See partner hotels and the earning rules here. Register a credit card with MileagePlus Dining , and every time you use that card at a participating restaurant, club or bar, you'll earn up to 5 miles per dollar spent. There are more than 11, participating locations. Auto rentals and other transportation. Hertz-owned rental agencies, including Dollar and Thrifty, offer the option to earn MileagePlus miles.
See the rules here. Amtrak rail service and select shuttles and car services are also partners. When you shop online through the MileagePlus Shopping mall, you earn miles for every dollar you spend at more than retailers.
Financial partners. Earn miles when doing business with lending and insurance partners, among others. Details here. You can purchase additional miles through the MileagePlus website, but this is generally not a good idea. You'll pay far more than the 1 cent per mile at which NerdWallet values MileagePlus miles.
However, if you need a few thousand miles to top up your account for a valuable award, it could make sense. MileagePlus miles are redeemable for flights through United Airlines and its partners in the Star Alliance.
Choose a flight, and you'll see what the price is in cash as well as miles. United Airlines offers several levels of award seats, requiring more miles for more desirable seats and cabins. They are awarded as one-way flights, so if you're spending miles, you'll have to apply them to both the outbound and return flights separately. Generally, there are two kinds of award redemptions:.
Saver Awards seats are cheaper in terms of miles required to book them — ranging from 5, to 12, miles for domestic economy, for example. But they are scarcer and might not be available for the flight you want.
Everyday Awards seats are more available than Saver Awards seats but require more miles. Flyers with elite status, which United calls Premier, and eligible holders of MileagePlus credit cards have unrestricted access to book seats — even the last seat on the plane — at the Everyday Awards level. United discontinued its published award chart for flights on Nov. You can generally expect that prices that are cheaper with cash will also be cheaper with miles. Free flights. Because we value MileagePlus miles at an average of 1 cent each, redemptions that give you at least that much value are a decent option.
United has many opportunities for sweet spot redemptions. Upgrading your seat to a premium class can be another good use of miles because doing so can return value greater than 1 cent per mile. Some upgrades to business or first class require payment in the form of a cash co-pay as well as miles.
As with award seats, upgrades are based on one-way flights. The price of an upgrade depends on the fare class of your current ticket — upgrading from a cheaper fare will generally cost more. Other redemption options include United Club membership fees, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises and gift cards.
These options tend to offer a lower value than 1 cent per mile, so we recommend avoiding them. Anyone can sign up for the MileagePlus program. It's free to join. With basic membership, though, pretty much all you get is a frequent-flyer number and an account where your points accumulate.
The real goodies come when you earn elite status. First, we'll look at what you get at the four elite levels of MileagePlus. Then we'll look at what it takes to get there.
On United, elite statuses are called Premier levels. From lowest to highest, they are Silver, Gold, Platinum and 1K. United typically charges the following rates for one-way business-class awards between the U.
ANA award space on the New York route has been even harder to come by since The Room launched, but you might fare better searching from other U. Related: Cards currently offering welcome bonuses of , points or more. Your generally mild taxes will vary slightly based on which partners you choose to fly with and how you route, but the award cost will often be the same: 33, miles for a one-way economy award and 77, for a one-way business-class award.
This means you can turn your , miles into a full round-trip from the U. If you decide to follow this route, you might also want to look into the United Excursionist Perk. Related: The best ways to get to Europe with points and miles. This means that when cash fares are very low, especially on shorter domestic routes, award prices can drop below their old fixed levels. There are plenty of days on the calendar where you can book nonstop flights on this route for just 5, miles each way, meaning you could parlay your ,mile welcome bonus into 20 flights or ten round-trips on this route.
Related: How to survive basic economy on United Airlines. Related: The ultimate guide to United Polaris. Instead, nearly every day on the calendar prices out at 50, miles each way. Terms Apply. Like redeeming for hotels, these redemptions are generally a poor value that we recommend skipping. This store offers electronics, luggage and home goods. For example, a pair of Bose QC headphones costs , miles. This app lets you purchase gift cards for immediate use and earn miles in the process.
As with many airlines, you can redeem United miles for magazine and newspaper subscriptions. This is a poor use of miles as it yields an extremely low redemption value. Broadway shows and concert tickets may not be at the top of your list during the coronavirus outbreak, but United still lets you redeem miles for tickets. That said, steer clear of this redemption option as it provides a very low value.
You can also donate United miles to select charities. You can donate a minimum of 1, miles at a time and can choose from a selection of different charities. This can be a good option for those who want to liquidate their mileage balance and give to a good cause. That said, consider if a cash donation is a more effective way to help. Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charity. United miles have been devalued a few times over the years, but there are still a handful of excellent ways to redeem United miles.
One of my favorite ways to use United miles is booking flights from the U. This makes the ticket cheaper than booking with Avianca LifeMiles , another of my favorite Star Alliance loyalty programs. Its newly redesigned seat is comfortable, and on-board service includes tasty meals and a nice selection of drinks.
United imposes mileage surcharges on partner award tickets, but not fuel surcharges. These disappeared at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak but recently reappeared. Regardless, you should always check United before you book your next domestic award ticket.
You may find an excellent deal in the process. One of the benefits of booking round-trip awards with United is the Excursionist Perk. TPG editor Richard Kerr has an in-depth Excursionist guide with a list of interesting uses — make sure to check it out before you book your next United award ticket.
Related: The ultimate guide to airline stopover programs. Thankfully, finding United award space is very straightforward. There are times it will be too expensive to fly United. The Chase Sapphire Preferred can help you book the best award flights on United and the other Chase travel partners. Whether you book a United flight through the Chase travel portal using your credit card rewards points or transfer them directly to United, award travel is easy with the Sapphire Preferred. You will earn two points on every travel and dining purchases and one point for everything else.
Two great travel benefits to complement your first class lifestyle. It also earns three points on all travel and dining purchases and one point for all remaining purchases.
The rewards points can be transferred to United or redeemed for award flights on Chase for 1. United Saver flights will be your best bet regardless of your destination. When looking for award flights on United, make sure you are logged into your MileagePlus account to receive priority booking and exclusive offers.
And, don't be afraid to look for partner flights and multi-city fares to stretch your points even further. Forbes has partnered with JohnnyJet for our coverage of Chase credit products. JohnnyJet may receive compensation from Chase.
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