12 Ways to Earn More United Airlines Miles

United MileagePlus is one of the most rewarding loyalty programs with its elite travel benefits and partners, co-branded credit cards and mileage opportunities. You can earn miles by flying with United Airlines and partner airlines, but you can also increase your mileage balance by spending money on the MileagePlus shopping portal, partnering with United retail partners, or taking advantage of special offers.

If you’re looking to travel the world on a budget, it’s worth considering the different ways you can earn and redeem United Miles. After all, more miles can mean more trips, traveling further from home, and upgrading to business or first class.

Here are all the best ways to earn more United Airlines miles to get on the journey of your dreams even faster.

1. Sign up for United Airlines co-branded credit cards.

One of the fastest ways to earn United Airlines miles is to spend money with one of Chase’s co-branded credit cards. Each of these cards earns a certain amount of air miles after you are approved and spend a certain amount of money over a certain period of time.

If you meet the minimum requirements, the check-in bonus should be enough for at least a domestic round trip.

Here are some of the signup bonuses offered by United MileagePlus cards:

Card	Bonus for registration	Estimated cost
United Gateway Map℠	20,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months	$220
United℠ Explorer Map	50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months	$550
United Quest℠ Map	70,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months	$770
United Club℠ Infinite Map	80,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months	$880
United℠ business card*	Up to 150,000 miles: 75,000 miles after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional 75,000 miles after you spend $20,000 in the first 6 months.	$1650

2. Subscribe to cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Chase offers several reward cards that allow you to transfer points to the United MileagePlus program at a 1:1 ratio. You can subscribe to these cards instead of (or in addition to) Chase’s co-branded United Airlines credit cards.

These cards are more flexible than United MileagePlus cards because you can transfer points to United and other partner airlines and hotels:

3. Sign up for co-branded Marriott credit cards.

Believe it or not, some hotel credit cards are a good option for earning miles with United MileagePlus. Marriott, for example, allows you to transfer points from your Marriott Bonvoy account to 38 partner airlines, including United, at a 3:1 ratio.

What’s more, you’ll earn an additional 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott points you convert into miles, plus a 10% transfer bonus through RewardsPlus, a partnership between Marriott and United’s loyalty programs.

Marriott cards you can apply for include:

**Estimated value was calculated based on Bankrate’s 2022 Marriott score estimates, averaging 0.7 cents.

4. Add authorized users to your cards

Adding an authorized user to your credit card account is another easy way to earn extra miles. You will earn miles not only for your purchases, but also for the purchases of your authorized users, which can increase significantly over time.

But choose wisely: you will also be responsible for paying for the authorized user’s purchases.

5. Join forces with your spouse

Your spouse or partner can apply for their own credit card and earn their own signup bonuses. This is true even if you live at the same address and have the same card they are already looking at. And don’t worry if you’ve added them as authorized users to your account – that doesn’t make them eligible for approval either. Card issuers consider spouses individual customers, so bringing your partner onboard can help you double your rewards quickly.

One note: if they have a Chase card in mind, make sure they are not violating the 5/24 issuer rule, which prevents applicants from being approved for a Chase card if they have opened five or more cards with any issuer in the last 24 months.

6. Download the MilagePlus X app.

The MileagePlus X app is a smartphone app that allows consumers to earn extra miles on a wide range of purchases. The app works with a wide selection of online retailers and restaurants, but you can also use the app for in-store purchases. Depending on the seller’s promotion, you can earn up to 5 miles per dollar spent – or even more during the holidays or school season. (If you are a primary United Chase cardholder, you will receive a 25% bonus when you purchase an eGift card.)

Please note that the miles you earn with the MileagePlus X app are added to the points, miles or cashback from the card you use to pay at the checkout. For this reason, it’s smart to download the app and link it to a card that allows you to earn either United miles or points that can later be converted into miles.

7. Join MileagePlus Dining

Like other airline loyalty programs, United MileagePlus has its own meal program that allows you to earn miles when you eat at participating restaurants. You’ll also earn 1,500 Bonus Miles for your first restaurant visit or takeaway within your first 30 days as a MileagePlus Dining member. All you have to do is spend $25 or more, pay with your linked credit or debit card, and provide feedback on your experience (via the link in your MileagePlus account or via your benefit confirmation email).

The above offer is valid for new MileagePlus Dining members until January 6, 2023. This is an easy way to earn United Miles for spending already made. Everyone has to eat, right?

8. Fly with United (or one of its partners)

It may seem obvious, but you can earn miles by flying with United Airlines or any of its partner airlines. On qualifying flights that allow you to earn miles based on your fare, United MileagePlus members earn 5x the miles and Premier members earn bonuses based on their status: Premier Silver (7X miles), Premier Gold (8X miles), Premier Gold (8X miles), Premier Platinum (9X miles) and Premier 1K (11X miles).

Members can also earn award miles based on distance flown and fare class purchased for certain specialty tickets. In addition, you can earn United Miles at different rates when you fly with partner airlines. Just be sure to include your United MileagePlus loyalty number when booking.

9. Book hotels and rent cars with United Airlines travel partners.

United Airlines offers a wide range of hotels and car rental partners, making it easy to earn miles while traveling. For example, you can earn up to 10,000 miles per night when you book a hotel through Rocketmiles.com, and you can also earn United Miles for paid stays at major brand hotels such as IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotels, Wyndham. Hotels and Resorts and The Ritz-Carlton.

When you book a qualifying rental car with United, Avis and Budget partners, you also earn up to 1,250 miles – and get up to 35% off the time and mileage you drive.

If you’re looking to book a hotel or rent a car anyway, you can also explore these deals to earn more miles along the way.

10. Go on a cruise

While most people may not associate United Airlines with cruises, the brand offers its own cruise portal that allows you to earn miles on every cruise you book. While offers change frequently, you can earn up to 25,000 bonus miles on cruises with top brands such as Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean when you book with United Cruises.

11. Shop through the MileagePlus shopping portal.

The United MileagePlus Shopping portal makes it easy to earn miles every time you shop at one of over 1,100 participating retailers, including popular options like Alo Yoga, Macy’s, Groupon, Home Depot, GameStop and AT&T.

While most participating stores offer 1 to 3 miles per dollar, sometimes you can find better deals. (At the time of this writing, for example, you can earn 15 miles for every dollar spent on 1800Flowers.com.) Some MileagePlus Shopping offerings offer fixed rewards, such as 250 miles for a Disney+ subscription subscription. On the portal you will also see discounts, free shipping and other savings opportunities.

12. Take a vacation (package)

Finally, you can earn more United Miles by booking a travel package (with any combination of airfare, hotel and car rental) through United Packages. Offers change frequently, but you can find vacations around the world such as Las Vegas, Tahiti or the Caribbean with special discounts and exclusive benefits. At the moment, you can earn a fixed amount of 1,000 miles for every tour package you book.

bottom line

United MileagePlus offers many ways to earn thousands of miles at once, from credit card sign-up offers to travel partner rewards. These 12 options are just some of your best ways to earn miles with United – there are many more options for that.

*All United Business Card information has been independently collected by CreditCards.com. The Issuer has not provided the content and is not responsible for its accuracy.