Targeted United MileagePlus Miles Purchase Bonus Up to 85-95%
PointsCrowd is a community-supported platform. When you apply for a credit card, make an order, or otherwise interact with the advertisers through the links on this page we may earn an affiliate commission. This helps us maintain and develop the platform further at no cost to you.
United MileagePlus miles are on sale again, and this time, United has targeted members to receive bonus miles on every purchase: you can either get up to 85% or 95% bonus miles.
The promotion is for buying personal miles or buying miles for someone else. The discounted per-mile price is good for topping up your account or booking an award flight. Since MileagePlus miles don’t expire, it’s also great for buying them to hold till you find a great flight deal. Make your point purchase by July 28, 2023, to qualify for the point bonus.
United breaks its point purchases into tiers to determine the bonus you’ll get. The more points you buy, the higher the bonus:
- Buy 5,000 points and get a 45% bonus
- Buy 15,000 miles and get a 65% bonus
- Buy 40,000 miles and get an 85% bonus
The maximum number of miles United MileagePlus members can buy yearly is capped at 175,000 miles. All bonus miles received count toward the annual limit. If you’re close to the purchase limit, check for other point bonus promotions from United that temporarily increase the limit.
Miles at the highest bonus level cost approximately 2.03 cents per mile. The cost per mile at the lowest bonus level is 2.41 cents. Without the point bonus, miles cost 3.5 cents each. Note that United also charges a ‘tax recovery fee,’ which increases the overall cost per mile.
United MileagePlus miles have a redemption value of 1.2 cents. The best way to use the point purchase bonus is to boost your account when you’re close to an award flight. The price in miles is often a better deal than using cash.
For example, this business class flight from Seattle to Nassau, Bahamas, for 38,000 miles. You can purchase 24,000 miles with a 65% bonus (15,600 miles) for a 39,600 total at $840 (903.00 after tax). When paying with cash, the same flight costs $3,000+ for a business-class seat!
Or this premium economy seat from Miami to Sydney, Australia, for 70,000 miles. You can purchase 40,000 miles with an 85% bonus (34,000 miles) for 74,000 total miles at $1,400 ($1,505.00 after tax). The same seat booked with cash costs $2,380.
Points are deposited into your account immediately, so browse rates with money vs. miles when searching to compare which option would be the best value.
Buy Points as Qualified United Purchase
Point purchases are categorized as a qualifying United Purchase when using one of the co-branded credit cards.
United Gateway Card (No annual fee) – Earns 2x miles on United Purchases
United Explorer Card ($95 annual fee, waived first year) – Earns 2x miles on United Purchases
United Quest Card ($250 annual fee) – Earns 3x miles on United Purchases
United Club Infinite Card ($525 annual fee) – Earns 4x miles on United Purchases
You will get the miles you purchased, the bonus miles, and also the miles multipliers on the total spent. Miles received from the credit card multipliers do not count toward the point purchase limit.
Bottom Line
Login to your account to see if you were targeted for the 85% bonus, 95% bonus, or another value. The promotion runs until July 28. Purchasing points during this promotion can save money on booking reward flights or purchasing points to gift to friends and family.
