Quick Points: How to earn extra miles with United Mile Play promotions
With the price of award flights continuing to increase, we need to find easy opportunities to earn more miles. Not everyone has a million dollars in credit card spending every year or 100,000 miles to fly on paid first-class tickets. If you're like the rest of us — and you find value in United Airlines Mileage Plus miles — you should pay attention to its Mile Play promotions. They are easy opportunities to earn extra miles on flights you're going to take anyway.
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United Airlines Mile Play stealth promotions
Every few months, United Airlines will roll out these "stealth promotions." These are targeted offers that allow travelers to earn extra miles for completing a certain number of requirements. The promotions are targeted and will generally fit your travel patterns. For instance, members who haven’t flown United much recently tend to be targeted for more compelling offers. You won't get rich from Mile Play but it can help you get to that next award faster without any cost to you.
These offers will sometimes pop up on the home page of the United app or in your email. However, more often than not you're going to need to check online periodically to see if you're targeted. United has a webpage dedicated to Mile Play. All you need to do is enter your Mileage Plus number to see if you're eligible and register.
It's important to dig into the terms and conditions of any offer. As a general rule, award flights are not eligible for Mile Play promotions. Also, there will frequently be a minimum spending requirement for these promotions, whether overall or per flight.
In the past, TPG staff members have received a variety of offers, including earning 2,500 to 8,000 bonus miles just for booking one round-trip ticket on United Airlines. While I don't have any current Mile Play offers, I have been targeted three times over the past year:
Clearly, I need to be better at practicing what I preach. While I wasn't traveling very often in April of this past year, I was back to a pretty heavy business travel schedule in September. I never bothered to check Mile Play and missed out on an easy 5,000 miles. According to TPG's current valuations, that's roughly $57 worth of miles that I left on the table. Hopefully, that's a mistake I won't make again.
Related: What is United Airlines elite status worth?
Bottom line
There are very few "free" miles out there. Generally speaking, you're going to give up earning miles or points somewhere else or forego earning lucrative cash back on purchases. Mile Play is a unique opportunity for loyal or even occasional United fliers to earn extra miles for flights you were planning to book anyway. Set a reminder in your calendar to check once a month to see if you're targeted for an opportunity to get closer to your next award flight.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023
Rewards Rate
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro Offer
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel75,000 bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023