- WikiMiles Analyzer
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Frequent Flyers Programs
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- AeroMexico Club Premier
- Aeroplan
- Air New Zealand AirPoints
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- American AAdvantage
- ANA Mileage Club
- Asiana Club
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Copa ConnectMiles
- Delta Skymiles
- El Al Matmid Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air Infinity Mileagelands
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue
- HawaiianMiles
-
Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Aeroflot
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- AeroMexico
- Air Astana
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Air India
- Air Malta
- Air New Zealand
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Airlink
- Alaska Airlines
- All Nippon Airways
- American Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Bangkok Airways
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- China Eastern
- China Southern
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Czech Airlines
- Delta
- EgyptAir
- EL AL
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- Eva Air
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Garuda Indonesia
- GOL
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- IcelandAir
- Japan Airlines
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
Program overview
MileagePlus is a loyalty program of United Airlines, one of the biggest airlines in the world with more than 120 international destinations. MileagePlus is also one of the easiest frequent flyer programs to use. No requirements to join for checking availability, plus, miles never expire.
Alliance | |
Program website | |
Approximate miles value | 1.2 cents per point |
Miles validity | Never expire |
Program accrual | United tickets - based on the fare Partners - based on the flight distance and purchased fare class |
Limit on amount of miles you can purchase | Up to 50% of the award miles required for that award |
Waitlist option | No for award reservations, only for upgrade |
Courtesy Hold for award reservation | Not allowed |
Do you need to open an account to check availability? | No |
Stopover option | One free stopover on round trips and opens jaw |
Family account | No |
Upgrade option | Yes, you can check upgrade availability online |
Online booking | You can book all flights online |
Airline partners | Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, Ethiopian, EVA air, LOT Polish Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Hawaiian Airlines |
Credit card partners | Chase (1:1 ratio, instant transfer) |
Hotel partners | IHG Rewards (5:1 ratio, 6 weeks transfer), Marriott Bonvoy (3:1.1 ratio, 3 days transfer), Hilton Honors Rewards (10:1 ratio, 30 days transfer), World of Hyatt (2.5:1 ratio, 6-8 weeks transfer), Wyndham Rewards (5:1 ratio, 6-8 weeks transfer), Choice Privileges Rewards (5:1 ratio, 2 days transfer), Radisson Rewards (10:1 ratio, 4-6 weeks transfer), Accor Live Limitless (2:1 ratio, 4-6 weeks transfer) |
Co-Branded credit card in the US | Chase United Gateway Card, Chase United Explorer Card, Chase United Quest Card, Chase United Club Infinite Card |
Point/Miles Conversion Chart
Pros
- No fuel surcharges on award flights
- Miles never expire
- More than 35 partner airlines
- Mixed class awards are allowed in one ticket
- 24 hours courtesy cancellation for award tickets
- One of the best and easiest sites to search for awards
- Easy upgrade availability check online
- Great website and relatively good customer service
Cons
- Only one credit card partner (Chase Ultimate Rewards and Chase United co-branded cards)
- Rewards require higher mileage than other Star Alliance members
- It’s more difficult to earn status with United MileagePlus than with Star Alliance airlines. There is a minimum spending requirement for status. It is also required to use the app for online check-in for international destinations
- United Elite members do not have access to the lounges when travelling domestically while Elite members of other Star Alliance airlines do
Excellent for
- One way flights to Europe for 60,000 - 70,000, in Business Class.
- Short domestic flights within the US for 5,000 in Economy.
- Redeem for Lufthansa flights without having to pay high fuel surcharges.
Insider Tips
- London, Brussels and Amsterdam offer the best availability when connecting in Europe for saver awards.
- If the schedule you booked is not optimal, check closer to departure as more availability opens within a few days before departure. Mileage Plus makes last-minute changes quite easy
- When booking Eco and Premium Eco on United Airlines operated flights, advance seat assignments are free. Almost all other Star Alliance partners charge for them now.
- When upgrading on United Airlines operated flights, it sometimes costs less to buy a more expensive economy ticket and pay lower co-pay instead of buying the least expensive ticket with the higher co-pay. Compare first!
- When upgrading Lufthansa operated flights, consider buying E class Premium Eco tickets instead of B/Y economy class tickets. E-class Premium Eco tickets are actually cheaper than B/Y Eco tickets and you need fewer miles to upgrade
- Even with United Gold status, no airport lounge access is allowed while on domestic trips. Gold members of other Star Alliance programs are allowed airport lounge access on US domestic flights.
- When you have a multi-leg itinerary, try pricing it all together rather than by segment to take advantage of the stopover perk which requires less miles than pricing as separate one ways.
Do you use this program? Share your experience and tips in the comments below. Your thoughts would be very valuable to us!
Choose where you are going from and to by selecting the respective zones. There are two ways to choose your origin and destination - you can either select the zones they fall into on the map or by clicking on the bars above the map and entering the city name or airport code into the search fields.
- Choose one of the three point combination options which is applicable to you. If you don't have any miles in any airline accounts you can leave those fields blank.
- Input all of the different points you have on the credit cards you are planning to use. You can enter as many as you like. If you have multiple cards on one name from the same bank you can combine and enter the total amount of points between all of your cards.
- Enter all the miles you have in airlines frequent flyer programs on the left hand side following the airlines name.
- Once you input the information, click on the analyze button at the bottom of the page.
- The analyzer will offer you the optimal transfer combinations to explore as well as pros and cons of each.
- Review analyzer recommendations. Total number of miles is not the only consideration you should take into account. Analyzer will give you additional information about each program to make the right decision. You can also download results to a pdf and even send them to others if you like.
- Proceed to check availability with respective airlines. Do not transfer any miles until you confirm the desired option is available on the airline’s website. Note the transfer time and hold the reservation if possible before transferring any miles.
- Remember all transfers are final as you would not be able to send the points back to your credit card. If your trip is cancelled your miles will go back to the respective airline account.
- Transferring points to airline's frequent flyer programs is not the only way to obtain the award ticket. You can also redeem the points through your credit card directly by using the Book Travel option. You can find out more by checking out our Credit card reward tab on Wikimiles home page.
- WikiMiles Crew is always here to answer any questions. For an additional fee we can also assist you with the bookings. Use the Contact us section to reach out to us.
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