Strategically buying miles & points can represent a great deal, especially for luxury travel. United Airlines MileagePlus has just launched its newest sale on purchased miles. As usual, different members may be targeted for different offers. There’s a surprising new restriction on this offer compared to previous ones.
While I’ll cover the details of this promotion, let me state that I wouldn’t typically recommend taking advantage of this, as I think you’re better off buying rewards with another program, like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca Lifemiles. They often sell points at a lower cost, and have better redemption rates (though even these programs have made some negative changes).
In this post:
Promotion on purchased United MileagePlus miles
Through 11:59PM CT on Monday, January 26, 2026, United MileagePlus is offering a sale on purchased miles. Different members may be eligible for different offers — some members may be targeted for bonus offers, while other members may be targeted for discount offers. You’ll want to log into your account and see what you’re eligible for.
The best offer is generally for up to a 100% bonus or up to a 50% discount. In order to unlock the best price, you need to purchase exactly 25,000 miles in one transaction, pre-bonus. That brings us to an interesting new restriction that has just been introduced — you can now only purchase up to 50,000 miles from United (including the bonus) in any 90-day period.
That certainly counters the trend of airlines trying to sell as many miles as possible. From the perspective of monetizing a loyalty program, I’m curious what’s driving that move.
How much does it cost to purchase United MileagePlus miles?
United MileagePlus ordinarily charges 3.5 cents per purchased mile, plus a 7.5% federal excise tax. That’s before any discounts or bonuses. If you’re eligible for a 100% bonus and maxed out this promotion, you’d receive a total of 50,000 miles at a cost of $940.63, which is a rate of 1.88 cents per MileagePlus mile.
How many United MileagePlus miles can you purchase?
United MileagePlus limits members to purchasing 200,000 MileagePlus miles per account per calendar year. However, more specifically, the program now limits members to purchasing up to 50,000 MileagePlus miles per any rolling 90-day period.
Note that these limits apply after factoring in any bonuses, so even when United offers a bonus on purchased miles, you can still only purchase a maximum of 50,000 miles over the course of 90 days, or 200,000 miles per calendar year.
If you do buy United miles, it can take up to 48 hours for them to post to your account.
Which credit card should you buy United MileagePlus miles with?
United MileagePlus mileage purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending.
Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.
- Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
- $0
- Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
- Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
- Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
- $0
- 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
- Access to Amex Offers
- No annual fee
Is buying United MileagePlus miles worth it?
When it comes to redeeming United MileagePlus miles, I tend to think there’s one best use, and that’s for travel in United Polaris business class. Nowadays United limits a vast majority of long haul business class award space to members of the MileagePlus program, and in particular, to those with a co-branded credit card or elite status.
So while United Polaris business class might not be the most exciting product on earth, there’s no denying that the airline has a huge global network, and it’s often just practical to fly with the airline.
Beyond that, I don’t generally consider the MileagePlus partner award redemption rates to be that compelling. I think there are other Star Alliance programs with better redemption rates and/or program policies, including Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca Lifemiles. Both programs often sell miles at a lower cost, and Air Canada Aeroplan also has a lucrative stopover policy.
On what airlines can you redeem United MileagePlus miles?
United Airlines belongs to the Star Alliance, so you can redeem MileagePlus miles on all Star Alliance airlines.
On top of that, you can redeem miles on some of United’s other partner airlines, including Aer Lingus, Azul, Discover Airlines, and more.
How much are United MileagePlus miles worth?
Everyone will value mileage currencies differently, but personally I value United MileagePlus miles at ~1.1 cents each. I tend to value points pretty conservatively, and there are many ways to get more value from MileagePlus miles than that.
Do United MileagePlus miles expire?
United MileagePlus miles don’t expire. There’s no activity required to keep your account mileage balance alive, but rather you can keep your miles no matter what.
What other ways can you earn United MileagePlus miles?
If you’re looking to earn United miles, MileagePlus is a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, so you can convert Ultimate Rewards points into United miles at a 1:1 ratio.
See this post for the best credit cards for earning United miles.
Bottom line
United MileagePlus is offering a promotion on purchased miles, and different members may be targeted for different offers. In this case, it appears that the best offer is for up to a 100% bonus or 50% discount, which is an opportunity to buy miles for 1.88 cents each.
This could be a chance to acquire MileagePlus miles at a reasonable cost. However, I’d only buy miles with a specific and immediate redemption in mind.
Do you plan on buying United miles with this offer?
Your love for Aeroplan is great. But I have never seen an award using Aeroplan on points.com. And in several years I think I have booked awards using all kinds of programs but never Aeroplan. Admittedly I fly SFO Japan and SFO Europe regularly and nothing exotic. Perhaps that’s it. Also I prefer non stop
I got a 60% bonus offer this time. That's insulting! I bought 200k last year at 100% bonus so maybe that want to disincentivize that?
Hey Ben. I think it would be great if you had a question and answer post once a week.