Can I earn Qantas or Velocity frequent flyer points on United Airlines?

Yo! I just found out that my trip to San Fran for next week is on United. I'm a Velocity and Qantas FF member, how do I get points?

One cannot earn Qantas or Velocity points when flying United.

I'd suggest signing up for a United MileagePlus account and creditting the points there, as United MP points can be quite valuable.

Seconded.

NO No No. Sign up for the Agean Miles and more and credit them to that account. See below article on how to obtain Star Alliance GOLD http://www.ausbt.com.au/how-to-get-star-alliance-gold-frequent-flyer-status-with-one-flight 

Oh Awesome!! Thanks for the heads up :D

Alicepire,

May I ask what your objective is in all of this? If your objective is unclear then you may end up just wasting your time going through the motions.

Regrettably No.What I have though is a Thai Royal Orchid Plus membership which can be used for earning points on UA.Aegean's one is good too but not much use unless also travelling in and around Europe.

Do you earn a lot of points or is this a one-off sort of trip? Aegean is valuable as you can earn Star Gold which grants lounge access across the Star Alliance network, and their program is used extensively by people who have never flown the carrier.

Royal Orchird Plus could be used but if you will be flying Star Alliance enough to worry about points but not enough to worry about status, then start a UA account.

Lol fail, I thought franz was the OP. Nevertheless, everything I said stands. I think...

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. 

My aim  in all of this is to at least get some useable points from this trip. The status credits would be great, but if I can't get those for either of my existing memberships, then some points I can trade for something would be nice.

Sign up for United, then. Their program has a number of sweet spots in their redemption chart, and you can bulk buy points to redeem (which, as AusBT's Chris has written extensively about, is a cheaper way to fly up front).

Points/miles are only usable once you've reached a certain threshold. Critical mass is a function of usability. Consequently, ask yourself how frequently you intend to fly on a United or any other Star Alliance carrier. 

If you are flying Business on this trip, one return trip may be all you need to hit Star Alliance Gold with Aegean's programme. That may be an end to itself (we won't get into the merits of having Gold Star alliance status in Australia - there is plenty of commentary out there).

If however this trip is a one-off, I'd say forget about the points/miles and just go with the cheapest option, which I suspect is the option you've chosen (or been chosen for you).