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The current Buy United Miles Offer Targets a 100% Bonus to some MileagePlus members, but is it worth it? It could be for some, although generally we recommend earning United miles through credit card signup bonuses and transferring Ultimate Rewards points 1:1.
Check Whether You're Targeted for the 100% Bonus
Go to the United Buy Miles page and login to MileagePlus to see if you're targeted. Keep in mind that even for those targeted for the 100% bonus, you'll need to purchase a minimum of 40,000 miles (getting an additional 40K miles, for 80,000 miles total) to be eligible for the 100% bonus. That's because the bonus amount it tiered, such that lower miles purchases get lower bonus amounts:
- 5000-14,000: 30% bonus
- 15,000-39,000: 65% bonus
- 40,000-87,500: 100% bonus
Since a tax recovery fee is added, if you purchase 40,000 miles, earning a total of 80,000 miles, you'll pay $1505. That's equivalent to buying each United MileagePlus mile for 1.88 cents per mile.
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Which Credit Card to Use to Buy United Miles
United miles purchases are processed by Points.com, so you won't earn a travel bonus if using the Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred. That said, if you have a United credit card and check the box indicating you're using a United MileagePlus credit card for the purchase, you'll earn the same bonus you would for United purchases: 2X for the United Explorer card, 4X for the United Club Infinite card. If you don't have a United card, your best bet is to use the card you're working on meeting minimum spend for, or using a card such as the AMEX Blue Business Plus, which earns 2X Membership Rewards points per dollar for all spend.
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United Award Redemptions
Generally, for the best value and best experience, you'll want to use United miles to redeem for the better Star Alliance airlines' first class or business class awards. Compare the cost you'd pay for purchasing tickets and the miles you'd have to redeem, if an award flight is available. You'll often need far more flexibility to book award flights, as limited award seats are available. While Japan hasn't yet reopened for tourism, some of our favorite redemptions are for ANA The Suite First Class or ANA The Room Business Class; that said, it's better to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for these than United miles, as it costs far fewer Virgin Atlantic miles. SWISS Business Class can be a good redemption to get to Europe. A recent search turned up a $4196 roundtrip flight in early 2023, which was 143,180 United miles + $60. That equates to 2.88 cents per United mile, a full cent more than what you'd be buying miles at with the United Buy Miles offer if targeted for the 100% bonus.
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Is Buying United Miles with a 100% Bonus Worth It?
Buying United miles even with the 100% bonus, for 1.88 cents per mile, isn't cheap, so we primarily recommend buying miles in these circumstances:
- You have a very specific award redemption in mind, and buying lower amounts of United miles that are still eligible for the bonus (e.g. 40,000-50,000 = 80,000-100,000 with the 100% bonus) enables you to redeem for it
- Your award redemption gets you at least 2 cents per United mile in value, and preferably more
- You've exhausted other cheaper sources of United miles (such as credit card bonuses and points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards) or need to save your Ultimate Rewards points for other redemptions
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