#6 Among Airlines
Point Value
1.30 ¢
Hobby Score
7.3
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 every time you purchase an eligible ticket with United. The number of miles you earn depends on factors like your MileagePlus status, the type of ticket, the ticketing airline, and the operating airline.
Tickets issued by United earn 5 miles per dollar on the base fare, up to 75,000 miles. All flights operated by United, United Express, Star Alliance carriers, and MileagePlus partner airlines (when ticketed by United) earn at this rate. If you hold United status, you earn miles at the following rates:
United has six co-branded credit cards that earn MileagePlus miles: four personal cards and two business cards. Each one has different signup bonuses, benefits, perks, and annual fees. If you want to build your MileagePlus balance, you’ll find solid options depending on your loyalty to United and any upcoming travel.
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, our favorite rewards ecosystem, offers many cards that make it easy to build a large balance to transfer. Bilt only has one card as of now, but that is changing in February, 2026, where they will revamp the Bilt Mastercard and add two more cards. Renters can currently earn meaningful points by paying rent with the Bilt Mastercard and later transferring those points to a high-value partner like United. Bilt has confirmed that customers will also be able to earn points by paying their mortgage with the upcoming revamp.
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.
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 $40 and a second is $35.
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.
Limited Time Offers Going on NOW:
- United Explorer Chase Card - 60,000 Miles after spending $3000 in 3 Months - $95 Annual fee (waived the first year).
- United Quest Chase Card - 70,000 Miles after spending $4000 in 3 Months - $250 Annual fee (card comes with 5000 PQP).
- United Club Infinite Chase Card - 90,000 Miles after spending $5000 in 3 Months - $525 Annual fee (card comes with lot's of extras to off-set the annual fee).
- Elite Status requirements for United will be increasing starting in 2023. Be on guard as they are increasing the number of PQFs and PQPs to earn MileagePlus status. Their cards offer PQPs based on spendings pay attention to that part of the application before you apply if status is what you're going for.
Chase United Cards have 3 Limited Time offers:
1. United Explorer - 60,000 Bonus miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.
2. United Quest Card - 80,000 Bonus miles after spending $5000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
3. United Club Infinite Card - 100,000 Bonus miles after spending $5000 in 3 months, $525 annual fee.
Remember the higher the annual fee the more the card has to offer, so before you get scared away by that, look into if it makes sense for your upcoming travel plans.
1. United Explorer MileagePlus - 60,000 Points after spending $3000 in the first 3 months - $95/annual fee.
2. United Quest MileagePlus - 80,000 Points after spending $5000 in the first 3 months - $250/annual fee.
3. United Club Infinite MileagePlus - 100,000 Points after spending $5000 in the first 3 months - $525/annual fee.
The best way to redeem your United MileagePlus rewards is to book award flights on United or one of its partner airlines.
Searching on United’s site or app is straightforward:
United no longer has an award chart and instead uses dynamic pricing. Despite this, you can still find sweet spots on United and partner airlines. If you have a United credit card or hold status with the airline, you’ll have access to additional award space, so be sure you’re logged in to your MileagePlus account before searching.
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.
Look at the chart below to find the best sweet spots for this airline. Use the filters to find the optimal Sweet Spot for your trip and points.
Max. Point Value 1.30 ¢
Do Points Expire? No
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes - $$
Transfer To Friends Yes - $$
You load your points. We’ll show you valuation and transfer options.
Add My Points
Outside Point System United MileagePlus
10:1 26% value retained
2.5:1 31% value retained
1:1 81% value retained
5:1 26% value retained
5:1 43% value retained
3:1 62% value retained
1:1 87% value retained
United is a solid option for international flights, especially for business class.
United Airlines MileagePlus is the most flexible rewards program for international flights, especially if you're invested in the Chase ecosystem. They tend to be more available and cost fewer points than Delta or American Airlines. (The biggest exception is Southwest to the Caribbean.)
With a little planning, you can get some fantastic redemption rates. Even if you have the Reserve Card 1.5x multiplier, we usually find better value using United's portal directly. For example, we booked first-class flights to Africa searching the "Business Saver" seats through United and got flights for 80,000 points. That would've cost 250,000 points through the Chase Portal.
Plus, being part of the Star Alliance, points have more flexibility in terms of global destinations, including smaller cities in Asia, Africa and other niche locations. So if you're focusing on international flights and/or Chase transfers, United is a great go-to for flexibility and solid value.
Airlines within Star Alliance
The best way to redeem your United MileagePlus rewards is to book award flights on United or one of its partner airlines.
Searching on United’s site or app is straightforward:
United no longer has an award chart and instead uses dynamic pricing. Despite this, you can still find sweet spots on United and partner airlines. If you have a United credit card or hold status with the airline, you’ll have access to additional award space, so be sure you’re logged in to your MileagePlus account before searching.
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.
United Airlines is part of Star Alliance, which includes strong international partners. When booking with MileagePlus rewards, you’ll often find more availability on United than with some of the other major airlines. We don’t have complaints about the airline itself, but earning status has become more challenging, and for most non-business travelers, it’s nearly unattainable.
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
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.
United MileagePlus miles do not expire and are tied to your MileagePlus account, so canceling a co-branded credit card won’t affect your miles. Fortunately United has six co-branded cards. While all of them fall under the 24-from-Bonus rule, there are still enough options to keep stockpiling MileagePlus miles before you’re eligible for another welcome offer. Being a Chase partner also opens the door for top-ups and point transfers.
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