United MileagePlus is a great rewards program for frequent United and partner airline flyers. Members earn miles when they fly, book with United-branded credit cards, use shopping and dining partners of the airline and more!
The program features several non-airline partners as well, including Reliant Energy and NRG Home Power.
Earning Miles
If you are new to United MileagePlus, the first step should be creating an account. In doing so, basic information will need to be entered such as legal name, address, phone number and email address along with creating a password and answering security questions. Ensure all data entered matches your government issued ID exactly to prevent future complications with the program.
Once you’ve established an account, the next step is to accumulate miles. One simple way of doing this is through credit cards that offer MileagePlus points when used when purchasing items; typically these cards offer 4-5 miles per dollar depending on which card and spending habits are chosen.
Start flying and redeeming United miles for travel right away. Premium cabin awards such as business and first class provide the greatest return for your miles; however, the program also provides other redemption options like hotels, gift cards and merchandise.
MileagePlus partners with numerous airlines across the Star Alliance network – one of the largest alliances among major airlines. You can earn and redeem United miles on airlines such as Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, Avianca, LOT Polish, Lufthansa Singapore Airlines and SWISS to name just a few. Europe features particularly strongly on this list while other continents also have plenty of offerings to choose from.
Booking flights on United will earn you miles based on their distance and fare class purchased. There is also a set of bonus earning categories available to those with Premier status membership.
If you’re a frequent flier, a credit card that provides more opportunities for MileagePlus rewards may be useful. United-branded cards often feature generous signup bonuses and additional earning categories like dining and gas station purchases; many also provide bonus miles when using the mobile app to shop with specific merchants.
MileagePlus rewards can also be earned through partner programs, like Audience Rewards and Rocket Mortgage, providing an additional way for you to increase your account balance.
Redeeming Miles
One of the best uses for United MileagePlus miles is for airfare. Both domestically and internationally, you may be able to book award flights at an affordable price; United does not pass along fuel surcharges to award tickets, which helps save you money. Furthermore, their dynamic award chart doesn’t set prices per flight; rather it depends on demand and pricing of cash seats as to which miles will be necessary to book them.
MileagePlus also provides mixed-cabin awards, which combine flights in higher class of service with those in economy class to reduce airfare costs while saving time and effort on booking a ticket – such as United business class from Sydney to Dublin would require an additional 16,000 miles due to differences between cabins.
United MileagePlus members can redeem their miles for more than just airfare; hotel bookings, gift cards and cruises can all be made possible using United MileagePlus miles. In addition, this program has many dining, shopping and financial partner opportunities that offer miles for transactions – most prominent among them are Merchandise Awards shopping portal and United X app, both offering opportunities to earn miles.
Earning United MileagePlus miles may not be straightforward, but the rewards could make it worthwhile if you fly frequently or make significant purchases with them. There are various methods of accruing miles – transfer from another loyalty program or buying them speculatively (this usually yields poor value but may still provide useful top up). However, buying miles generally results in poor value; but can still provide valuable insurance should your balance drop before an important trip or event.
United MileagePlus offers an elite status program with four tiers and generous travel perks for its frequent flyers, which can be reached by crediting qualifying United MileagePlus cards or regularly flying with the carrier. In partnership with Chase, several credit cards offer benefits that make travel both rewarding and less costly; the Chase United MileagePlus credit cards stand out with benefits such as free airport lounge access and priority boarding.
Upgrades
United MileagePlus members can use miles earned with each flight they purchase to upgrade paid tickets into higher cabin class. Prices depend on factors like route, original fare class and Premier status – their website includes an estimate calculator to estimate how many miles are necessary.
Elite status members can request complimentary upgrades on any United or Star Alliance partner airline flight. Such requests typically receive priority over those from Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members, though this cannot be guaranteed. Should your request be confirmed, PlusPoints are deducted when it clears.
Search online or in the app for flights on which you wish to upgrade your cabin to premium status and search for availability of premium cabin upgrades. Choose whether to see only immediate upgrade options, or also waitlist options; the latter allows you to see if your upgrade has cleared before booking, though United cannot guarantee its availability if confirmed.
Some upgrades require cash co-payment, which can substantially reduce the value of United miles. When possible, it may be more prudent to redeem them for a saver award ticket instead.
MileagePlus miles can also be redeemed for other travel needs, including hotel stays, car rentals, cruises merchandise and gift cards from United. Chase Ultimate Rewards cards transfer miles 1:1 directly to United, so if this option is available to you it could be wiser to spend them this way first as this will allow more miles to accrue while still taking advantage of many of the same benefits of top-tier credit cards from United.
Status
As a United MileagePlus member, you have access to benefits that will make your travel experience more pleasant. You can earn elite status through flying and spending with United and its cobranded credit cards; earning bonus miles on flights and receiving complimentary checked bags as a result. United offers four levels of elite status: Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K; additionally there is also an invitation-only tier called Global Services that rewards its most loyal members.
Elite status comes with benefits like free checked bags, preferred seating and priority boarding on domestic and international flights. Depending on your level of elite status, you may also earn or redeem miles with Star Alliance partners; additional perks for this airline’s cobranded credit cards may include higher earn rates for flights as well as reduced redemption rates for award travel.
United offers an easy and straightforward method for you to achieve elite status through Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQP). PQF measures the number of flight segments completed – at least four must be flown for elite status to be awarded; PQP refers to your base fare, which includes taxes but excludes surcharges or upgrades paid for separately. It offers a quick way for customers to track their progress toward elite status online via its website.
As part of their response to the pandemic, most airlines waived change fees and redeposit fees for award cancellations, making cancellation easier without incurring fees. Unfortunately, United was one of a few airlines which continued charging these fees, forcing many passengers unable to use their award tickets as planned into purchasing new ones instead. Since then however, things have improved considerably; United no longer charges these fees.
United Airlines recently made significant enhancements to its MileagePlus program in 2023, such as eliminating changes and redeposit fees and offering another way for cardholders to qualify for premier status: cardholders can now earn 15,000 PQPs through United and United Express-operated flights – Chase United cards also allow cardholders to accelerate this rate, with some offering as many as 8000 or 6,000 PQPs per year depending on which card they hold – these enhancements have only just begun!