One Day Only: Get Up to a 100% Bonus on Purchased United Miles
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
For one day only, United is offering up to a 100% bonus when you purchase MileagePlus miles. As part of its extended Cyber Monday sale, you can earn up to 100% bonus miles on your purchased miles on Tuesday.
Here's how the bonus earning breaks down based on how many you purchase:
- Buy 5,000-9,000 miles — get 40% bonus miles
- Buy 10,000-19,000 miles — get 60% bonus miles
- Buy 20,000-75,000 miles — get 100% bonus miles
If you were to maximize this promotion and purchase 75,000 miles, you'd pay about $2,822, including taxes and fees for a total of 150,000 miles. That comes out to paying about 1.88 cents apiece. Based on TPG's most recent valuations, United miles are worth 1.5 cents apiece. So, while this isn't the best promotion out there, it's not necessarily a bad one either.
Keep in mind that before you purchase any miles, you're going to want to have a specific use for the miles in mind. Buying miles speculatively isn't recommended, as miles are a bad long-term investment.
If you're planning to utilize this promotion, here's how to do so:
- Visit United's Buy Miles page.
- Click on the Cyber Monday bonus deal.
- Enter your United MileagePlus account number and last name.
- Select the number of miles you want to buy and fill in the required information to finalize your purchase.
Keep in mind that there are some restrictions. You must purchase miles by November 28, 2017, at 11:59pm CT in order to get the bonus. You must purchase miles in increments of 1,000 with a maximum of 75,000 miles. The bonus miles will count toward the 150,000 mile annual limit per MileagePlus account, and purchased miles don't count toward Premier status.
Note that the purchase is processed by Points.com, so you won't get any travel category bonuses from this purchase. Make sure to use the best non-bonus category credit card for your situation. Based on TPG's valuations, the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express's 2x Membership Rewards or Chase Freedom Unlimited's 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points would be the most rewarding choice.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.