MileagePlus®

What is MileagePlus®?

MileagePlus® is a loyalty program of United Airlines – one of the largest carriers in the United States, United is considered the world’s largest airline carrier by volume. United offers services to an ever-expanding list of destinations both domestically and internationally, with flights to destinations throughout the United States and Europe, and a large presence in the Asia-Pacific region. United Airlines is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Rewards miles can be earned on any fares with United, both domestically and internationally. The distance flown can be a big factor in earning these miles, and there are plenty of destinations to choose from! For a complete listing of United Airlines destinations in the United States, visit the United Airlines official site.

There are several tiers to the MileagePlus® program, called Premier levels. When you enroll in a credit card rewards program that is co-branded with United Airlines, you’ll automatically be enrolled in the most basic level of the MileagePlus® program; it’s free to enroll, so you don’t need a United co-branded credit card to join, but using a United rewards credit card will certainly help you ascend status levels (and increase miles earned towards free travel) much more rapidly.

There are four levels; Silver, Gold, Platinum, and 1K. These Premier statuses will qualify you for mileage bonuses, seat upgrades, complimentary checked baggage, priority check-in, and many other benefits, including discounted and waived fees; Gold status and above, for example, include international airport lounge access. Every Premier level affords you different benefits and bonuses, so the more you spend with United Airlines, the more you’ll receive.

Earning Elite Status

To earn elite status in MileagePlus®, it’s best to fly often, fly far, and spend lots of money with United Airlines. United will assess the distance, fare class, and the price of the fare when determining rewards. To ascend to a new status, you’ll need to keep an eye on three metrics that United has created:

– Premier Qualifying Dollars (PDQs): A PDQ is earned based on the amount of money you spend on tickets with United and its partners; this sum excludes government taxes and fees, and the PDQ metric does not factor in the distance of the fare at all.
– Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs): A PQM is a distance-based metric; it’s calculated by multiplying the fare class of the flight you’ve booked with the mileage of said paid flight. If you’ve booked a ticket in a premium cabin, you’d earn more PQMs; the same applies if you paid full price for the fare versus paying for a discounted fare, since you spent more money. More money = more miles.

– Premier Qualifying Segments (PQSs): This metric is based on the number of segments you fly during a given trip. A segment refers to each time you take off and then land, so a trip that involves one layover would have two segments, while a nonstop flight is considered one segment.

Cardholders of United co-branded credit cards will benefit from their MileagePlus® membership even if they don’t qualify for elite status. Let’s explore MileagePlus® in more detail:

Earning MileagePlus® Frequent Flyer Miles

Earning Miles with Flights

Perhaps the simplest and quickest way to earn miles as a MileagePlus® member is by flying with United Airlines. Each time you purchase eligible fare and travel on flights that are operated by United or United Express(R), you’ll earn miles that are automatically deposited to your MileagePlus® account. How miles are earned will depend on the type of ticket purchased, as well as the ticketing airline and the operating airline.

Earning Points Based on Fare

MileagePlus® members earn MileagePlus miles based on the fare they purchase, and their MileagePlus status for the following flights:

For eligible flights that earn miles based on the fare, all MileagePlus program members will receive 5x base miles per dollar spent on the fare. Those who are enrolled in MileagePlus Premier may earn Premier bonus miles based on their Premier status:

Mile Boost Based on Fare Class

MileagePlus® miles are also accrued based on the flight distance, and the purchased fare class. Specialty tickets for flights operated by United or United Express, and for flights ticketed and operated by a Star Alliance or MileagePlus® partner airline, miles are earned at a rate that is calulated based on a percentage of the flight distance. Star Alliance partners award MileagePlus® miles based on a calculation that involves the price and class of the ticket along with the flight distance; rewards miles will vary by Star Alliance partner.

Earning MileagePlus® Miles With Credit Cards

An easy way to earn additional MileagePlus® miles is by applying for a United Airlines co-branded credit card. Issued through Chase Bank, these Visa cards offer excellent introductory bonus offers when a spending limit is achieved during an introductory period, usually either in 3 months of opening an account or within the first year. Additionally, cardholders have the opportunity to earn additional miles on of top of the rewards earned through the methods mentioned here, by qualifying for MileagePlus® elite status. Each card offer has its own set of benefits and perks, and the miles earned by using each card will vary.

United features several great offers from Chase, which are tailored either to business owners, or to regular folks who want to earn rewards with United Airlines. A great starting point is the UnitedSM Explorer Card, with which cardholders will earn 2 miles per $1 spent both with United, and with restaurants and hotel stays; 1 mile is earned per $1 spent for all other eligible purchases. Additionally, these cards feature sign-up bonuses of up to 50,000 miles that sweeten the deal.

It’s worth pointing out that Chase cardmembers can earn additional rewards that are not available to general MileagePlus program members.

Beyond the points-earning potential and initial rewards, these cards also offer a variety of other perks to cardholders – check out our United reviews, or our United States Carriers page for more information.

Earning with United Airlines Partners

MileagePlus® members can also earn points when they spend money with United Airlines partners, including:

Redeeming MileagePlus® Points

There are several redemption options for MileagePlus® miles; redeem rewards for flights through Star Alliance partners. Rewards also apply to several other airline partners, retail and travel options.

Flights with United Airlines

The easiest way to use miles is through flight bookings with United. To use points for flights, members need to book their flight at United.com and choose to pay with points. United Airlines offers several tiers of award seats; the better the seat, the more miles will need to be spent in order to qualify for the seat. Receive these awards as one-way flights.

Don’t just redeem miles for free flights with United Airlines. Miles also apply to upgrading your seats to a premium class. Upgrades, like award seats, are based on a one-way flight; each upgrade’s cost depends on the face class of the ticket you currently hold.

Flights with Star Alliance Partners

Redeem miles with Star Alliance partners. Miles are also redeemable with a handful of other non-alliance airline partners. Although some restrictions may apply, generally MileagePlus® members can both earn and redeem MileagePlus® miles with Star Alliance partners. For a full list of Star Alliance airline members, check out our Star Alliance overview.

Check with United and the MileagePlus® program to see what opportunities you have with the following partner airlines:

Hotels

Looking for a brand-name hotel to stay at while you’re away? Look no further; you can redeem your MileagePlus® miles for stays at brand-name hotels and resorts worldwide.

Rental Cars

Apply miles towards booking a rental car with Hertz, Dollar, and the car rental partners.

Cruises

Use award miles to book cruises on more than 25 cruise lines,

Shopping

Use miles to purchase thousands of products including Apple(R) products, housewares, electronics, jewelry, and more.