Sometimes the best and quickest way to top up miles for an award trip is to straight-up purchase miles from an airline. The best time to do this is when airlines put miles on sale. That would be now, while United is coughing up double miles, through tomorrow, when the sale ends.
The actual bonus varies based on how many miles are purchased, but this is the best United MileagePlus sale we’ve seen.
It’s possible to buy up to 150,000 United Miles, per MileagePlus account, in a calendar year.
I don’t fly United metal very often, though last year I did have a great trip home from Germany in Global First Class on the late Boeing 747. Rather, I often use United to book flights on Star Alliance partners like Lufthansa and SWISS.
Lufthansa First Class bed onboard the Boeing 747.
Here’s how the effective cost breaks down by tier:
- Buy 5,000-14,000 miles (30% bonus)
- Buy 15,000-29,000 miles (70% bonus)
- Buy 30,000-44,000 miles (85% bonus)
- Buy 45,000-75,000 miles (100% bonus)
How to Buy United Miles
If you’re planning on utilizing this promotion, here’s what you need to do:
- Visit United’s Buy Miles page.
- Click on Buy Miles.
- Enter your United MileagePlus account number and last name.
- Select the number of miles you want to buy and fill in the required information to finalize your purchase.
Upshot
Whether or not you buy airline miles when promotions are running, it’s good to know about your options. We all like to travel more, for less! I keep a list of airline point promos handy to see if they’ll work for me. Remember, never buy miles without a near future need for them, but if you need to top up an account or you’re planning a trip, double miles is hard to beat.
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