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United runs a huge operation out of Newark, and I’m always price checking their flights against those at LaGuardia and JFK, because honestly, it’s not THAT hard to get to, especially when you take the train.

(READ MORE: The cheapest and best way to get from Manhattan to Newark Airport)

a plane taking off from the ground

A United Express Q200 landing at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Image courtesy of Jay Bowie.

United’s newest MileagePlus promotion is offering up to an 85$ bonus when you purchase milesInvalid request error occurred..

Let’s take a look at what that means in terms of purchase cost.

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This is a flash sale and only good for now through March 1st, 2019, and you can access the promotion here.

The bonus is a tiered bonus

  • Buy 5,000 – 29,000 miles | Get 40% bonus
    Buy 30,000 – 94,000 miles | Get 85% bonus

In order to get the maximum number of bonus points, you’d need to purchase 30,000 United miles at minimum and get 25,500 bonus miles, netting you 55,500 miles for ~$1,050. That’s like spending 1.89 cents per point, which is an okay deal, but not one I’d do in most scenarios. Unless I needed to top off my account, I would not speculatively buy points at this level. As a reminder, United lets you buy 150,000 miles a year (inclusive of bonus points), so be careful with this promotion if you’ve already purchased points this year.

(SEE ALSO: When is buying miles worth it?  Only in these 3 instances)

My recommendation would be to avoid this opportunity unless you need to top up your balance in order to make a redemption. If you do need to get those few extra points, it makes sense to buy at least 5,000 points, as that’s when the bonus point earning kicks in. If you do plan to take advantage of this offer, the link can be found here.

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