United Airlines Deep Dive
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EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE:
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
When it comes to award travel, so many of our domestic (and international!) travels start with one of our favorite airlines. ✈️🩵
United Airlines is a US based airline that is part of the Star Alliance. The United MileagePlus program is a generous loyalty program that gives frequent flyers and award travelers plenty of options for earning and redeeming miles for steeply discounted travel.
So keep reading all the way to the end because we’re covering absolutely everything you need to know about this airline and loyalty program…from how to book flights on their website, to unique ways to earn more miles!
How to book on United
⏰ Time to book!
To search for award flights, create a free United Mileage Plus loyalty account. When logged in, you’ll be able to see the points rates for your chosen flight.
Input your origin, destination, date, class (like economy or business), and then make sure you have checked the “Book with miles” box.
Quick tip: I almost always search for one way award flights since the points rates don’t fluctuate like a cash fare flight would. And it gives you so much more flexibility with your search!
Rates will pop up for all fare classes, and you’ll see a calendar at the top of seven days worth of flight options. Another super helpful tool is the 30-day calendar that you can click on to see all the lowest award rates for a 30-day time frame.
This is especially useful if you’re flexible and you can potentially save tens of thousands of points this way! Down below you’ll see a 30-day calendar of business class rates with the lowest 80k saver award rates. ⬇️
When you click on your chosen date, then you can select your fare class below and continue through to pay and book!
🔥Hot tip: check out those savings for cardmembers! Another great perk of holding a cobranded card.
Finding United flights on partner airlines
United Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, which means there are multiple ways to book United flights on partner airlines!
Some of the best options for finding United partner deals:
Air Canada Aeroplan:
Singapore Airlines:
Credit card options
United Airlines offers five cobranded cards through Chase bank with annual fees ranging from $0 up to $695. There are four personal cards and one business card (which is my top choice and I have held the card twice now!). Unlike other families of airline cards, you CAN hold more than one personal United card at a time. 👏🏻
The New United Gateway℠ Card
United℠ Explorer Card
United Quest℠ Card
United Club℠ Card
United℠ Business Card
*All information about The New United Gateway℠ Card, United℠ Explorer Card, United Quest℠ Card, United Club℠ Card, and The New United℠ Business Card has been collected independently by Packed with Points. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Miles pooling
Miles Pooling is a one of the most convenient features that United offers! This allows 2 or more United Mileage Plus members to share miles that can be used to book flights.
One person (at least 18 or older) can create the pool, and then invite selected members to join the pool. Anyone in the pool can add miles, and any member can use them to book flights too!
Keegan created a pool for us, and we can now both add or redeem miles. This is especially helpful when one of us does not have quite enough miles in our own account to book a particular flight, so this way we can access one big pool of miles and I can book both of our flights. 👏🏻 I wish every airline offered something like this!
United Travel Bank
United Travel Bank is another way to set aside funds for future travels. The Travel Bank is a fund with a dollar amount rather than points in your account. Others can also add funds to another person’s Travel Bank, and then those funds can be used to book travel in that United Mileage Plus member’s account.
I current have $400 in my account that I can use toward any United booking (🔑 that is a key difference; this money is usable for United flights only).
❌ Travel Bank funds also have an expiration date, so keep that in mind. However, you have 4 years to use it so that should give you plenty of time to find a great flight option to use it for. 😉
Other ways to earn United miles
United makes it SO easy to earn miles from a variety of ways, and not just through their credit cards! If you’re short on United miles, here are a few ways to keep racking up points for your travel plans:
United Dining United Airlines has their own dining program and it functions similarly to other airline dining programs.
➡️ You can register for a free account, link your chosen credit card, and dine at any of the participating restaurants and you’ll earn miles when you pay with your linked card! And you can link any card you choose, it doesn’t have to be a cobranded United Airlines credit card.
🔥Pro tip: keep an eye out for bonuses that they might offer for new members!
United ShoppingUnited also has a shopping portal where you can shop at your favorite online retailers and earn additional miles on your purchases! While this is not my typical go-to shopping portal, this is a really good option if you specifically are wanting more United miles.
MileagePlus XMileagePlus X is an app that has all of these miles earning options (and MORE) in one place.
You can earn miles for shopping, dining, and even eGift card purchases!
Bottom line
Whether you’re a frequent flyer on United, or you’re just looking to earn miles for a specific points destination, there are PLENTY of opportunities to build up your stash of United miles! Or maybe you have plenty of flexible points and you’re ready to take advantage of one of those partner award flight deals.
Whatever your goal might be, United can be a key role in getting you there! 😎🛫
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
