This Is How Many United Miles You Need for a Free Flight in 2024

United Airlines is one of the three legacy airlines most travelers know about. It operates over 4,500 flights a day to 330 destinations across five continents. Frequent travelers earn United MileagePlus miles by flying with the airline, using its travel partners, and making purchases with its credit cards. You might be able to redeem United miles for a free flight if you have at least 5,000, but some destinations will demand a much heftier sum.

Here’s everything you need to know about flying United with miles and earning miles for future free flights within the MileagePlus program.

How many United miles you need for a free flight

The number of miles needed to fly United with points and miles varies based on the type of flight you want to take. On average, domestic one-way flights in Economy are 12,500, and Business or First Class are 25,000 miles. However, you can find some flights for much less. For example, United offers Featured Award Deals between specific destinations for as low as 5,000 miles plus taxes each way.

That said, even though award flights can start at about 5,000 miles, you could use upwards of 100,000 for certain classes and destinations. You might be able to get a domestic economy ticket for around 10,000 miles, for example, but an international ticket in business class might run you 80,000 or more.

How to book with points on United Airlines

To fly with points on United Airlines, you'll need to book an award flight at United.com. If you’re looking at certain trips and wondering how many miles they’ll cost you, navigate to the Book an award flight section of United’s booking platform and enter the flight details, then select “Find flights.” This will show you available flights for your trip, priced in miles instead of USD. Alternatively, just check the “Book with miles” box at the top of the regular booking tool.

Once the search results populate, you can sort the options based on departure time, arrival time, number of stops, flight duration, or price of award ticket. You can click on "details" for any flight option to see the type of plane being flown, layover city (if applicable), if WiFi is available, and meal options. Take note that the prices shown for each award flight are one-way.

After you've selected your flights, you'll pay for your ticket with your United miles plus cash for any taxes and fees that are due. You’ll get an almost free flight if the miles in your account are enough to cover the base cost, but you should expect to pay taxes and fees in cash.

If you’re flexible on the dates, you’ll get a more helpful breakdown of the price of United award flights and be able to compare rates more quickly. Here’s an example of what that looks like.

How does United's MileagePlus program work?

MileagePlus is United Airlines' frequent flyer loyalty program. It's free to join and allows you to earn MileagePlus miles when you fly with United or its partner airlines and use United co-branded credit cards. Miles can then be redeemed for flights with United and its partner airlines, hotel stays, shopping, experiences, and more.

If you want to fly United with points, start by getting a free MileagePlus account, even if you don't have any travel planned yet. United miles never expire as long as your account stays open and in good standing. On average, one United MileagePlus mile is worth 1.1 cents per mile, based on our research and reader feedback.

Once you sign up for an account, you'll be given a frequent flyer number. Sign into your MileagePlus account before booking a flight or enter your frequent flyer number when booking to start earning.

How to earn United MileagePlus points for free flights

To fly with points on United, you'll generally need a minimum of 5,000 to 20,000 miles or more for a free flight (roundtrip), but you might see six-digit prices depending on how far you want to go and the time of year. Luckily, there are many ways to earn United Airlines miles and points you can convert to United miles.

Fly with United

The most obvious way to earn United miles is by flying with United. All MileagePlus members earn a base five miles per dollar spent on their tickets. This includes the base fare and any carrier-imposed fees. Government taxes and other fees are not included. Travelers with elite status earn additional miles.

I recommend picking one airline to stay loyal to so you can earn award flights more quickly. If that's United for you, try to book with this carrier whenever it makes financial sense, even if it means opting for a slightly less convenient itinerary. Be aware that United or United Express flights do not typically provide a bonus based on the fare class — these go by ticket price.

Earn miles with United partner airlines

You can also earn United miles when you book travel with any of its partner airlines, including all Star Alliance airlines. Just enter your United frequent flyer number when booking flights with a partner airline.

When flying on a United partner airline, the number of miles you earn is based upon the ticket issuer. If United issued the ticket, you'll earn miles based on the fare you paid and your MileagePlus elite status. For flights issued by partner airlines, you earn miles based on the fare class and flight distance.

Book hotels, cruises, and rental cars with United partners

United has several different partners through which you can book hotels, rental cars, cruises, and more. Make sure to compare prices with your typical travel search engines — it's worth earning United miles on your other bookings, but only if you're not spending more money.

You can earn two miles per dollar spent through United Hotels, 1,000 to 10,000 miles per booking with Rocketmiles, or up to 10,000 miles per booking with PointsHound. Marriott also offers complimentary United Silver status to its Titanium and Ambassador Elite members.

Rental cars and transportation services can earn up to 1,250 per reservation depending upon your elite status level and length of reservation. For example, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members receive 1,250 United miles on every rental with Hertz when using the MileagePlus discount code CDP 62455.

Travelers wanting to book cruises can earn up to 45,000 miles on reduced rates on getaways. Participating cruise lines include Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess Cruises.

Use the MileagePlus Dining Program to earn points on food

If you register your credit cards with United’s MileagePlus Dining Program, you'll earn up to five miles per dollar spent at over 10,000 participating restaurants. This will be in addition to any rewards earned directly from whichever credit card you use. This program is free to join at United MileagePlus Dining.

The easiest way to find participating restaurants is to search on the United MileagePlus Dining website. You can refine the results based on your location and type of food you want. You'll find many restaurants to choose from, including fast food, casual, and fine dining.

Use travel rewards credit cards

Here are five cards you should consider to earn more United miles.

Many different travel rewards credit cards earn United miles or points that can be converted into United miles.

For United loyalists

United co-branded credit cards are best for United frequent flyers, as you'll earn United miles for every dollar you spend and get benefits that make flying with United more convenient, like priority boarding and a free first checked bag, which can save you up to $40 each way on United baggage fees.

I think the United Explorer Card is most useful for casual United flyers because its annual fee is just $95 (waived first year). But frequent United travelers looking for premium perks might get more value from the United Club℠ Infinite Card. You'll earn miles and elite status faster, plus get lounge access and up to $120 in reimbursement for Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck®. However, this card has a hefty $95 annual fee.

For flexible travel rewards

I don't always stay loyal to one airline, so the best travel credit cards for me earn flexible points. My favorite travel rewards program, Chase Ultimate Rewards, lets me transfer your points on a 1:1 basis to 14 airline and hotel loyalty programs — including United MileagePlus. I can also redeem points through the Chase Travel portal for all kinds of travel purchases. Chase's Ultimate Rewards-earning cards also reward spending in a broader range of categories.

I've had all three of the non-United-specific cards in the table above. I love using the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card for my business expenses and one of the Chase Sapphire cards for my personal expenses.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve^® comes with a lot of appealing benefits — like comprehensive travel insurance, lounge access, and annual travel credits — but it also has a steep $550 annual fee. It was well worth it when I traveled more than three times per year, but once I started traveling less, I downgraded to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. I still earn enough points yearly for at least one roundtrip United flight.

Transfer Marriott points

Members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program can transfer points directly to United at a 3:1 ratio. Additionally, for every 60,000 points transferred, you'll receive a bonus of 10,000 United miles. This means 60,000 Marriott points can convert to 30,000 United miles.

Marriott offers several credit cards that earn Bonvoy points. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is a good option for travelers. This credit card offers up to 17X points on purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, automatic Silver Elite status, and an annual free night worth up to 35,000 points.

Shop with the MileagePlus X App

One of the unique options that sets United apart from competing airlines is their mobile app. With the MileagePlus X app, you can earn extra United miles on everyday purchases.

You can earn miles by online shopping in the app or by buying gift cards. The gift cards can then be used in-store or online. The best part of using this app is that you can literally buy a gift card for the exact amount of a transaction while you're standing at the register and earn miles at a wide variety of retailers.

And not only do you earn miles from the app, but you'll also earn rewards from whatever credit card you are using. The app is available for both iOS and Android.

Use the United shopping portal

United offers an online shopping portal called MileagePlus Shopping. There is no cost to use the portal. On this site, you'll find over 1,100 retailers and services that allow you to earn additional miles on your shopping. These stores include popular retailers like Nike, CVS, Apple, and Sephora. Keep an eye out for promotions where you can earn an elevated rate on select retailers. At the time of updating this piece, there was a deal on Lenovo that offered 10 miles per dollar (as of Dec. 16, 2024).

To start earning, sign up for your free account and bookmark the United MileagePlus Shopping portal for easy access.

FAQs

Bottom line

There are many ways to earn and use United Airlines MileagePlus miles. You can fly on United and its partner airlines, spend money with its partners, or use its credit cards. The miles can be used to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and so much more.

As you earn higher levels of elite airline status, you'll receive more miles when flying with United. You'll also receive more perks as you move up the ranks. These perks include complimentary upgrades and free checked bags, airport lounge access, and waived fees.

The easiest way to earn United miles quickly is by getting one of its credit cards, like the United Explorer Card, but you can also use many general travel cards — like the Chase Sapphire Preferred — to earn and convert points to United miles.

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Compare Credit Cards

Current Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase and pay the annual fee in the first 90 days

Annual Fee

$99

Rewards Rate

2X miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1X mile per dollar spent on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase and pay the annual fee in the first 90 days
• 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Intro APR on balance transfers
• In-flight savings options, first check bag free, preferred boarding
• No foreign transaction fees

Drawbacks

• Has annual fee
• Best for American Airlines travelers

Card Details

• Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase and pay the annual fee in the first 90 days
• 2X miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1X mile per dollar spent on all other purchases
• Intro balance transfer 0% APR offer: 0% for 15 billing cycles (on balance transfers that post within 45 days of account opening) then 20.74% to 29.99% (variable)