United Airlines MileagePlus miles never expire as long as your account is open and in good standing.
Previously, United miles expired 18 months after account inactivity, so the current policy is a nice improvement.
However, you should regularly redeem your United miles because airlines regularly devaluing their points.
Earning United Airlines Miles
There are many ways to earn United Airlines miles easily:
United Airlines Credit Cards
For most people, I recommend the United℠ Explorer Card or the United℠ Business Card, which each provides a lot of benefits on United for a reasonable annual fee. For more frequent travelers, the United Club℠ Infinite Card is excellent if you want United Club airport lounge access.
Other options include United Gateway℠ Card (no annual fee) and United Quest℠ Card ($250 annual fee).
Transfer Partners
United is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards (1 to 1), Bilt Rewards (1 to 1), and Marriott Bonvoy (3 to 1, but 2 to 1 if you transfer in increments of 60,000 Marriott points).
- For Chase I recommend either Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, or for frequent travelers, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
- For Bilt Rewards, I highly recommend the Bilt Mastercard® (review).
- For Marriott Bonvoy, I recommend the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card for frequent Marriott travelers, Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card if you have a business or side hustle, or the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card for people who stay at Marriott only a few times per year.
Fly on United
Members earn 5x miles per dollar spent on United or United Express, and Premier elite status members earn extra miles: Silver (7x), Gold (8x), Platinum (9x), and 1K (11x).
Fly on a Partner Airline
You can fly on a Star Alliance member airline or one of United’s other partners and earn miles based on flight distance and your purchased fare class.
- Star Alliance: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa, Croatia, Egyptair, Ethiopian, EVA, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, SAS, Shenzhen, Singapore, South African, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal, Thai, and Turkish.
- United Airlines’ other worldwide partners include: Aer Lingus, Aeromar, Air Dolomiti, Airlink, Azul, Boutique Air, Cape Air, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss, Emirates, Eurowings, Flydubai, Hawaiian Airlines, JSX, Olympic Air, Silver Airways, Virgin Australia, and Vistara.
Rental Cars
Avis and Budget are United’s exclusive rental car partners:
- MileagePlus general members earn 500 miles on Avis and Budget rentals.
- MileagePlus Chase cardmembers earn 750 miles on Avis and Budget rentals.
- Premier® Silver and Gold members earn 1,000 miles on Avis and Budget rentals.
- Premier Platinum and 1K® members earn 1,250 miles on Avis and Budget rentals.
Hotels
You can book via United Hotels (2 miles per dollar), Villas of Distinction (3 miles per dollar), or Marriott Vacation Club (exchange points for United Miles).
E-Shopping Portal
Earn United miles via United’s online shopping portal to earn extra points at many major online retailers (Apple, Home Depot, Walmart, Nike, Best Buy, etc.).
Eat at Restaurants
United’s MileagePlus Dining program lets you earn miles when you join and eat at certain restaurants.
Cruises
When you book your cruise through United, you can earn up to 25,000 miles per trip.
Vacation Package
When you book a travel package via United’s portal with Priceline, you can earn about 1,000 miles per trip.
Buy Gift Cards
You can buy gift cards for most major retailers and earn United miles.
United’s Other Partners
United has special partnerships with several other retailers including: Therabody, LifeLock by Norton, or RocketMortgage.
Redeeming United Airlines Miles
United MileagePlus offers numerous opportunities to redeem miles for flights on United and its extensive network of Star Alliance and other airline partners. Here are some of the best ways to use United miles: For international travel, business and first class award tickets often provide excellent value. You can fly Lufthansa first class from the U.S. to Europe for 121,000 miles one-way, experiencing one of the most sought-after premium cabins. United’s own Polaris business class to Europe starts at 80,000 miles one-way, featuring lie-flat seats with direct aisle access. United’s Excursionist Perk allows you to add a free one-way segment within a single region on round-trip international itineraries, effectively giving you a free stopover. This can be creatively used to visit multiple destinations on one award ticket. Short-haul flights under 800 miles outside the U.S. can be booked for just 8,800 miles in economy, making United miles useful for intra-region travel in places like Europe or Africa. Within the U.S., domestic flights can sometimes be found for as low as 5,000 miles one-way with United’s dynamic pricing. For long-haul travel, you can book business class to Africa on Star Alliance partners like Ethiopian Airlines or South African Airways for 88,000 miles one-way. ANA’s excellent business class to Japan, featuring “The Room” seats on some aircraft, starts at 110,000 miles. United miles can also get you to hard-to-reach places like the Galápagos Islands, with economy flights from Ecuador starting at just 8,800 miles one-way on Avianca. Caribbean destinations can be reached from 13,200 miles round-trip in economy from the U.S. Remember that United doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges for partner awards, keeping out-of-pocket costs low. While redemption rates may not always be the absolute lowest, the ease of booking online and access to extensive Star Alliance inventory make United MileagePlus a valuable program for award travelers.
Comparison of U.S. Airlines' Expiration Policies
Below is the mileage expiration policy for every major U.S. airline.
