United MileagePlus Complete Guide
The United MileagePlus program has changed a lot in recent years. United did away with award charts (which had its pros and cons), eliminated the Excursionist Perk in August 2025, refreshed its credit cards, and reworked how you earn miles so that holding a United credit card now matters more than ever.
The key strength of United miles is the simplicity of redeeming them for partner flights. United does not pass on fuel surcharges, which makes it easy to choose the most convenient partner for an award flight. On top of that, its 2-month award availability calendar makes it easy to see which days have premium cabin space, so award searches can be relatively painless.
United Airlines MileagePlus Pros and Cons
Pros
- No fuel surcharges on award tickets
- Miles are easy to amass thanks to plenty of credit card options, especially cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points (which transfer 1:1 to United MileagePlus)
- Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members earn PlusPoints, which give some flexibility in how they use confirmed upgrades (for example, a Premier Platinum member could use their 40 PlusPoints to upgrade a round-trip short-haul U.S. flight from economy to business, or upgrade a one-way international flight from economy to business)
Cons
- No award charts, which makes it hard to plan for future award travel
- Getting the most out of the program now essentially requires holding a United credit card, by design. The earning rates and award discounts are built to reward cardholders
- Close-in booking penalty: partner flights booked close to departure can cost additional miles, which is especially frustrating for partners (like Lufthansa) that do not release premium-cabin space to partners until close to departure
- Elite status benefits are generally weaker than American or Delta
- Premier-qualifying points are limited when flying with partner airlines
Earn Miles
Flights
How many miles you earn on paid United flights depends on both your MileagePlus status and whether you hold a United credit card.
General members:
- With a United card: 6 miles per dollar
- Without a United card: 3 miles per dollar
- The United MileagePlus® Debit Rewards Card and United Gateway℠ Card unlock the higher cardmember earn rates after you spend $10,000 on the card within a calendar year
Elite members earn higher rates based on status:
- Premier Silver: 8 (with card) / 5 (without)
- Premier Gold: 9 (with card) / 6 (without)
- Premier Platinum: 10 (with card) / 7 (without)
- Premier 1K: 12 (with card) / 9 (without)
Notice the pattern: across every tier, holding a United card adds 3 miles per dollar on paid United flights. That gap matters most at the bottom. A United card roughly doubles a general member’s earning on paid United flights, while it gives a top-tier flyer a smaller percentage bump. United is now one of the least rewarding major U.S. airlines for non-cardholders, so if you fly United with any regularity, a United card (or a Chase card that earns transferable points) makes a real difference.
One more recent change to know: on basic economy fares, you now have to hold a United credit card to earn miles at all, and both cardholders and elite members earn at reduced rates on those tickets. If you book basic economy without a United card, you may earn nothing.
Exceptions:
- Certain unpublished, consolidator/bulk, group, tour, and opaque tickets where the fare you paid is not shared with United (vacation packages, cruise packages, consolidator fares, and the like) are considered “exception fares.” On these, you earn miles based on the distance flown and fare class. Details can be found here.
- Partner flights that United does not market earn miles based on the distance flown, and the details vary by partner. Details can be found here.
United Airlines credit cards
Miles can be earned from credit card welcome bonuses and from everyday credit card spending. The big welcome bonuses are where most of the value is. Spending on a United card for everyday purchases usually is not the best move, because the everyday earn rates are low and there are cards on the market that reward regular spending much more generously. More on the United cards in the credit card section later in this post.
Transfer from other points programs to United MileagePlus
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase offers a number of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, and on bonus-category purchases those cards often earn more points per dollar than a United card earns in MileagePlus miles. That matters because Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 to United. Even if your main goal is United miles, you are usually better off earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points first, since you keep the flexibility to use them for other airlines, hotels, or cash. For more, see our Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide.
Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards points also transfer 1:1 to United, which opens up another way to build MileagePlus miles. Bilt is best known for letting you earn points on rent and other housing payments, plus everyday spending on its cards. If you are paying rent anyway, it can be a low-effort way to earn miles toward a trip.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott points transfer to most airline partners at a rate of 3 Marriott points to 1 mile. When you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points at once, you earn a 5,000-mile bonus, so 60,000 Marriott points become 25,000 airline miles with most partners. United is the exception: Marriott has a special partnership where 60,000 transferred points earn a 10,000-mile bonus instead, so 60,000 Marriott points become 30,000 United miles. For more, see our Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide.
Non-flight options for earning points
Online shopping
United operates a shopping portal, United MileagePlus Shopping. Start your online shopping there and click through to your favorite retailers to earn miles per dollar spent. Keep an eye out for shopping-portal promotions for chances to earn extra bonus miles.
In-person shopping
United also offers card-linked offers for in-store shopping, where you can earn bonus United miles at some stores when you pay with a card linked to the program. This can be any linked card, not just a United credit card.
Marriott Vacation Club
Marriott Vacation Club owners can exchange points for miles, starting at 500 Vacation Club Points for 8,000 miles. See more on United’s hotel partners page.
United MileagePlus Dining
Like many airlines, United runs a dining program, United MileagePlus Dining, that lets you earn miles when you dine at participating restaurants and pay with a linked card. It works like other card-linked offers and can stack with your card’s category bonuses.
Pooling United miles with family or friends
United lets you pool miles with other MileagePlus members, which can be handy for families saving toward a trip together. A few things to know: the person who starts the pool (the pool leader) must be 18 or older, a pool can have up to five people including the leader, everyone can contribute miles, and only the pool leader redeems the pooled miles unless they give others permission. You can only be in one pool at a time, and if you leave a pool you give up the miles you contributed. You can set up pooling on United’s website.
Other partners including hotels, cruises, and more
United has a number of other partnerships that let you earn miles on cruises, rental cars, hotel stays, and more. See more details on United’s earn-miles page.
Spend Miles
Booking flights with United miles is straightforward. On United.com, just check the box to “Book with miles” when you search. United shows a week of results at a time by default, but you can choose “Flexible Dates” on the home page to see a two-month calendar view, which makes it easier to spot award space.
Award booking tips
- United cardholders get a discount on award flights, at least 10% off, and elite members get at least 15% off. United now shows these discounted award prices, along with expanded saver-level availability, to everyone when they search, even non-cardholders, so you can see what you would save with a card before you apply.
- United cardholders, along with Premier Platinum and 1K members, get access to saver awards in United Polaris® business class.
- United no longer has an award chart. Prices can be especially variable on United-operated flights, while partner awards tend to be a bit more predictable, though they have become less predictable over time.
- No fuel surcharges means there is usually no cost advantage to choosing one partner over another, apart from differences in taxes based on the countries you fly through.
Using miles to upgrade a paid flight
Besides booking award tickets outright, you can also use United miles to upgrade a paid ticket to a higher cabin. The number of miles depends on your ticket type, your Premier status, and the route, and United has a pricing calculator on its site. A few basics for beginners: basic economy tickets cannot be upgraded, you can request an upgrade online, by phone, or at a ticket counter, and miles are only deducted if your upgrade actually clears (which sometimes is not confirmed until the day of travel). For most beginners, booking an award seat outright is simpler and more predictable than chasing upgrades, but it is good to know the option exists.
Best uses of miles
The value of United miles varies quite a bit, but you can reasonably expect around 1.3 cents per mile on domestic U.S. flights. For international flights, especially premium cabins on partner airlines, the value per mile can be much higher.
United no longer has an award chart and rarely has the lowest award price for a given route, but the lack of fuel surcharges and the ease of building up United miles (especially through 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers) can make them an easy choice for partner premium-cabin redemptions.
One note: United eliminated the Excursionist Perk on August 21, 2025. That benefit used to let members add a free one-way flight within a foreign region as part of a qualifying round-trip award. With it gone, United miles are now best used for one-way and round-trip awards, particularly long-haul premium-cabin flights on Star Alliance partners, where the no-fuel-surcharge advantage really shines.
Award partners
United has many partners through the Star Alliance, plus additional non-alliance partners. All should be bookable online via United.com:
- Aegean
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- ANA (All Nippon Airways)
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- ITA Airways
- Juneyao Air
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Lufthansa City Airlines
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Air Dolomiti
- Airlink
- Azul
- Cape Air
- Discover Airlines
- Edelweiss
- Emirates
- Eurowings
- FlyDubai
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JSX
- Olympic Air
- Virgin Australia
Award change and cancellation fees
As of this writing, United charges no change or redeposit fees on award tickets, regardless of where you are flying. The one exception is a no-show: if you fail to cancel before departure, United charges a $125 fee to redeposit your miles. It is always smart to check the current change and cancellation terms before you book. You can review United’s current terms here.
United Elite Status
Most airlines reward their most frequent customers with elite status, and United is no exception. United’s tiers run from Premier Silver up to Premier 1K. Silver perks are only slightly better than what you get from simply holding a United credit card, while Premier 1K perks can be quite nice.
United elite status requirements
- Premier Silver: 15 PQF and 5,000 PQP, or 6,000 PQP
- Premier Gold: 30 PQF and 10,000 PQP, or 12,000 PQP
- Premier Platinum: 45 PQF and 15,000 PQP, or 18,000 PQP
- Premier 1K: 60 PQF and 22,000 PQP, or 28,000 PQP
Definitions:
- PQFs (Premier-qualifying flights): essentially flight segments. At least 4 must be flown on United or United Express, and award flight segments count too.
- PQPs (Premier-qualifying points): points awarded based on how much you spend on United flights, earned on the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges, along with seat purchases and paid upgrades. Award flights operated by United also earn 1 PQP per 100 miles redeemed.
In short, United lets you earn elite status either by flying a minimum number of segments and spending a certain amount with the airline, or by spending enough money alone regardless of how many segments you fly. Travelers who buy expensive flights can reach United elite status without flying many segments, while the amount you need to spend is reduced slightly if you fly United and its partners often.
Premier-qualifying points are essentially awarded as 1 point per dollar spent on base fare with United. PQPs are calculated differently for partner-operated flights depending on whether you fly a “preferred partner” or another MileagePlus partner. In either case, the number of PQPs is the award miles earned on that flight divided by either 5 or 6:
- Preferred partner PQPs: award miles divided by 5
- MileagePlus partner PQPs: award miles divided by 6
For example, if you take a paid flight with a partner that would ordinarily earn 1,000 United miles, you would earn 200 PQPs with a preferred partner or about 167 PQPs with a non-preferred partner. Bulk tickets, like those bought through a consolidator or vacation package, are treated differently. See this page for more details.
Elite benefits
United’s full list of elite benefits can be found here. Here is a quick summary of the most useful ones:
- Premier Silver: free Economy Plus seating at check-in for the member plus 1 companion, 1 free checked bag up to 70 lbs
- Premier Gold: free Economy Plus seating at booking for the member plus 1 companion, 2 free checked bags up to 70 lbs, Star Alliance Gold (access to Star Alliance lounges but not United Clubs), and Marriott Gold status
- Premier Platinum: free Economy Plus seating for the member plus up to 8 companions, 3 free checked bags up to 70 lbs, 40 PlusPoints for upgrades, and Marriott Gold status
- Premier 1K: all Premier Platinum benefits plus 280 PlusPoints, pre-boarding, and a free drink and snack in economy
Elite upgrades
In addition to complimentary operational upgrades, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members receive PlusPoints, which they can use to confirm upgrades in advance. The number of PlusPoints needed depends on the distance and the fare class being upgraded. Generally, economy to business costs 20 PlusPoints each way on short-haul flights or 40 PlusPoints on long-haul flights (discounted economy fares cost 80 PlusPoints each way on long-haul flights).
Heads-up for the future: starting in February 2027, United plans to move to dynamic upgrade pricing, so the fixed PlusPoint amounts above will no longer apply.
United and JetBlue: the Blue Sky partnership
United and JetBlue have announced a partnership called Blue Sky that will let members earn and redeem miles across both airlines and share some reciprocal elite benefits. It is still rolling out, with more pieces arriving in 2027, so it is worth keeping an eye on if you fly either airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do United MileagePlus miles expire?
No. United miles do not expire, whether or not you hold a United credit card or have elite status. That makes MileagePlus a low-stress program to build up over time.
How much are United miles worth?
As a rough rule of thumb, plan on getting around 1.3 cents per mile for domestic U.S. and international economy flights. For international premium cabins on partner airlines, you can often do considerably better.
Credit cards
Not sure which United or Chase card fits your situation? Get a personalized recommendation from CardGenie®. It can suggest a starter card in a couple of minutes based on your goals and spending.
(Some of this content originally appeared on The Frequent Miler and has been posted with permission.)
