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United sent out emails this week to select MileagePlus members saying “don’t miss out on up to 70% bonus miles.” We disagree. There are better options for getting United miles than this promotion. Here are the alternatives we recommend.
Transfer Points
When we need United miles, the first place we at TPG turn is our Chase Ultimate Rewards balance. Chase UR points transfer to United MileagePlus miles at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points, and the transfer is usually instantaneous.
Thanks to the 3x earning on travel and dining on my Chase Sapphire Reserve, I always have plenty of points available to transfer. Other great ways to build your Ultimate Rewards balance is through sign-up bonuses and spending on the Chase Sapphire Preferred (50,000-point sign-up bonus, 2x on travel and dining) and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (80,000-point sign-up bonus, 3x in a few spending categories).
You can also transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points to United — but at a poor 2:1 ratio. If you have a large amount of Starpoints or Marriott points, you’re best bet is to take advantage of the Marriott Hotel + Air packages to get a large stash of United miles and a 7-night hotel stay.
Credit Card Sign-Ups
If you’re tapped out of Chase Ultimate Rewards cards — or limited by new regulations on Chase cards — you can stock up on United miles by signing up for a United co-branded card. While these cards have more benefits than just the sign-up bonus, here’s the current sign-up incentives for these cards:
Buy Points at 2 Cents Each
Tapped out all of your credit card options? Don’t buy miles from Points.com quite yet. There’s a trick that TPG‘s United expert Zach Honig shared about how he never pays more than two cents per mile for his United miles.
Last Resort: Buy with a 70% Bonus
If you’ve exhausted the options above and can get more than 2.21 cents of value from your United miles, it makes sense to take advantage of this buy miles promotion.
This 70% offer is targeted, so your offer may vary. But here’s how my offer is set up:
- Buy 5,000 – 14,000 miles, get a 25% bonus (3.01 cents apiece)
- Buy 15,000 – 29,000 miles, get a 50% bonus (2.51 cents apiece)
- Buy 30,000 – 88,000 miles, get a 70% bonus (2.21 cents apiece)
If you’re planning on utilizing this promotion, here’s how to do so:
- Visit United’s Buy Miles page.
- Click on Buy Miles.
- Enter your United MileagePlus account number and last name.
- Select the number of miles you want to buy and fill in the required information to finalize your purchase.
Keep in mind that the usual restrictions for purchasing United miles apply to this promotion, including the following:
- You must purchase at least 2,000 miles. Miles may be purchased in increments of 1,000 miles.
- Members can only purchase 150,000 miles per account, per calendar year, and bonus miles count toward the 150,000 mile annual limit.
- Miles may take up to 48 hours to post to your account.
- Purchased or gifted miles do not count toward MileagePlus Premier status.
Note that the purchase is processed by Points.com, so you won’t get any travel category bonuses from this purchase. Make sure to use the best non-bonus category credit card for your situation. Based on TPG’s valuations, the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express’s 2x Membership Rewards orChase Freedom Unlimited’s 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points would be the most rewarding choice.
Source: thepointsguy.com