Buy United Airlines MileagePlus Miles - Worth It?
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
United is offering a discount of up to 30% on purchased miles. As with past promotions, it's a tiered discount that depends on how many miles you purchase. When you buy 10,000-19,000 miles, you get a 20% discount, and when you buy 20,000 miles or more, you get a 30% discount. Note that there are targeted bonuses of up to 50% available, so check your email or log in to your United MileagePlus account using the link above to see if you're eligible.
Miles are available in increments of 1,000 up to a maximum of 100,000 miles, and in increments of 5,000 up to a maximum of 150,000 miles. This promotional offer is available through February 16, 2015.
United miles normally cost 3.5 cents apiece, but the price goes down to 2.45 cents per mile if you get the 30% discount. To put that in context, if you were to buy 50,000 miles for a round-trip domestic business class award, you'd pay about $1,317 for the points ($1,225 plus a 7.5% Federal excise tax), and $61.20 in taxes and fees when you redeem for a flight, for a total around $1,378.
Depending on the route this may be worthwhile, especially on the ultra-expensive JFK-LAX route or other transcontinental flights. However, if you bought miles for a round-trip domestic economy award, it would be like paying $613 for that ticket, so I highly recommend you crunch the numbers and make a decision based on your specific travel itinerary.
I value United miles at 1.5 cents apiece, so you're paying well above that even at the discounted price. I wouldn't use this promotion to buy miles speculatively, but if you have a specific redemption in mind and the numbers work out, go for it. Beware that miles can take up to 48 hours to process, which might complicate your redemption plans if availability is limited.
On the positive side, unlike many other mileage purchases, these ones are processed directly by United, so they should count as airfare purchases and qualify for category spending bonuses if you use a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card.
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.