Today Only: Save up to 50% on United Awards to India
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
United Airlines is planning to resume service between Newark (EWR) and both Mumbai (BOM) and New Delhi (DEL) beginning on September 6, and to celebrate the service resumption, the carrier is running a flash sale, giving some MileagePlus members up to a 50% discount on economy award flights.
The discount varies depending on your status level and whether or not you hold a co-branded credit card, such as United Explorer Card. Rates start at 42,500 miles round-trip — worth about $550 based on our valuations — and go up from there:
As a Premier 1K member with United Explorer Card, I'm eligible for the full discount, which appeared right away when searching on United.com — in theory, 42,500 miles would be hard to pass up, if I were in the market for an economy flight to India.
There's phenomenal availability as well — officially, the discounted rate is available for travel between September 8 and November 3, though I don't see it offered every single day, even if there's saver award space on the Newark nonstop.
Also, it's important to note that the sale only applies to regular economy — Premium Plus awards still price at United's standard eye-watering rates, as do Polaris bookings.
The discount applies to any mainland US departures with saver availability, though, so you can connect from the West Coast, or anywhere else within the continental United States.
Depending on your origin and dates, you'd normally have to pay roughly $650-800 for a round-trip, including taxes and fees, though some markets are considerably more expensive — a round-trip from Salt Lake City (SLC) will set you back $1,150, for example. If your desired flights are available for $650, United's sale doesn't exactly represent the deal of a lifetime — a 42,500-mile redemption is far more reasonable than a $1,150 paid booking, however.
Just note that United flies the 777-300ER between Newark and Mumbai, so you'll be stuck with the carrier's super-dense 3-4-3 coach — a tight squeeze on one of the airline's longest flights. As a reminder, your ticket must be issued today, August 20, 2019, in order to qualify for the discounted price.
