United Airlines helps flyers beat jet lag with Timeshifter app
Editor's Note
There are many benefits to being a United MileagePlus member. While you're probably familiar with earning and redeeming miles and United's plan to bring free Wi-Fi to members, you may not know that United loyalists can save money or earn miles on Timeshifter, an app designed to help travelers beat jet lag.
Timeshifter, available for Android and iOS, uses science-backed techniques to help shift your circadian clock and combat jet lag. Just input your trip details, and the app creates a personalized schedule for you. Here's an example.
TPG's senior travel editor, Lyndsey Matthews, is planning a trip to Helsinki that she leaves for on September 18. Her personalized Timeshifter plan starts on September 16, telling her when to seek or limit light exposure, drink caffeine (or not), go to sleep and wake up.
Her plan continues for a couple of days after she arrives in Helsinki, adjusting her bedtimes each day until she's fully acclimated.
Of course, some of these guidelines are easier to follow than others. Lyndsey's plan includes sleeping on her flight, which is virtually impossible for some travelers. Then, it instructs her to start exposing herself to light and caffeine around 2 a.m., which could disturb her fellow passengers on the flight.
Still, Timeshifter is backed by science, and it touts itself as the world's highest-rated and most-downloaded jet lag app. To see if it works for you, you can sign up to get your first jet lag plan for free here. After that, you'll pay $9.99 per trip or $24.99 per year for unlimited jet lag plans.
Thanks to Timeshifter's partnership with United, Premier 1K members can access the app for free by registering with their MileagePlus credentials. All other MileagePlus members can earn 500 miles when they purchase a one-year subscription. That's an earning rate of 20 miles per dollar — not bad.
To earn even more United miles, check out our guides to the program's airline, hotel and credit card partners and MileagePlus X app.
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