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United Airlines' MileagePlus program has made some recent changes, such as devaluing first-class partner redemptions in 2024 and overhauling its cobranded credit cards earlier this year. However, since United miles never expire, PlusPoints and miles can be used to confirm long-haul Polaris upgrades, and MileagePlus now lets you pool miles, the program still has many bright spots.
This guide will provide you with all the necessary information on the program, including how to earn United miles and status, as well as how to maximize your miles for award travel.
United Quest ℠ Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. (See rates and fees.)
With over 100 million members, United MileagePlus is one of the largest loyalty programs in the world.
MileagePlus members can earn miles by flying United and its partners, as well as by spending on their credit cards, shopping and dining. You can redeem your miles for award travel on the airline as well as its Star Alliance partners.
MileagePlus members can also earn United elite status by meeting a certain threshold of Premier qualifying points. Elite status includes additional benefits, such as upgrades, preferred and Economy Plus seating, priority boarding, and free checked bags. Additionally, United offers various cobranded credit cards that can help members earn miles more quickly and enjoy additional perks.
You can earn and redeem miles with various international airlines through United Airlines' membership in Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance. United Premier members can often enjoy perks like lounge access (depending on status) and extra baggage allowance when traveling with these partners.
Here's a look at United's current Star Alliance partners:
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United also partners with several airlines outside of Star Alliance:
Partners can have their own limitations regarding MileagePlus members — including applicable bonuses, eligible fare classes and excluded routes — so be sure to review United's airline partners page for the full details on each one.
MileagePlus has four levels of elite status: Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K. There's also an exclusive Global Services tier, which you can only earn after completing 4 million flight miles or receiving a personal invitation.
There are two ways to earn United Premier status: with a combination of Premier qualifying points and Premier qualifying flights, or by earning PQPs alone. To earn any level of status, you must also take at least four United or United Express flights.
You can earn PQFs and PQPs by flying United or its partners. You can also earn PQPs by spending on most of United's cobranded credit cards.
This is what it takes to qualify for United status in 2025 (valid through Jan. 31, 2027):
United Premier members enjoy perks like bonus miles on paid tickets, free checked bags and complimentary waitlisted upgrades on most United-operated flights.
Higher-tier members have access to more valuable perks like complimentary Economy Plus seating, PlusPoints (which can be used to confirm upgrades), Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Star Alliance Gold status (which provides benefits like lounge access, priority boarding, extra bags and more when you fly on other Star Alliance carriers).
Below are some of the most popular ways to boost your MileagePlus balance.
When flying on United-marketed and -operated tickets, you earn MileagePlus miles (up to 75,000 miles per ticket) based on your ticket's price minus taxes and your MileagePlus status rather than the distance you fly.
Here's how many miles you'll earn per dollar spent based on your level of status:
These earning rates also apply if you book United's basic economy fare class.
You can earn MileagePlus miles when flying with United's partners, but it can be complicated. If you book a partner flight through United (indicated by a 016 ticket number), you'll earn miles based on your ticket fare and elite status.
But if you book through a partner, you'll earn miles based on the length of your flight and fare class. Generally, you can see your fare class when booking your flight or in your confirmation email. Mileage-earning rates vary by airline, so check your booking class and use United's partner airline list to determine your award miles. As expected, premium-cabin tickets earn more miles than economy tickets, and Premier members are eligible for bonus miles on select partners.
United's cobranded credit cards issued by Chase are among the most popular ways to earn MileagePlus miles (and, on some cards, PQPs). Here's a look at the current welcome bonuses on some of our favorites:
Related: Why someone in your family needs a United credit card
There are two programs with transferable currencies that partner with United MileagePlus: Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards. You can transfer points from either program to your MileagePlus account at a 1:1 ratio. Transfers usually happen instantly, making this an easy way to boost your balance for a United redemption.
Related: How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United
Like most airlines, United has an online shopping portal where you can earn miles for your online purchases. The MileagePlus X app provides another way to earn bonus miles on everyday purchases, both in-store and online.
Meanwhile, MileagePlus Dining awards up to 5 miles per dollar spent when you dine at participating restaurants and use a linked credit card.
Other ways to earn United miles include buying miles and transferring Marriott Bonvoy points, as well as booking hotels, car rentals and cruises through the United travel portal.
MileagePlus members of all ages can share and redeem miles in one account.
This is especially useful for families. Since there is no age restriction on joining MileagePlus, kids can earn miles and pool them with their parents' miles toward a larger redemption. A pool can have up to five members. You can choose how many of your miles to put in a pool, and there is no limit to how many miles you can contribute.
To get started, you must be at least 18 years old to create a pool and become the "pool leader." You'll then have the power to add other members and decide which members have redemption privileges.
There are a few stipulations. When you're contributing miles to a pool, you have 24 hours to reverse a transaction, after which you cannot get your pooled miles back. You can also only operate in one pool at a time. If you exit a pool, there's a 90-day "cooling" period before you can join another pool or before a new member can join your old pool.
Lastly, you cannot pool Premier qualifying points, and pooling miles does not affect your Premier status.
United has retired its award charts and now uses dynamic award pricing. Still, there are ways to maximize the program.
Generally, you'll get the most value out of your miles when you redeem them for flights, which is easy to do on United's website or app. United credit card holders and Premier members can access additional award space on United flights, so be sure to log in to your MileagePlus account before searching for award flights if you fall into these categories.
United also has a payment option called Money + Miles. However, we don't recommend this because it offers a fixed rate of 1 cent per mile — well below our June 2025 valuation of 1.35 cents for United miles.
The same goes for most other ways to redeem United miles, such as with United Club memberships, inflight Wi-Fi purchases, TSA PreCheck fees, car rentals, hotel stays, retail products and gift cards. The value you'll get from these redemptions is almost always significantly lower than what you'll get on an award ticket.
Related: How to exchange your unwanted gift cards for United miles
You might find award options starting at around 5,000 miles on high-frequency, short-haul flights. Although these flights almost always cost less than $100, these awards can be a great way to keep your travel plans flexible since United no longer charges redeposit fees when you cancel award flights.
You can also find transcontinental flights from as low as 11,900 miles in economy class or 30,000 miles in business class/domestic first when there's saver award space. For last-minute situations, you might consider keeping a healthy "just in case" stash of miles in your MileagePlus account.
If you want to fly to Europe, United offers saver-level flights for 20,000 miles in economy class, 50,000 in Premium Plus premium economy or 80,000 miles in Polaris business class. All of these are great ways to travel to Europe.
You can consider using United miles to fly on top partner carriers — including those with products like ANA's "The Room" business class or EVA Airways' business class, which offer high-end amenities but come with high award rates.
Related: How to get maximum value from the United MileagePlus program
Since United has a wide network — and adds new routes frequently — it's easy to earn and redeem MileagePlus miles on flights. If you live near a United hub or want to enjoy the perks of elite status, sticking with the MileagePlus loyalty program could make sense. Even if you don't fly United very often or don't care about elite status, you may still find it useful to transfer miles from the program's credit card transfer partners.
Whichever type of United flyer you are, knowing the intricacies of the MileagePlus program can be rewarding.
Maximize your travel
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