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Given that United Airlines is one of the largest United States-based carriers, many travelers will have opportunities to fly on United and its partners and participate in the MileagePlus program.
To get the most from the program, it’s important to understand how it works. Whether you’re new to points and miles entirely or just haven’t used the MileagePlus program, this guide should help you understand some program basics. If you’ve used MileagePlus in the past but not in recent years, there have been significant changes in the program, and this guide may provide a good refresher.
MileagePlus Overview
MileagePlus is United’s loyalty, aka frequent-flyer, program. We’ll use the term loyalty program because rewards programs have evolved such that flying isn’t the primary way that many points and miles enthusiasts earn MileagePlus miles.
MileagePlus miles are a pseudo-currency that program members earn and redeem. Members earn miles, which can be redeemed in various ways, and work towards elite status through qualifying activities. The most popular and typically most valuable way to use miles is to redeem them for award flights on United and partner airlines.
Award flights sometimes are referred to as free flights. We won’t use that term because it’s not accurate. Award tickets include taxes and fees, and there also are opportunity costs for earning and redeeming MileagePlus miles for flights.
Getting Started with MileagePlus
To begin using the program, individuals should join MileagePlus and set up a free account. It’s important to enter key information, such as name and date of birth, to exactly match official identification documentation, such as licenses and passports. Once your account is established, you can begin earning MileagePlus miles.
MileagePlus Strengths and Weaknesses
Like any airline loyalty program, MileagePlus has some strengths and some weaknesses. There are many variables that make MileagePlus (or any program) a better fit for some travelers and situations than others.
It’s hard to generalize, but the commonly agreed upon strengths of the MileagePlus program are:
- There are multiple ways to earn MileagePlus miles.
- Miles earned never expire.
- United and its airline partners have a large route network for travel within the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
- Award flights have low taxes and fees because United doesn’t assess fuel surcharges and doesn’t pass on other airlines’ fuel surcharges.
- MileagePlus provides flexible award booking with no cancellation or change fees.
Some commonly mentioned MileagePlus weaknesses include:
- MileagePlus typically doesn’t have the lowest award rates compared to other airline programs.
- MileagePlus has dynamic award rates for travel on United flights and doesn’t publish award charts for partner flights. These factors make it difficult to plan how many miles are needed for specific redemptions and reduce transparency about award rate increases.
- Three negative changes introduced in May 2025 make the program less valuable to some members:
- Eliminating the Excursionist Perk for award tickets issued or changed beginning Aug. 21, 2025.
- Ending the ability to instantly upgrade full fare tickets (Y, B and M fare classes) at ticketing for Premier members on eligible routes beginning Aug. 21, 2025.
- Eliminating upgrade award charts as of Nov. 24, 2025.
United’s Partner Airlines
Airline partnerships are beneficial because they provide members the opportunity to earn and redeem miles on multiple airlines. United is a member of the largest airline alliance called Star Alliance, and United also has partnerships with other carriers that aren’t Star Alliance members. Current partners and links to details about each partnership are provided on United’s website.
At the time of writing, United’s Star Alliance partners include:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Airways
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Air Lines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- Turkish Airlines
Current non-alliance partners include:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Dolomiti
- Airlink
- Azul
- Cape Air
- Discover Airlines
- Edelweiss
- Emirates
- Eurowings
- FlyDubai
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JSX
- Lufthansa City Airlines
- Olympic Air
- Virgin Australia
In May 2025, JetBlue and United announced plans for a new partnership. The Blue Sky collaboration is expected to allow reciprocal mileage earning and redemption opportunities and provide reciprocal elite benefits including free bags, preferred seats and priority boarding.
How to Obtain MileagePlus Miles
To be clear, this discussion focuses on earning miles that can be used to book award flights or spent for other items through the MileagePlus program. These miles sometimes are referred to as redeemable miles.
Some activities earn both MileagePlus miles and Premier® qualifying points (PQPs). PQPs determine a member’s elite status level but can’t be spent like redeemable miles. We’ll address Premier® qualifying points below as part of the elite status discussion.
There are many ways to obtain MileagePlus miles including:
- Flying on United and partner airlines and crediting miles to MileagePlus
- Earning miles through regular spending and welcome bonuses on co-branded MileagePlus credit cards
- Transferring points from flexible rewards programs
- Earning points through United’s non-airline travel partners and other United partners for activities such as shopping and dining
- Buying miles from MileagePlus and sharing miles among friends and family members
Let’s take a closer look at these options.
Earn Miles for Flights
For paid flights on United and certain partners, you can choose to credit miles to MileagePlus. Earning rates vary depending on whether the flight is operated by United or partner airlines, whether you purchase a flight through United or a partner airline, the fare type and your MileagePlus membership status level. Details are provided on United’s earning page and summarized below:
- For most cash (not award) flights with tickets issued by United for flights on United and United Express, a general member earns 5X miles per dollar on the base fare. Premier members (those who have MileagePlus elite status) earn the base rate plus a bonus based on status level. Total earning rates range from 7X miles for Premier Silver members to 11X miles for Premier 1K® members.
- For specialty tickets (which include unpublished, bulk, group, tour and opaque tickets), earning rates are calculated based on flight distance and purchased class fare rather than the ticket price.
- For flights operated by partners, mileage earning details vary by airline and are dependent on whether a MileagePlus member purchases the flight through United or through the partner airline. Details are available by clicking the link for a specific airline on the airline partner page.
Earn Miles Through MileagePlus Credit Cards
In partnership with United, Chase issues multiple co-branded credit cards that earn MileagePlus miles. Cardholders can earn miles through welcome bonuses for new cards and ongoing spending on cards.
Multiple co-branded credit cards are available—both consumer and business credit cards—that appeal to different customer needs. Since our focus is on earning United miles, earning rates for spending on these cards are summarized below. Credit card annual fees and welcome bonuses change over time, so make sure to check links for current bonuses.
Personal credit cards available—in order from the most basic to the most premium—include:
- The New United Gateway℠ Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through United® Hotels, 2X miles on United purchases, 2X miles on local transit and commuting, 2X miles at gas stations and 1X miles on all other purchases.
- The New United Explorer℠ Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through United® Hotels, 2X miles on United purchases, 2X miles on dining, including eligible delivery services, and 1X miles on all other purchases.
- The New United Quest℠ Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts for United® Cardmembers, 3X miles on United purchases, 2X miles on other travel, 2X miles on dining, including eligible delivery services, 2X miles on select streaming services and 1X miles on all other purchases.
- The New United Club℠ Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts for United® Cardmembers, 4X miles on United purchases, 2X miles on other travel, 2X miles on dining, including eligible delivery services, and 1X miles on all other purchases.
Co-branded business cards earning MileagePlus miles include:
- The New United℠ Business Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through United® Hotels, 2X miles on United purchases, 2X miles on dining, including eligible delivery services, 2X miles at gas stations, 2X miles at office supply stores, 2X miles on local transit and commuting, and 1X miles on all other purchases.
- The New United Club℠ Business Card: This card earns 5X miles on hotel stays purchased through Renowned Hotels and Resorts for United® Cardmembers, 2X miles on United purchases and 1.5X miles on all other purchases.
United co-branded credit cards also provide perks, such as travel benefits and statement credits, beyond earning MileagePlus miles. Some MileagePlus members hold co-branded credit cards primarily for the benefits the cards provide. Benefits vary by card and may include benefits relevant to travel on United:
- Some benefits are similar to Premier status benefits, such as free checked bag(s) and priority boarding.
- Other benefits include access to United Clubs, statement credit for drink purchases on United flights and in United Clubs and discounted flight awards.
Transfer Points from Flexible Rewards Partners
Many points and miles enthusiasts prefer earning flexible rewards that can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel partners and used in other ways. This approach provides more options for using points for good value and limits the risk of holding points in a single loyalty program that suddenly may become less valuable.
Of course, you can earn MileagePlus miles through United co-branded cards and transfer points from credit cards that earn flexible currency. Using both methods provides more earning opportunities, particularly through welcome bonuses and by leveraging higher earning rates in certain purchase categories on specific credit cards.
For example, dining earns 3X points per dollar spent on some cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards points, while MileagePlus cards earn 1X to 2X miles on dining. To maximize points earning, it’s logical to use a card that earns 3X points for restaurants.
United partners with three programs that allow transferring points to MileagePlus—Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. These programs have credit cards that earn transferable points as well as other methods for earning points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to United MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio. In other words, 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points become 1,000 MileagePlus miles.
Chase has several consumer and business cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. Our Chase Ultimate Rewards guide provides more details about different cards and how to earn Ultimate Rewards points, manage your account, share and redeem points. Two things to keep in mind are:
- The ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to United MileagePlus is limited to cards that earn Ultimate Rewards and have an annual fee. Current cards meeting these criteria are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ and the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- You can earn Ultimate Rewards points with other Chase cards and combine them before transferring to partners.
Bilt Rewards
The Bilt Rewards program is a newer player in the flexible currency space and allows members to earn rewards on regular purchases as well as paying rent, with no fees for rent payments. Bilt Rewards points transfer to United MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio.
Bilt Rewards currently has one credit card, Bilt Mastercard®. Since there isn’t an official welcome bonus with the Bilt Mastercard and no other cards are available, the ability to amass points is limited compared to Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Marriott Bonvoy
This program often isn’t included in discussions about transferable points because Marriott Bonvoy primarily is a hotel loyalty program. Although hotel programs sometimes allow points to be transferred to airline programs, these transfers often provide poor value. Marriott transfers to United are one of the better options.
While the value of points and miles is subjective, credit-card rewards experts generally agree that a single Marriott point is worth less than a single United mile. That’s part of the reason why the standard transfer ratio from Marriott to most airline programs is 3:1.
For transfers to United, you’ll earn a 10,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred. Transferring exactly (or multiples of) 60,000 Bonvoy points results in 30,000 MileagePlus miles, which increases the transfer ratio to 2:1. If transferring fewer than 60,000 points, every 3,000 Bonvoy points yields 1,000 United miles.
Marriott points are relatively easy to earn. Since Bonvoy is a hotel loyalty program, many members earn points through hotel stays. Both American Express and Chase issue multiple Marriott co-branded credit cards, providing another way to earn Bonvoy points through spending and welcome bonuses.
Earn Miles Through United’s Partners
United has many partners within the travel industry or outside of travel that can provide good ways to earn additional miles. The primary categories and a few examples are:
- MileagePlus travel partners with mileage earning opportunities include United Vacations, United Cruises, several car rental partners and hotel options.
- Everyday activity partners with mileage earning opportunities include shopping via the MileagePlus X app and MileagePlus Shopping, dining via MileagePlus Dining and several other more specific retail, dining, financial, utility and other partners.
Buy, Share or Pool Miles
We’re discussing these options together as ways to obtain miles, but keep in mind that sharing and pooling miles don’t increase the total number of combined miles when considering all impacted accounts.
United allows members to buy miles or transfer miles to another member. At the regular price of $35 per 1,000 miles plus taxes and fees, we don’t recommend buying miles unless you need a small number of miles for a specific award and/or are redeeming miles for greater value than the purchase cost. Similarly, transferring miles is an expensive option given the combination of a transfer fee of $7.50 per 500 miles and a $30 transaction fee.
An option that may be preferable for some members and situations is to pool miles. Pooling miles is free, so it can be useful to aggregate balances from individual accounts with small balances to reach the level needed to redeem miles for an award. One limitation is that pooled miles only can be used to book United or United Express award tickets.
How to Use MileagePlus Miles
Although United identifies many ways to use miles—including purchasing meals at airports, flight incidentals, travel, merchandise and gift cards—using miles for purposes other than booking flight awards or flight upgrade awards usually provides poor value. In the following example, purchasing a gift card with MileagePlus miles results in a terrible value of 0.3 cent per mile.
As a rule of thumb, we don’t recommend using MileagePlus miles in situations where the value is less than 1 cent each. Depending on individual travel patterns, travel style and interest in maximizing miles, some travelers may have a higher threshold for redeeming miles.
Let’s look at ways to use MileagePlus miles for flight awards and upgrades.
Use Miles for Flight Awards
Booking flights with MileagePlus miles for travel on United and partner airlines is the most common way of redeeming MileagePlus miles, and this typically is the best way to use miles you already have. With dynamic award rates, there is significant variation based on expected demand, cash rates and other factors.
Industry sources and our analysis provide a range of expected values for redeeming United miles for award flights. Many estimates fall between 1.2 and 1.4 cents per mile. More details and examples are provided in our article about the value of MileagePlus miles.
If you need to transfer points to United to book an award flight and/or have miles in other programs, it’s worth considering whether booking through MileagePlus is the best option. For example, you may be able to book United flights through a partner airline’s loyalty program at a lower award rate. Similarly, a competing airline may have lower rates on the same route, so booking on a different airline might be an option if you have other points and miles.
You can search for United flight awards with or without logging into your MileagePlus account, and there are valid reasons for both approaches. It’s possible to begin a search without logging in, but the system repeatedly displays pop-ups requesting that you login. In many cases, you can close the pop-up and proceed without logging in, but it can be annoying.
When ready to book a flight with miles, you need to be logged into your MileagePlus account.
As discussed below, for MileagePlus members with co-branded credit cards and/or elite status, award availability may be different depending on whether you log in or not.
Award Fare Types
Saver awards usually have the lowest award rates. When search results are displayed, the “Saver” label often is displayed for economy awards. Saver awards also display X or XN fare classes for economy and I or IN fare classes for domestic first class and international business class.
Some additional details about Saver award fare classes are:
- XN and IN indicate extra award availability for certain elite members or members with co-branded credit cards. If you don’t login and/or don’t have required status or credit cards, you won’t see these codes.
- X and I fare classes (but not XN or IN) are important because those codes indicate award space that should be available for booking through partner airline programs. If you have Premier status or a co-branded credit card that provides access to XN or IN space but ultimately want to book flights through partner programs, you should avoid logging into your MileagePlus account when searching. Otherwise, you’ll see XN or IN space that won’t be available through partner programs.
The example below shows a flight with Saver economy (X) award availability, but no Saver space for first class. If there was Saver space in business, the fare class would be I rather than JN.
Everyday awards typically are more expensive and can be booked through the MileagePlus program but can’t be booked through partner airline programs. This terminology originated when United had award charts. Although United rarely uses the term “Everyday awards” in this way now, it refers to the following fare classes: YN for economy, ON for premium plus and JN for domestic first class or international business class.
Search Details
United’s search engine has some good and bad features. You can enter search criteria on the basic flight booking page (pictured below) or advanced search page. Selecting “Book with miles” and “Flexible dates” shows 30 days of award rates in a calendar view. The website also supports filtering on multiple criteria to help narrow down results to desired flights. Despite having relatively robust search functionality, the downside is that the search tool can be glitchy.
United uses the same online functionality for searching for flights to purchase with money, miles or a combination of money and miles. After entering search parameters, you can easily switch to see rates for each option.
As the name suggests, the Money + Miles booking option uses a combination of MileagePlus miles and cash to book flights. This might be a useful option in some situations. In particular, travelers who don’t have enough miles to book a flight entirely with miles or travelers who want to book a fare type that’s not available for miles-only awards (such as basic economy or economy plus) might consider this option.
The following example shows Money + Miles rates for the same flight as the miles-only rates above.
We compared money and miles to money-only rates for each applicable fare type and calculated the cost of substituting miles for money as 1 cent each. For example, the basic-economy fare was $100 (all cash rate) or $60 + 4,000 miles. Saving $40 on the cash rate requires using 4,000 miles, which translates to 1 cent per mile.
For comparing money-only, money and miles combination, and miles-only rates, it’s appropriate to use the economy fare. Rates are:
- Money-only: $135
- Money and miles: $6,000 miles + $75
- Miles-only: 11,100 miles + $5.60 (the cash amount is mandatory taxes and fees for U.S. domestic award tickets)
For a member who has enough miles to book the miles-only award rate, booking a miles-only award provides a higher value for miles used—about 1.17 cents each—compared to money and miles at 1 cent each. The calculation used to determine cents per mile is: ($135 – $5.60) / 11,100 x 100 = 1.17.
For travelers who want flexibility to change plans and are choosing between money-only and miles-only rates, comparing the $170 economy (fully refundable) fare to the economy award fare (all award fares are fully refundable) may be more appropriate.
Use Miles for Upgrade Awards
MileagePlus upgrade awards use miles and in some cases cash co-payments to upgrade many cash fares to a higher cabin. These awards can be used on flights operated by United and United Express and exclude basic economy fares.
Upgrade rates vary based on the origin and destination regions, purchased fare class and Premier status level if applicable. The linked page has a tool to enter origin, destination and fare class and see upgrade rates. In May 2025, United’s website was updated to note that these rates apply to awards booked until Nov. 24, 2025. After that date, it seems likely that upgrade award rates will be dynamic, similar to flight award rates.
Upgrades are subject to availability and are treated as requests. You can request MileagePlus upgrades at the time you make the reservation or add an upgrade request to an existing reservation until 24 hours before travel. Members requesting upgrade awards are added to a waitlist. United has several other types of upgrades, and the waitlist is prioritized by multiple factors. Additional details and terms and conditions for MileagePlus upgrade awards are addressed on the same page that explains the waitlist priority.
Star Alliance upgrade awards use miles for upgrades on eligible Star Alliance airlines (besides United) flights. Awards can be requested after booking and are valid for one nonstop flight. Details about eligible airlines and fare classes are provided at the link above.
Premier (Elite) Status
Like other loyalty programs, United offers additional benefits to some customers through its elite program, and members with status are referred to as Premier members. There are four levels of MileagePlus Premier status, which are listed from lowest to highest:
- Premier Silver
- Premier Gold
- Premier Platinum
- Premier 1K®
There are different criteria for qualifying for each status level and different benefits provided for each tier. Whether it makes sense to pursue elite status depends on individual circumstances. Co-branded credit cards provide some benefits similar to elite benefits.
Let’s take a look at how to earn Premier status and what type of benefits are available at each level.
Premier Status Requirements
There are two basic requirements for all levels of Premier status:
- Obtaining the required number of Premier qualifying flights (PQF) and Premier qualifying points (PQP) or meeting requirements with PQP only, as detailed below for each status level
- Taking four paid United or United Express flights (each segment is counted as one flight)
Members have from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 to qualify for status that’s valid for the remainder of that year and the entire next program year. For example, status earned during 2025 is valid through Jan. 31, 2027.
Here’s a summary of the requirements for each status level.
| Requirements | Status level | |||
| Premier Silver | Premier Gold | Premier Platinum | Premier 1K | |
| Combined PQF and PQPORPQP Only | 15 PQF and 5,000 PQP 6,000 PQP | 30 PQF and 10,000 PQP 12,000 PQP | 45 PQF and 15,000 PQP 18,000 PQP | 60 PQF and 22,000 PQP 28,000 PQP |
| Lifetime status requirement | N/A | 1 million miles | 2 million miles | 3 million miles |
Members accrue one PQF per flight for most flights on United, United Express and partner airlines. Members don’t earn PQF on basic-economy tickets, flights to Venezuela and flights to Cuba that aren’t operated by United.
Premier qualifying points primarily are based on spending and are earned multiple ways.
- Paid flights on United, United Express or Star Alliance partners: Members earn one PQP per dollar of base fare on United and United Express flights, except bulk tickets which earn one PQP for every five specialty award miles. The method of calculating PQP earnings for flights on partner airlines varies for preferred partners and other partners.
- Miles used for flight awards or MileagePlus upgrade awards on United or United Express flights: Members earn one PQP for every 100 MileagePlus miles redeemed on United and United Express award flights, seat upgrades and MileagePlus upgrade awards.
- Upgrade fees and cash co-payments on MileagePlus upgrade awards: Members earn one PQP for every pre-tax dollar spent on Economy Plus® and preferred seating on United flights and Economy Plus subscriptions. Cash co-payments on MileagePlus upgrade awards also earn PQP, but the earning rate isn’t specified.
- Welcome bonuses or spending on co-branded credit cards: MileagePlus members who are primary United co-branded cardholders earn PQP on purchases made with eligible credit cards, up to card-specific PQP earning limits. Earning rates are one PQP per $15 spending on the United Club Infinite card and United Club Business card or one PQP per $20 spending on all other PQP-eligible cards. Specific cards also may award PQP as part of welcome bonus offers.
- PQP purchases through United’s Premier accelerator: When booking flights, members can buy PQP (through Premier accelerator) in conjunction with buying redeemable miles (through Award accelerator).
Additional details about the options above are provided on United’s earn status page.
In some situations, United may offer shortcuts to earning elite status. For example, the program gave existing Premier members PQP to help them qualify during 2025. The program sometimes may offer status trials or challenges to individuals who have elite status in a different program.
Premier Status Benefits
Key benefits at each status level are summarized in the following table, and additional details about these benefits and other benefits are discussed on United’s Premier benefits page.
| Benefits | Status level | |||
| Premier Silver | Premier Gold | Premier Platinum | Premier 1K | |
| Free checked bag(s) in economy | One | Two | Three | Three |
| Free access to Economy Plus | At check-in for you and one companion | At booking for you and one companion | At booking for you and eight companions | At booking for you and eight companions |
| Boarding group | Group 2 | Group 1 | Group 1 | Priority pre-boarding |
| Free upgrade eligibility | Day of departure | 48 hours before flight | 72 hours before flight | 96 hours before flight |
| Total miles earned | 7X base fare | 8X base fare | 9X base fare | 11X base fare |
| PlusPoints earned for reaching status level | N/A | N/A | 40 PlusPoints | 280 PlusPoints |
One consideration that’s especially relevant for international travelers is that Premier Gold, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members also receive Star Alliance Gold status. Star Alliance Gold status includes multiple benefits on Star Alliance partners and access to airline lounges operated by Star Alliance members (except United) when traveling on a Star Alliance member-operated flight.
Premier Silver members also receive Star Alliance Silver status, but Star Alliance Silver benefits are limited.
Upgrades referenced as free upgrades in the table are United’s Complimentary Premier Upgrades, which are space-available upgrades for Premier members on select United and United Express flights. Details about eligible and ineligible flights and other requirements are detailed in upgrade FAQs and terms and conditions for this upgrade type. In some situations, Premier members who also hold United co-branded credit cards may be eligible for upgrades on award flights.
Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members can use PlusPoints for more flexible upgrade options. Members can request and confirm premium cabin upgrades on United’s website or app, and PlusPoints aren’t deducted until an upgrade is confirmed.
Additional details about earning and using PlusPoints are provided on the PlusPoints page. Premier 1K members also can earn 20 additional PlusPoints for every 3,000 PQP beyond 22,000 on top of the PlusPoints earned upon reaching the highest status tier.
The number of PlusPoints required for different upgrades are:
- 10 points for United Premium Plus to United business on short-haul flights
- 20 points for United economy to United Premium Plus, United business or United first on short-haul flights or United economy to United Premium Plus on long-haul flights
- 30 points for United Premium Plus to United Polaris® business class on long-haul flights
- 40 points for United economy to United Polaris business class on long-haul flights
- 80 points for discounted economy to United Polaris business class on long-haul flights
Premier 1K members also have an option to skip the waitlist by using additional PlusPoints to instantly confirm an upgrade on select international flights operated by United.
Other options for using PlusPoints earned in 2025 or later involve exchanging PlusPoints for other perks, as summarized below.
| Perks | Number of PlusPoints to exchange | ||||||||
| 10 | 20 | 40 | 80 | 100 | 160 | 320 | 440 | 600 (Max) | |
| Gift Premier status | Silver (Max 3X) | Gold (Max 2X) | Platinum (Max 1X) | 1K (Max 1X) | |||||
| TravelBank cash | $20 | $40 | $80 | $160 | $200 (Max) | ||||
| Bonus miles | 1,500 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 (Max) | ||||
| Premier qualifying flights | 2 | 4 (Max) | |||||||
| Premier qualifying points | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1,000 | 1600 (Max) | |||
The maximum number (abbreviated as “Max” above) of PlusPoints that can be exchanged are limited in total and for specific perks. United notes the maximum allowance of PlusPoints that can be exchanged per PlusPoints expiration date and provides an example for a member with 1,000 PlusPoints that expire on Jan. 31, 2027. That member can exchange up to 600 PlusPoints total and can use a maximum number of PlusPoints for specific perks, such as 100 PlusPoints for TravelBank cash and 160 PlusPoints for PQP.
Final Thoughts
United MileagePlus is a useful program for many points and miles enthusiasts because it’s relatively easy to obtain MileagePlus miles and use them to book flights on United and partner airlines. Some customer-friendly features of the MileagePlus program are low award fees and taxes and free changes and cancellations for award flights.
MileagePlus award rates are dynamic, and awards charts aren’t published. The variability in award rates makes it more difficult for members to determine how many miles should be needed for a particular award.
While there are some situations where members can obtain high value using MileagePlus miles for flight awards, these opportunities have decreased over time. MileagePlus awards generally provide average or slightly below average value compared to other programs.
MileagePlus offers members the opportunity to earn Premier status, and elite status provides additional perks. Like other airline loyalty programs, United has moved towards a model where elite status increasingly is based on spending rather than the number of flights taken.
Specific benefits depend on Premier level, with key benefits including free checked bag(s), priority boarding, free Economy Plus seats, complimentary upgrades, expanded award availability on United flights, enhanced redeemable miles earning rate, PlusPoints and Star Alliance elite status.