Tip: Triple Dip Your Mileage Earnings With MileagePlus X and Shopping Portals
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
We've talked about how the MileagePlus X app is a great tool to earn extra United miles. Working somewhat like a traditional shopping portal, you buy electronic gift cards from retailers and get 1 to 5 bonus miles for each dollar spent on a gift card (occasionally, the bonus can be as high as 10 miles per dollar). Plus, you'll receive a 25% bonus if you're a United MileagePlus Explorer Card holder.
But what many don't know is that you can actually do some significant triple dipping by using the MileagePlus X app in conjunction with a shopping portal. For example, you can buy a Nike gift card through the app and receive 5 miles per dollar spent.
The second dip is the miles you'll get from using your credit card to buy the e-gift card. The third dip is by using your e-gift card to shop at Nike.com through an online shopping portal, therefore earning you even more miles.
Potentially, if you wanted to make a $100 purchase at Nike today, a triple dip would look something like this:
- Dip 1: 625 United miles through MileagePlus X (5x plus 25% bonus )
- Dip 2: 100 miles for the purchase of the e-gift card with your credit card (1x)
- Dip 3: 200 United miles through the United MileagePlus Shopping portal (2x)
So, on a $100 purchase, you could earn 925 miles. And if you wait, many shopping portals have big bonuses, like a couple of weeks ago you could earn 15 miles per dollar at Nike and many other retailers. With triple dipping, you could have earned 2,225 miles on a $100 purchase! Make sure to use a shopping portal aggregator to find which portal has the biggest bonus.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Unlimited up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and 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
- Housing payments may include transaction fees, depending on the payment method
- 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 3 months + $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.