#3 Among Airlines
Point Value
1.3 ¢
Program Score
8
United is a solid option for international flights, especially for business class.
United MileagePlus associated alliance is Star Alliance
Visit Star Alliance
United is no different from most airlines. Your best bet for accruing United miles is to fly on the airline (or one of its partners) or to open a co-branded credit card. United also partners with Chase and Bilt, so you can transfer miles from either program. There are a few other ways to earn miles, but they aren’t worth extra effort.
You earn miles each time you purchase an eligible United ticket. Your earnings depend on factors like MileagePlus status, whether you hold a United credit card, the ticket type, and the ticketing and operating airlines.
You can earn miles on the base fare, up to 75,000 miles per ticket, on flights operated by United, United Express, Star Alliance carriers, and MileagePlus partners (when ticketed by United).
Holding a United credit card (other than the United Gateway card) increases your earn rate. United status also boosts earnings, and having both provides the highest return per flight.
Here’s how it works:
Note: United Mileage Debit Rewards and United Gateway cardholders can unlock these rates after spending $10,000 on their cards in a calendar year.
If you fly basic economy, the earn rates are quite low. If you don't have status or a United credit card, you won't earn any miles on a basic economy flight:
United offers six co-branded credit cards that earn MileagePlus miles: four personal and two business cards. Each comes with different sign-up bonuses, benefits, perks, and annual fees. If you want to build your MileagePlus balance, there are solid options depending on your loyalty to United and upcoming travel.
United overhauled its earn rates and award pricing in 2026, placing greater importance on holding a United card. Cardholders earn more miles when flying United and gain access to more award flights at lower redemption rates.
Chase and Bilt are the only two credit card programs that transfer to United. Points earned in either system can be used to top off or fully book United flights. Chase offers many cards that make it easy to build a large balance to transfer. Bilt has three cards to earn and transfer points with. Bilt cardholders can also earn meaningful points by paying mortgage or rent with your Bilt card and later transferring those points to a high-value partner like United.
You can also earn MileagePlus miles when flying on a partner airline, but how much you earn depends on several factors and can be complicated. Booking a partner flight through United earns miles based on fare class and your elite status. If you book directly through a partner, you’ll earn miles based on distance flown/strong> and the fare class you book in. You can see how much you’ll earn with each partner airline here.
Use Mileage Pooling
United Mileage Pooling lets you create a group with up to five members. The pool leader must be at least 18 years old but can invite any MileagePlus member, including minors. Each member chooses how many miles to contribute and retains ownership of those miles.
The pool leader controls redemptions but can grant redemption privileges to other members. This is the best way for families or groups to combine miles for award travel without paying transfer fees.
Transfer miles to another member
United also lets you transfer miles directly to another member, but you'll pay $7.50 per 500 miles plus a $30 processing fee. Because of the high cost, paid transfers are generally only worthwhile for small account top-offs.
Every United card has some type of big spend bonus tied to it. We don’t recommend trying to earn these perks by diverting spend from a welcome offer on a different card.
United Gateway
Spend requirement: Earn 2 free checked bags after spending $10,000 in a calendar year. A first checked bag is $45 and a second is $55.
Our take: Not a good perk for the required spend.
United Explorer
Spend requirements: Earn a $100 United travel credit at $10,000 in spend, and a 10,000-mile award discount at $20,000.
Our take: Neither bonus is worth the extra spend.
United Quest
Spend requirement: Earn a 10,000-mile award flight discount after $20,000 in spend.
Our take: Not worth putting spend on the card.
United Club
Spend requirement: Earn All Access membership to the United Club after $50,000 in spend.
Our take: Not worthwhile given the high spend and the option to buy membership for $750 (or 94,000 miles).
United Business
Spend requirement: Earn 2 continental U.S. Economy Plus seat upgrades after $25,000 in spend.
Our take: Not a worthwhile return for that spend.
Annual bonus: Earn a 5,000-mile “better together” anniversary bonus when you hold both a United business and personal card. This is a nice perk with no spend requirement.
United Club Business
Annual bonus: Earn a 5,000-mile “better together” anniversary bonus when you hold both a United business and personal card.
Spend requirement: Earn All Access United Club membership after $50,000 in spend.
Our take: Like the personal Club card, the spend is too high to justify the perk.
Special Offers Related to United MileagePlus. Click the arrow to see more.
United has released another round of targeted Mile Play offers, offering some MileagePlus members the opportunity to earn bonus miles. Offers vary by member and can include everything from bonus miles for taking paid United flights to linking your Lyft account, enabling app notifications, or even applying for a United credit card. Go here and enter your United MileagePlus number to see if you are targeted. If so, register by August 28, 2026 before completing any qualifying activities, as only purchases and flights made after registration count toward your offer.
Update: Additional Chase Q3 spending offers and card-specific registration links have surfaced. Offers vary widely by card and account, so it may be worth trying both the card-specific links and Chase’s general MyBonus page even if you were not notified directly.
If you have Chase cards, it's worth checking for targeted third-quarter spending offers, as there are some strong bonuses available on select cards. Here are a few of the best offers we've seen:
Offers are valid on eligible purchases from July 1 through September 30, 2026. You can check here to see if you've been targeted. Our friends over at Frequent Miler have compiled a thorough list of all offers and links to each.
Marriott and United have long had a partnership, and they have a new promotion out for members enrolled in their Preferred Partnership Program. You must hold Marriott Titanium or Ambassador Elite status or United Premier Gold or higher to participate. Earn 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points and 1,500 United MileagePlus bonus miles each time you complete <em>both</em> a paid Marriott stay and a paid United flight. The flight and stay do not have to be part of the same trip, but both must occur during the promotion period. Register by August 31, 2026, and complete eligible paid travel by September 30, 2026. If you already qualify for the Preferred Partnership Program and have paid Marriott and United travel planned, this is an easy promotion to register for.
United allows members to create mileage pooling groups with up to five friends or family members, making it easier to combine miles for award travel. Until recently, pooled miles could only be used to book flights operated by United or United Express. United has now expanded the feature to allow pooled miles to be redeemed on most partner airlines as well. At the time of writing, only Flynas, JSX, and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) are excluded. This is a meaningful improvement for anyone who uses mileage pooling, as it opens access to United's broader partner network instead of limiting redemptions to United-operated flights.
The best way to use United MileagePlus miles is to book award flights on United or one of its partner airlines.
Searching on United’s site or app is straightforward:
United has increased incentives for holding a co-branded card. Cardholders receive 10% off award flights, while elite members with a card get 15% off. Search results show both regular and discounted pricing, highlighting the benefit of having a card.
United has also expanded saver award availability for Polaris business class for cardholders and elite members. Without a card, saver space is more limited.
You can still find strong value on United and partner flights, especially if you hold a United card or status, which unlocks additional award space.
You can also redeem miles for:
These options usually give you a 1 cent per point redemption at best, so we don’t recommend them.
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
United does not pass along fuel surcharges on partner awards, which can make it useful for international flights on airlines like Lufthansa, SWISS, and TAP Portugal, all of which have notoriously high surcharges on their award flights.
United’s website lets you use flexible dates to see a full month of award prices, while the app only shows a week at a time. Search in a web browser when your dates are flexible.
United has a featured awards page to search for the best redemptions from your chosen airport or on a specific route. This is a great tool to see what’s possible with your points
United does not use a fixed award chart, so award prices can vary widely by route, date, and operating airline.
United ranks in the top third of airline reward programs. They fall behind American, Delta, Alaska, and Southwest, mainly for domestic flights. But the ease of searching and booking award flights is seamless, which makes the experience more enjoyable than with many competitors. With the elimination of award charts, sweet spots are harder to find, but they still exist, especially with partners.
United also doesn’t pass along fuel surcharges on partner redemptions, which gives the airline an advantage. You can often find good sweet spots on premium cabin redemptions, particularly on long-haul flights. Pricing consistency can be frustrating, but since United is a Chase partner, it’s a convenient option for people in the hobby.
There are four levels of United MileagePlus Premier status. You earn status by flying on United or its partners and by collecting qualifying points. You must also take at least four United or United Express flights. To qualify, you need a set number of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs). You earn lifetime Premier status if you fly one million miles with United.
PQFs
PQPs
PQPs are earned based on spending:
Star Alliance Status
Premier members also get Star Alliance status. Premier Silver members are Star Alliance Silver, and all other Premier members are Star Alliance Gold.
Chase issues all United credit cards, so they largely follow the same rules. You can receive a refund if you cancel or downgrade within 30 days of the annual fee posting. After that window, Chase is unlikely to issue a refund.
Miles earned from United credit cards are deposited into your MileagePlus account and do not expire. You can transfer miles to another MileagePlus member for a fee, but United also offers a better option through MileagePlus miles pooling.
You don’t get free bags just by being a MileagePlus member. You need United status or a credit card that includes free checked bags. Five of the six United cards offer at least one free bag, and all status tiers include the same perk. Premium cabin tickets also include at least two free bags.
You can find short-haul domestic flights for as low as 6300 miles one-way in the off-peak season. Since United uses dynamic pricing, award costs vary widely based on when you fly. Flights from the U.S. to Europe can occasionally be found for as little as 26,000 miles one-way.
A United Club membership costs $750, or 94,000 miles, so value depends on how often you fly United. Some United cards include passes, and the United Club Business card offers full membership. United Premier Gold members and higher also receive United Club access when traveling internationally.
The fastest way to earn United miles is to open a co-branded United credit card and meet the welcome offer requirement. The United Club and United Club Business cards both offer 80,000-mile bonuses, and we’ve seen offers reach 100,000. Other United cards offer bonuses up to 60,000 miles.
Tracking Points & Transfer Options
