United Airlines Travel Rewards – Earn Free Travel
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After the pandemic, travel bounced back. Big time. The summer of 2022 was the busiest travel season ever. If you are eager to continue traveling, it may be time to enroll in a rewards program, especially one like United's, which will give you rewards on more than just travel. You can earn on dining and shopping, as well. But of course, travel is a benefit, and MileagePlus members can use miles to book award tickets on United and other Star Alliance partner airlines, book hotel stays with MileagePlus Hotel Awards, request upgrades, and receive premium cabin travel.
Here, we examine how you can earn and redeem award travel as a member of United MileagePlus.
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Earning Miles
Of course, to have miles to spend, you have to earn them first. This can be done simply by flying on United or United Express and any Star Alliance airline partner. Stay at hotel partners Marriott and IHG properties and earn more. And, more miles can be gathered by renting a car from Hertz or taking a cruise with a partner.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
United Credit Cards
If you open a MileagePlus credit card as a consumer or a small business, you can earn miles every time you spend. There are four different personal credit cards you can have.
United Gateway℠ Card
United Gateway℠ Card
Card Name
United Gateway℠ Card
APR
21.99% - 28.99%
Recommended Credit Score
Good, Excellent
Annual Fee
$0
Special Offer
Earn 20,000 bonus miles
Special Offer Terms
after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. Learn more.
Rewards Rate
2 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, at gas stations and on local transit and commuting. 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Why We Like It
- Good bonus miles offer.
- No annual fee.
- 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi onboard United-operated flights.
- One-year complimentary DashPass.
United℠ Explorer Card
United℠ Explorer Card
Card Name
United℠ Explorer Card
APR
21.99% - 28.99%
Recommended Credit Score
Excellent, Good
Annual Fee
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
Special Offer
Earn 50,000 bonus miles
Special Offer Terms
after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Rewards Rate
Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, hotel stays and United® purchases. 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Terms
Why We Like It
- Generous bonus miles offered.
- Up to $100 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
- 25% back on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi onboard United-operated flights when you pay with your Explorer Card.
- Free first checked bag.
- Priority boarding privileges and two one-time passes to the United Club℠ on anniversary.
United Quest℠ Card
United Quest℠ Card
Card Name
United Quest℠ Card
APR
21.99% - 28.99%
Recommended Credit Score
Good, Excellent
Annual Fee
$250
Special Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points
Special Offer Terms
after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Rewards Rate
3 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases. 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, select streaming services & all other travel. 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. Plus, each year, receive up to a $125 United® purchase credit and up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits (terms apply) and earn up to 6,000 Premier qualifying points.
Why We Like It
- Generous bonus miles offered.
- Receive up to a $125 United® purchase credit every anniversary and two 5,000-mile anniversary award flight credits.
- One-year complimentary DashPass.
United Club℠ Infinite Card
United Club℠ Infinite Card
Card Name
United Club℠ Infinite Card
APR
21.99% - 28.99%
Recommended Credit Score
Excellent
Annual Fee
$525
Special Offer
Earn 80,000 bonus miles
Special Offer Terms
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards Rate
Earn 4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel and dining and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Why We Like It
- Receive up to $100 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
- Get free first and second checked bags.
- One-year complimentary DashPass.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Card Name
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
APR
21.49%-28.49%
Recommended Credit Score
Excellent, Good
Annual Fee
$95
Special Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points
Special Offer Terms
after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Rewards Rate
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Terms
Why We Like It
- Generous bonus points offered.
- High points for travel and dining purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® and points on all purchases.
- Complimentary one-year access to DashPass.
Shopping
Rack up miles by shopping at more than 900 stores connected to the MileagePlus Shopping portal. The portal allows you to earn extra miles on qualifying purchases and see special bonus offerings at nationwide stores like Home Depot, Walmart, and Eddie Bauer. You’ll find yourself earning a mile for every dollar on items you were already planning on buying.
Dining
When you dine out and pay using a debit or credit card linked to your MileagePlus account, you can earn 3 miles for every dollar you spend. If you dine out 11 times using a connected card, you’ll earn a VIP membership, earning 5 miles for every dollar spent at participating restaurants. More restaurants are also available to VIP members, equaling more chances to earn miles. It is free to participate in the program.
Featured deals
United often promotes featured deals on its MileagePlus page, so if you pay attention, you may spot ways to nab points faster. For example, a featured deal in August 2022 offered 2,500 miles for back-to-school shopping.
United MileagePlus Premier Status
As with all frequent flyer programs, the more you fly, the higher your status. Miles are based on fare, but bonus miles are based on Premier status:
- Basic members: 5X fare
- Premier Silver: 7X fare
- Premier Gold: 8X fare
- Premier Platinum: 9X fare
- Premier 1K: 11X fare
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
Redeeming Miles
Air Travel
United doesn’t offer an award chart to specify how you can redeem based on location, destination, availability, and timing in its dynamic pricing structure. This means you have to search for your rewards availability, which is a bit of a pain considering once upon a time, you knew, say, 35,000 miles automatically got you a free domestic flight. The dynamic pricing shows available flights and United MileagePlus miles needed to book each fare class.
Here is an example flight from Newark, New Jersey (EWR) to Los Angeles, California (LAX).
And the same dates for a flight to Orlando, Florida (MCO).
Shopping awards
Points can also be redeemed for shopping on United MileagePlus' shopping website. It offers a variety of categories, from travel to home and electronics to jewelry. You can search for products based on the miles you have to spend.
A simple search resulted in the lowest award miles could be used for things like:
- Faberware 15.5-inch pizza pan for 7,300 miles
- A Melissa and Doug USA map floor puzzle for 7,400 miles
- S’well stainless steel straw set of 4 for 7,600 miles
If you are a big traveler with 500,000 award miles, you could purchase:
- TAG Heuer watch
- Microsoft Surface Pro 7 or 15-inch Surface Laptop (498,700)
- Sony 65-inch HDR 4K UHD Smart LED TV (496,300)
Your miles can also be sued to buy Apple products, including an iPad, Apple Watch or MacBook.
If you’d like to gift someone with your miles, you can purchase gift cards to stores, restaurants, and online retailers.
Experiences
Like many rewards programs, United’s program provides “once-in-a-lifetime memories” where your miles can get you into the biggest sporting events, concerts, Broadway shows, and special MileagePlus events. With these, you can buy tickets with your miles or make a bid.
Examples of past VIP experiences included a Red Carpet Experience attending the 71st Emmy Awards, going behind the scenes on a United Flight Simulator (you can “fly” a 787!), and access to hospitality suites at major events, like the New York City Marathon, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Perks
The benefits of being a MileagePlus member are the small perks that matter when flying. The Last Seat Availability award means you get priority booking for the last seat on a flight – it comes in handy when a canceled flight sends you scrambling at the airport and competing for a seat on the next plane.
Of course, upgrades are important, and as a member, you are eligible for upgrades to business class or first class. The more elite status you have, the better chance you have of getting an upgrade, but members also get discounted rates or free Economy Plus seating, which offers more legroom. These are all dependent on award seat availability and are not guaranteed.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
The bottom line
United Airlines is one of the three largest airlines in the United States, and its Star Alliance membership connects to places worldwide. As you venture back out, these little extras earned through the free membership program may save you some money down the road.
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Director of Content
Lissa Poirot is Joy Wallet’s Head of Content and an award-winning journalist and editor with a focus on finance, travel and health. Her work has appeared online and in print, and she has often been cited as a source on both. She currently resides in Pennsylvania.
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