
May 23, 2023, 6:51 pm
#92
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 22,117
City Jet is to SAS as Air Wisconsin, Sky West or GoJet is to UA. Contracted regional carriers. So yes, you would earn according to the appropriate earning table regardless. Its transparent. It goes without saying that if they were operating on some non-partner airline's behalf or they were offering their own flights you would not earn.
But that's not the case in this scenario. Never was. A more appropriate less hyperbolic non-earning example instead of AA would be as I gave above, where LH sells tickets on AZ. LH is clearly a UA partner and AZ is a partner with LH, but not UA. You earn on the LH segments but not AZ. LH simply sells their tickets, AZ is not contacted to LH to operate on their behalf.
However, post where I can buy an AA operated flight on UA 016 stock right now and I'll purchase it just for giggles. I'll post the receipt on here as proof. And I'm not talking about a roundabout booking via an obscure low-rent *A partner's codeshare or some Expedia.com combined carrier purchase like an EWR-PHX OW where its really EWR-DFW on UA and DFW-PHX on AA.
May 23, 2023, 7:00 pm
#93
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,157
It doesn’t go without saying, because while you are correct in this instance, there are plenty of other similar-looking situations that don’t work the same way. For example, Thai Smile is a “contracted regional carrier” for Thai, but you will not earn MileagePlus credit on a Thai Smile flight. The key point here is that SK-operated-by-CityJet is a wet lease.
If LH puts its code on an AZ flight, then AZ is “contracted to LH to operate on their behalf,” but because it’s a codeshare, not a wet lease, you’re correct that there would be no MileagePlus credit.
The most obvious way to do it would be an “Expedia.com combined carrier purchase.” However, there’s an entire thread on the board about non-UA flights showing up even on United.com. Google Flights is one way to get it to happen, although doing some sample searches, at the moment it appears that GF isn’t sending those options through to United.com. I was able to get AUS-SEA RT, outbound on UA, return on AS, to link from Google into United.com, but as soon as I got an AA-operated flight on the itinerary, it told me to call UA to book. Which, incidentally, is another possibility — there was a note on here a while back from a disgruntled GS who was making it a point to call the GS line and book AA flights. UA generally won’t sell you an all-AA itinerary, but they can sell you a mixed itinerary as long as there’s a UA-coded flight somewhere on there.
If LH puts its code on an AZ flight, then AZ is “contracted to LH to operate on their behalf,” but because it’s a codeshare, not a wet lease, you’re correct that there would be no MileagePlus credit.
The most obvious way to do it would be an “Expedia.com combined carrier purchase.” However, there’s an entire thread on the board about non-UA flights showing up even on United.com. Google Flights is one way to get it to happen, although doing some sample searches, at the moment it appears that GF isn’t sending those options through to United.com. I was able to get AUS-SEA RT, outbound on UA, return on AS, to link from Google into United.com, but as soon as I got an AA-operated flight on the itinerary, it told me to call UA to book. Which, incidentally, is another possibility — there was a note on here a while back from a disgruntled GS who was making it a point to call the GS line and book AA flights. UA generally won’t sell you an all-AA itinerary, but they can sell you a mixed itinerary as long as there’s a UA-coded flight somewhere on there.
May 24, 2023, 3:08 am
#94
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Saipan, MP 96950 USA (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands = the CNMI)
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton Silver. Life: UA .59 MM, United & Admirals Clubs (spousal), Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,597
Some of us want to understand the reasons behind the outcomes.
Explaining the finer nuances of the rules, including slight changes that would lead to different results, is a tremendous service to fellow FlyerTalkers and others who read this thread.
(That is why one may often notice my liking a post and then, after reading a critique, withdrawing my "like".)
Explaining the finer nuances of the rules, including slight changes that would lead to different results, is a tremendous service to fellow FlyerTalkers and others who read this thread.
(That is why one may often notice my liking a post and then, after reading a critique, withdrawing my "like".)
Jun 1, 2023, 10:14 am
#95
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,318
I am confused, maybe, maybe not.
Trying to project my PQPs for 2023.
I had two SQ flights in February, booked with SQ, on SQ metal. My UA # was attached. Q class, so no miles earned. But no PQPs either.
Is this correct (and maybe my confusion)? I expected to earn a total of 574 PQP (MNL-SIN, 1474 miles and SIN-HAN, 1371 miles). Divide both segments by 6 for a total of 574. So is PQP ALSO dependent on fare class?
I submitted a missing miles request to UA. I had read that if not responded to in 7 days, miles would likely not be granted (and I concur re: Q class). Is there a different process for missing PQPs?
Thank you!
Trying to project my PQPs for 2023.
I had two SQ flights in February, booked with SQ, on SQ metal. My UA # was attached. Q class, so no miles earned. But no PQPs either.
Is this correct (and maybe my confusion)? I expected to earn a total of 574 PQP (MNL-SIN, 1474 miles and SIN-HAN, 1371 miles). Divide both segments by 6 for a total of 574. So is PQP ALSO dependent on fare class?
I submitted a missing miles request to UA. I had read that if not responded to in 7 days, miles would likely not be granted (and I concur re: Q class). Is there a different process for missing PQPs?
Thank you!
Jun 1, 2023, 10:28 am
#96
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA LT Plat 2MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 67,769
I am confused, maybe, maybe not.
Trying to project my PQPs for 2023.
I had two SQ flights in February, booked with SQ, on SQ metal. My UA # was attached. Q class, so no miles earned. But no PQPs either.
Is this correct (and maybe my confusion)? I expected to earn a total of 574 PQP (MNL-SIN, 1474 miles and SIN-HAN, 1371 miles). Divide both segments by 6 for a total of 574. So is PQP ALSO dependent on fare class?
I submitted a missing miles request to UA. I had read that if not responded to in 7 days, miles would likely not be granted (and I concur re: Q class). Is there a different process for missing PQPs?
Thank you!
Trying to project my PQPs for 2023.
I had two SQ flights in February, booked with SQ, on SQ metal. My UA # was attached. Q class, so no miles earned. But no PQPs either.
Is this correct (and maybe my confusion)? I expected to earn a total of 574 PQP (MNL-SIN, 1474 miles and SIN-HAN, 1371 miles). Divide both segments by 6 for a total of 574. So is PQP ALSO dependent on fare class?
I submitted a missing miles request to UA. I had read that if not responded to in 7 days, miles would likely not be granted (and I concur re: Q class). Is there a different process for missing PQPs?
Thank you!
Note going forward
]
Purchased fare classes K, V, N, and Q are eligible for flights on and after April 1, 2023.
Jun 1, 2023, 10:31 am
#97
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 22,117
Yes, PQP depends upon fare class.
Jun 4, 2023, 10:27 pm
#98
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Bay Area - East Bay
Programs: UA 1k, AS 75k, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 650
I have a round trip MAD-YYZ-SFO booked on Air Canada (so 014 ticket). Originally one of the YYZ-SFO legs was on UA metal (has since switched to all AC metal if that matters), so I have a United PNR and it looks like United received accurate information about the actual fare paid. I'm assuming (and hoping) this will still credit PQP based on the rules for 014 tickets, even though they know the actual fare?
Jun 4, 2023, 11:19 pm
#99
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,531
I have a round trip MAD-YYZ-SFO booked on Air Canada (so 014 ticket). Originally one of the YYZ-SFO legs was on UA metal (has since switched to all AC metal if that matters), so I have a United PNR and it looks like United received accurate information about the actual fare paid. I'm assuming (and hoping) this will still credit PQP based on the rules for 014 tickets, even though they know the actual fare?
Jun 12, 2023, 7:22 am
#100
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: too many
Posts: 4,598
I want to make sure I understand this correctly: An LH TATL ticket booked as economy light or economy basic will earn pqp (according to the 016 ticket stock rules) but will not earn pqf. Is this accurate? Any other items I'm not thinking of?
Jun 12, 2023, 9:41 am
#101
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,926
https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/mil...lufthansa.html
Jun 19, 2023, 7:13 pm
#102
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 6
I'm booking a flight which is multi-segment. The ticket stock is from Lufthansa. One of the Legs is operated on Air Canada Metal, but it's a codeshare flight, Lufthansa flight number. Will the accrual be based on Lufthansa or Air Canada in this case? I'd say Lufthansa, but it's a bit unclear. Does anybody know? Thanks. It will be a big difference, P class on Lufthansa earns less than P class on Air Canada.
Jun 19, 2023, 7:20 pm
#103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 22,117
I'm booking a flight which is multi-segment. The ticket stock is from Lufthansa. One of the Legs is operated on Air Canada Metal, but it's a codeshare flight, Lufthansa flight number. Will the accrual be based on Lufthansa or Air Canada in this case? I'd say Lufthansa, but it's a bit unclear. Does anybody know? Thanks. It will be a big difference, P class on Lufthansa earns less than P class on Air Canada.
Jun 19, 2023, 7:29 pm
#104
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 6
Jun 19, 2023, 7:32 pm
#105
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 22,117
Yes, even in this case. For that segment, you earn by AC's rules even though it's a LH flight number and an LH ticket.