#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.
Starting in 2027, eligible United credit cardholders who have earned Premier status can receive a head start toward requalifying through starter Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs). The amount ranges from 300 to 1,200 PQPs depending on status level. You must have an eligible card open by December 31, 2026, to qualify for this initial benefit.
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.
SAS EuroBonus is offering a generous paid status match for elite members of several airline loyalty programs without needing any flight activity. There is a long list of included airlines, like American Airlines, United, Alaska, JetBlue, and Southwest. The costs to match to SAS Silver is €89 (approximately $100), Gold for €199 ($223), or Diamond for €349 ($391). One particularly interesting opportunity is that Southwest Companion Pass holders qualify for top-tier SAS Diamond status, while Southwest A-List Preferred members can match to Gold. Both Gold and Diamond include SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits, such as priority check-in, boarding, additional baggage allowances, and lounge access when flying internationally on eligible SkyTeam airlines, including Delta. For travelers primarily interested in those alliance benefits, Gold may be the better value since it costs considerably less than Diamond. Once approved, your new status lasts through the remainder of your current SAS EuroBonus membership year plus another 12 months, potentially providing nearly two years of benefits depending on when your membership year ends. This could be a valuable opportunity for travelers who already hold qualifying airline status and regularly fly SkyTeam airlines, but be sure you'll use the benefits enough to justify the fee. You can review eligible programs and apply for the status match here.
United MileagePlus is making significant changes to how members qualify for Premier elite status starting January 1, 2027. Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) will now be the only path to status, placing the emphasis entirely on spending rather than how frequently you fly. The option to combine Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) with PQPs will be eliminated. Silver, Gold, and Platinum will continue requiring 6,000, 12,000, and 18,000 PQPs, respectively, but those seeking Premier 1K will be hit the hardest, with the requirement increasing from 28,000 to 32,000 PQPs. Members who previously qualified through a combination of flights and spending will lose that option, making status harder to earn for frequent flyers who book cheaper fares. United will still require at least four flights on United or United Express each year to qualify for any Premier tier. Eligible United credit cardholders who qualify for Premier status will receive starter PQPs based on their status level, ranging from 300 to 1,200 PQPs. United is also introducing dynamic PlusPoints upgrade pricing for travel starting February 1, 2027. You can review the changes on United's website.
Wyndham Rewards is offering a 100% transfer bonus to United MileagePlus, improving the standard 5:1 transfer ratio to 5:2. That means you'll receive 2,400 United miles for every 6,000 Wyndham points transferred. Members can transfer up to 90,000 Wyndham points during the promotion, and no expiration date has been announced. While that 100% bonus sounds impressive, you're still giving up 2.5 Wyndham points for every United mile received. Wyndham recently devalued its award chart, adding a new 45,000-point category and moving many properties into higher categories. This transfer could make sense if you have a large Wyndham points balance that you value less after the devaluation and a specific United redemption in mind. We wouldn't recommend transferring speculatively. You can view the offer and initiate transfers here.
Chase has elevated the welcome offers across all four personal United credit cards. The United Explorer Card is offering 70,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months, up from its standard 50,000-mile offer, with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year and $150 thereafter. The United Quest Card is offering 80,000 miles after spending $4,000 in three months, up from 60,000 miles, with a $350 annual fee. The United Club Card is offering 90,000 miles after spending $5,000 in three months, up from 80,000 miles, with a $695 annual fee. The no-annual-fee United Gateway Card is offering 40,000 miles after spending $1,000 in three months, up from 30,000 miles. Each offer also includes another 10,000 bonus miles for adding an authorized user.
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. In 2026, you can qualify through Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) alone or a combination of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and PQPs. You must also fly at least four times on United or United Express. Flying one million miles with United earns lifetime Premier status.
Starting January 1, 2027, United will eliminate PQF qualification. Only PQPs will count toward status, but the four-flight minimum remains. Silver, Gold, and Platinum requirements stay the same, while Premier 1K rises from 28,000 to 32,000 PQPs.
PQFs (2026 Only)
PQPs
PQPs are earned through spending:
2027 Credit Card PQP Head Start
Eligible United cardholders with Premier status can receive starter PQPs based on their status as of February 1, 2027. The card must be open by December 31, 2026:
These are in addition to PQPs from card spending and annual cardmember bonuses.
Star Alliance Status
Premier Silver includes Star Alliance Silver status. Gold, Platinum, and Premier 1K include Star Alliance Gold.
Starting January 1, 2027: 12,000 PQP + four United or United Express flights
Starting January 1, 2027: 18,000 PQP + four United or United Express flights
Starting January 1, 2027: 18,000 PQP + four United or United Express flights
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
