How to Maximize Your Miles with the MileagePlus Dining Program [2024]

If you love the idea of traveling for nearly free, then it’s time to get serious about maximizing your rewards. In addition to using your credit cards strategically, that means taking advantage of programs that allow you to double up on miles. United Airlines’ MileagePlus Dining program is one such option, offering free membership and rewards for dining out.get

Read on to learn more about the MileagePlus Dining program and how to maximize your rewfor exaards.

What is MileagePlus Dining?

MileagePlus Dining is a membership program that provides United miles to members when they spend money at participating restaurants. You earn miles by registering your credit and debit cards, then using those cards to pay for your meal or drinks.

MileagePlus Dining offers 10,000 participating restaurants and bars, so you can be rewarded with United miles for eating out or grabbing drinks at places you’d visit anyway. And you’ll earn miles for every dollar you spend, including tax and tip.

It’s a great program for anyone who dines out frequently and likes to fly United. The best part is that you can earn miles on top of your credit card rewards, so you’ll be doubling up.

How does MileagePlus Dining work?

You’ll need a MileagePlus account to get started, but it’s free to sign up. From there, you can register any credit or debit cards you plan to use when dining out. All you have to do is use these cards at participating restaurants to earn miles.

You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to earn bonuses. For example, new members can earn up to 3,000 bonus miles in the first 30 days. That’s 1,000 miles for your first visit totaling $25 or more, then 500 miles for up to three visits after that. If you have Premier status in United's MileagePlus program, you can also get an additional 500 bonus miles. 

Your membership will expire after 36 months of inactivity, so you only have to dine out occasionally to keep earning miles. But the more you spend, the more you’ll earn. And the miles you earn will never expire.

What are the benefits of enrolling in the MileagePlus Dining program?

With the MileagePlus Dining program, you can quickly rack up United miles for frequenting eligible restaurants. And if you spend on a rewards credit card, you’ll also score points, miles, or cash back in addition to United miles.

You can easily earn 6% back or more, depending on the credit card you use and your membership level. For example, you could earn 3X miles from the MileagePlus Dining program and up to 10% cash back from a rewards card, like the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. And with opportunities to score bonus miles, you can take your rewards to the next level.

How many miles can you earn with MileagePlus Dining?

The miles you earn will depend on your membership level. There are currently three membership tiers in the MileagePlus Dining program, and each tier earns a different number of miles:

• Basic member: Earn 1X miles per $2 spent with a Basic membership.
• Select member: Earn 3X miles per $1 spent with a Select membership. You can earn Select status if you opt-in to receive emails from MileagePlus Dining.
• VIP member: Earn 5X miles per $1 spent with a VIP membership. You can earn VIP status by opting in to emails from MileagePlus Dining and dining 11 times at participating restaurants.

While it might be harder to earn VIP status, it's easy to earn Select status. You can simply opt-in to receive emails from MileagePlus Dining. If you elect not to receive email communication, you’ll only get one mile per two dollars spent, so we definitely recommend opting in.

You can earn additional miles for doing things like:

• Taking surveys
• Visiting more restaurants
• Spending a minimum amount when you dine out
• Adding a credit or debit card
• Taking advantage of MileagePlus Dining bonus offers

How to find participating restaurants

Finding restaurants that participate in the MileagePlus Dining program is quick and easy. Just enter your ZIP code in the search bar at the top of the MileagePlus Dining website You can also input the name of the restaurant or bar you want to visit to see if it’s eligible.

Alternatively, use the advanced search function; this is a helpful tool if you want to narrow down your choices, especially while traveling.

With the advanced search function, you can find restaurants within a certain radius of your ZIP code or address, in a specific neighborhood, or even near a landmark. This can be a really useful tool if you’re visiting a museum while traveling and want to find someplace close by to eat, for example.

You can also narrow down your choices by the kind of cuisine, type of establishment, open hours, price, and other features. From there, just click “Search” to see your options!

The credit cards we recommend for you to earn more MileagePlus Dining miles

One of the best parts about joining the MileagePlus Dining program is that you’ll earn United miles on top of your credit card rewards. Choose your credit card wisely, and you’ll be able to double-dip and earn miles from both sources to put toward your next trip.

One way to do this is by using one of the best airline credit cards, like the United Airlines credit cards, to earn MileagePlus rewards directly. You could potentially earn up to seven miles per dollar if you both use a linked credit card that offers two miles per dollar and become a VIP member in the MileagePlus Dining program. For example, the United℠ Explorer Card offers 2 miles per dollar spent on dining, hotel stays, and United purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases. 

You could also link one of the best travel credit cards that offers bonus points on dining purchases and allows you to transfer those points to your MileagePlus account. 

For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® earns 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases. These rewards can be transferred to your MileagePlus account at a 1:1 ratio. 

If you prefer a Chase card with a lower annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card also offers a 1:1 transfer ratio to MileagePlus, though this card offers somewhat lower rewards rates: 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases.

Or you could use a card that offers 3% on grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, like the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, and use that cash back in conjunction with your MileagePlus rewards to book a flight through United.

FAQs about the United MileagePlus Dining program

How to sign up for the MileagePlus Dining program

If you're a frequent flyer on United and those MileagePlus Dining program perks sound appealing to you, remember that the sign-up process is easy, and it’s totally free to join. There are only a few steps required:

1. You’ll need a MileagePlus account to get started. If you don’t have one, you can enroll here. You’ll just need basic information like your name, contact information, and email address to join.
2. Once you have your MileagePlus number and password, you can use it to sign into your MileagePlus Dining account. Enter that information here and click “Sign in.”
3. To join the program, you’ll need to register one or more credit cards. To do this:
   1. Click the “Account Information” tab
   2. Find the “Registered Credit/Debit Cards” panel on the right-hand column
   3. Click “Add card”
   4. Enter your credit card information
   5. Click “Save”
4. Use the cards you registered at participating restaurants to rack up extra miles.

Earn those miles

Between your trusty rewards card and your MileagePlus Dining account, you’ll be on your way to earning free United flights in no time. Just remember to choose the right credit card, dine at participating restaurants whenever possible, and keep an eye out for bonus opportunities.

Best Rewards for United

United℠ Explorer Card

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United℠ Explorer Card

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Current Offer

Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Annual Fee

$95 (waived first year)

Rewards Rate

2 miles per dollar spent on dining, hotel stays, and United purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on dining, hotel stays, and United purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases that you can spend on award flights or upgrades.
• Up to $100 as a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck® fee credit so travel is a little less painful.
• Priority boarding on eligible United flights so you can get settled in sooner rather than later.

Drawbacks

• Free checked bag only applies to the cardholder and one companion, so it’s not as helpful for families.
• This card has lower earning potential than other United cards, which is a trade-off for the relatively low $95 (waived first year) annual fee.

Card Details

• Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining, hotel stays, and United® purchases
• Up to $100 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
• 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights and on Club premium drinks when you pay with your Explorer Card
• Free first checked bag - a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip. Terms Apply.
• Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
• Member FDIC