Launched recently, United is now offering a secret bonus to those looking to purchase miles. Logging in to my account, here’s what I received:
Now, buying miles isn’t something I normally prefer to do, but sometimes I can be tempted with a particularly awesome bonus. This is not that. Earlier this month, they offered a flash sale of 100% bonus miles, which matches the highest ever offered. Still, if you need to top up your account with the last little bit, this could be a good match.
The Details
- The promotion is good through May 9th, 2019.
- The bonus miles count toward your annual purchase limit of 175,000 miles/year.
- Purchase miles in increments of 1,000.
- Purchases are processed by Points.com, which means you’ll want to use a card that maximizes everyday spend.
Is It Worth It?
This promotion is tiered, which means that to earn the full 85% bonus, I’d need to purchase at least 30,000 miles, which would net me a total of 55,500 for ~$1,050. Here’s the breakdown of tiers:
- Buy 5,000 — 19,000 miles | Get 30% bonus miles
- Buy 20,000 — 29,000 miles | Get 50% bonus miles
- Buy 30,000+ miles | Get 85% bonus miles
So purchasing more than 30,000 miles gets me the full 85% bonus, which means I’m spending 1.89 cents per point, compared to the normal 2.86 cents per point. That’s decent, but not something I’d rush out to do. This is especially true after United announced that they’re ditching the award chart for some good old fashioned price gouging on award flights. I’d be wary of purchasing anything at this point without a specific and immediate redemption in mind, as the variable pricing of its new charts is sure to hit hard. However, if you’re just a few miles shy of a reward, this could be a good time to jump.
You have until May 9th to buy United Miles with an 85% bonus
What bonus were you targeted for? Are you going to bite?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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