United frequent flyer program reviews

For example, Lufthansa has one of the top first class products out of any airline in the world but one of the major issues with booking Lufthansa awards is that you typically have to pay some very high surcharges for your awards. Luckily with United you can avoid surcharges on Lufthansa and book a first class one-way ticket between Europe and the US for only , United miles. Their are many more types of awards that you can avoid surcharges with which makes United very attractive program at times.

In addition, you will also have to meet the requirement for premier qualifying dollars PQD. You should note that there is also an invitation only elite status called United Global Services. To obtain Global Services, you typically need to spend a lot on United airfare.

You can find out more about that status below. Once you obtain elite status with United, you will be able to enjoy all of the following benefits:. Also, it is possible to purchase United Premier Access for a modest amount of money.

Thus, you may always want to think about alternative methods for getting these benefits. The most notable benefit from United Premier Silver is probably the complementary upgrades to economy plus. In many instances, those are virtually guaranteed which means that most of the time when you fly economy on United you will be able to enjoy more legroom.

You can also get premier upgrades to business class on occasion but those are much more rare as a silver member. Typically, you will need to be flying on a mostly leisure route to expect an upgrade to business class.

United Premier Gold offers a lot of the same benefits that United Premier Silver offers but it comes with the addition of granting lounge access when traveling internationally.

You can read more about the status here. United Premier Platinum offers economy plus upgrades for up to eight individuals which is a big step up from the only one additional companion offered by the lower tiers. You can also receive confirmation about your Premier upgrades as early as 72 hours before departure. This tier also offers Regional Premier Upgrades eligibility and the ability to check three bags in for free even when flying economy. United Premier 1K offers the same benefits that Platinum receives but allows you to receive confirmation about your Premier upgrades as early as 96 hours before departure.

Additional perks include: instant upgrades on M-class economy tickets and Global Premier Upgrades eligibility. Global Services is a little bit mysterious because United does not publish a whole lot about it. Global Services recognizes the extraordinary dedication of our top flyers. We consider a number of factors beyond the usual Premier-qualifying criteria. We look at your travel spend on United-operated flights relative to that of other top Premier flyers over recent consecutive years.

Usually, members invited to Global Services tend to consistently purchase premium cabins or fully refundable tickets. There are a lot of special perks for United Global Services members but here is a rundown of some of the key benefits:. If you want to read in more detail about all of these special benefits for Global Services then click here. You want several ways to earn and use miles with no blackout dates. Don't want your miles will expire.

If, on the other hand, you want easily achievable elite status or plan to book award travel frequently, there may be better options out there. Read our analysis of which airline offers the best frequent flyer program. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of , including those best for:. The pros of the United MileagePlus rewards program. Miles never expire. Earn miles on in-person shopping.

The most ways to earn and use miles. Elite status is hard to reach. No award chart. Is the United loyalty program right for you? How to maximize your rewards. On a similar note Dive even deeper in Travel. Explore Travel. First, you'll need to sign up for the United MileagePlus frequent flyer program for free. Once you're a member, you can start earning United miles by buying plane tickets on United, United Express or Star Alliance partner airline flights.

The number of miles you earn is based on the cost of your ticket and your level of United elite status. Another quick and easy way to earn United miles is to get a United Airlines credit card.

You may be able to earn enough miles for a free flight by opening a United credit card account and spending enough to earn a sign-up bonus. You can also continue to earn miles by putting your regular spending on your United card. You also can earn miles by getting the MileagePlus X app and taking advantage of offers in the app. And you can earn extra miles when you dine out and shop by joining the United MileagePlus Dining program and shopping through the United MileagePlus shopping portal.

And, finally, you can earn by purchasing travel through United and travel partners. The best way to get free United miles: put them on your holiday or birthday gift wish list. Your friends and family can transfer United miles from their account to yours or give you United miles as a gift at no cost to you. A MileagePlus member can transfer up to , United miles a year to another member.

Another good way to get virtually free United miles is to sign up for a United Airlines credit card and spend enough to earn a sign-up bonus. This could be considered getting free United miles, assuming that you would spend that amount anyway, that you pay your credit card bill on time every month, and that the value of the miles far outweighs any annual fee on the card.

United miles work by serving as a currency you can earn through everyday activities and then trade them in for free flights and other rewards. You can start earning United miles by joining the United MileagePlus program for free.

Once you've joined the loyalty program, you can earn United miles in a variety of ways, such as buying flights on United and partner airlines, spending on a United credit card, and dining out, shopping and buying travel.

You build up United miles in your MileagePlus account until you have enough miles to redeem for the award of your choice. The most valuable awards are flights on United and partner airlines. United miles are a great way to leverage your everyday spending to get free travel. These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser.

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How We Calculate Rewards: ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. These estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.

The card awards 2 points on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Therefore, we say the card has a 2. To get an insurance quote over the phone, call: Agents available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Table of contents What is United MileagePlus? How much are United miles worth? Is United MileagePlus worth it?

Free checked bags Same-day flight changes with no fee Flight upgrades Easy award redemptions. United MileagePlus quick facts. Wide range of U. Lowest tier elite status may not be worth it Mile value below average compared with other airlines Got rid of clear award chart that made award redemption easy. How do you know if using United miles is worth it? Pros Easy miles redemption — MileagePlus gets top ratings among frequent flyer programs for the sheer variety of award ticket redemption options Good perks for higher-level elite members — MileagePlus perks offer top value at middle- and high-tier elite status levels.

Star Alliance partnership — United is a member of Star Alliance, and United miles can be earned on partner airlines and redeemed for high-value awards, such as luxurious first-class flights on Lufthansa. Worldwide flight network — With daily flights all over the world on United and its partners, award ticket redemption options are almost endless. Excursionist perk — There are other benefits like the United Excursionist Perk — a free one-way flight you can get on some multi-city award ticket bookings.

No fuel surcharges — United is also one of the few major airlines that does not tack fuel surcharges onto award ticket bookings. Cons Below-average mile value — While 1. Modest benefits for its lowest elite tier — Travelers who don't want to chase United elite status can get many of the same benefits just by opening a United credit card.

United flights Buying plane tickets for United flights is one of the fastest ways to earn United miles. Elite Status. Star Alliance partners Earning United miles on Star Alliance partners is another quick and easy way to rack up rewards. If you buy a ticket for a flight operated by a partner airline but ticketed by United , you'll earn miles based on your fare just like you would for a United flight.

To confirm that an existing reservation was ticketed by United, look for a ticket number starting with If you buy a ticket for a flight operated by a partner airline and not ticketed by United , you'll earn miles based on both flight distance and purchased fare class. Credit cards Another way to earn United miles quickly: an airline credit card. Each time you want to use the app, you'll click on the name of the merchant you're purchasing from in the app, then buy an e-gift card to the merchant in the exact amount of your total.

MileagePlus dining Want to know how to earn United miles while eating at your favorite restaurants? New members can earn bonus miles — there's currently an offer for up to 3, bonus miles when you join MileagePlus Dining and dine out four times: You get 1, bonus United miles the first time you dine and bonus miles each for each of the next three times you dine. United MileagePlus shopping portal If you're doing less traveling and more shopping from home these days, the United MileagePlus shopping portal is a good way to keep miles rolling into your account.

You have a few different options for using it: You simply go to the MileagePlus Shopping portal and sign in, browse over online stores and services, click on an offer and choose "shop now" to go to the store's site. Then you shop as you normally would and earn extra miles on your purchase. Or you can link offers to your card and shop in person to get the deals.

Finally, if you're a Google Chrome user, you can install the MileagePlus Shopping button on your browser and use it to apply miles and discounts to your purchases at checkout with a participating merchant. Travel partners You can rack up miles by choosing United deals and partners next time you travel. United Vacations If you're in the market for something more than a staycation, booking a trip through United Vacations can earn you bonus miles on top of the miles you earn for the United flights.

United Cruises You don't have to travel by plane to earn miles — you can also go by sea. Buy miles Need a few more United miles for that award ticket to Paris? Using United miles to book flights One of the best ways to use United miles is for free flights on United Airlines and on its 25 Star Alliance airline partners.

United has two levels of awards for each cabin class: Saver and Everyday: Saver awards are cheaper, but availability at this level is limited. Everyday award seats are plentiful, but the value per mile is poor. How many United miles do you need to fly?

Star Alliance and MileagePlus airline partners United is a founding member of the Star Alliance network , which offers the most airline partners among the major alliances. United Star Alliance partners. Other United partners. Your trip must start and end in the same award region, as defined by United.

The free one-way ticket using the Excursionist Perk must have an origin and destination within the same award region, as defined by United. The cabin of service and award inventory of the free one-way award is the same or lower than the one-way award preceding it i. If multiple one-way awards qualify as an Excursionist Perk based on the above criteria i. You can ticket extra segments into a multi-city itinerary, but you cannot use the Excursionist Perk more than once on a single ticket.

How to use miles to upgrade on United Would you rather be stretching out in business class with a glass of champagne than cramped in economy? Here are four ways you can get an upgrade with United miles : Get a United upgrade during booking — You can request a United upgrade award during booking.

To do so, sign in to your MileagePlus account and choose "Advanced search options. Request a United upgrade after booking — You can get an upgrade after booking in several ways: You can sign in to your MileagePlus account and pull up your reservation to make the request online, call your dedicated Premier elite service line or United Reservations at UNITED-1 , or talk with a United representative at a check-in counter or at the gate within 24 hours of departure.

Choose a PlusPoints upgrade — You can also get what United calls a PlusPoints upgrade during or after booking a flight on United or a partner airline.

During booking, go to "Advanced search options" and choose "PlusPoints Upgrades" from the dropdown menu of upgrade types. For an existing reservation, you can request a PlusPoints upgrade at United.

Get a Star Alliance upgrade — You also may be able to use United miles to buy a one-cabin upgrade on eligible flights on certain Star Alliance partner airlines. You can request these upgrades for up to four people per reservation even if you're not traveling with them. You can get these upgrades up to 24 hours before departure. Cruises — Redeem your United miles for cruises to many destinations. Experiences and events — You can usually use your miles to book events and experiences, though experiences may not be available due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hotel stays — You can use your miles to book stays at hotels and resorts around the world by using the United Hotels booking portal. Magazine subscriptions — Use your United miles to subscribe to your favorite magazine or give a subscription as a gift. Gift cards — Use your United miles to buy electronic gift cards from a variety of retailers and restaurants, from Apple and Lowe's to Starbucks and Walmart.

Merchandise — You can use the MileagePlus Merchandise Awards portal to shop with United miles for merchandise, from electronics and luggage to jewelry and sports equipment, from a variety of retailers.

United Club membership — Redeem United miles for an airport lounge membership so you can have space to rest or work between flights. Initiate transfer on Chase's website. Select United MileagePlus as transfer partner. Enter member identification. Screenshots in this article taken from the United website, August Allot of transfer points. Confirm transaction. It's a good idea to have a backup plan in case your seat gets sold before you can grab it.

Expenses that will accrue PQPs include fares, preferred seat purchases, Economy Plus seating or subscriptions, MileagePlus upgrade award copays, flights ticketed and operated by Star Alliance partners and paid upgrades on flights operated by United and United Express. Elite status level. Bonus mile earnings on United flights Free checked bags Free access to Economy Plus seating for you and your travel companions The ability to change or cancel a flight without a fee on the day of departure A free snack and drink in economy for top elites.

Free upgrades on United when space is available for MileagePlus Premier members. Is United MileagePlus free? How do you sign up for United MileagePlus?