Buying miles and points can represent a great deal, especially for premium air travel. Loyalty programmes advertise these sales as discounts or bonuses on purchased miles. United MileagePlus has launched its latest promotion on purchased miles, valid through April 30, 2024, 2359 hours Central time. United is offering a tiered bonus on purchased miles this time, and up to a 100% bonus on purchasing miles in this round of the tiered promotion.

Buy United MileagePlus Miles with up to a 100% Bonus.

Through April 30, 2024, 11:59 PM Central Time, United MileagePlus is offering a tiered bonus on purchased miles. The promotion offered to me offers up to a 100% bonus at the top end of the promotion. These are amongst the highest bonuses that United offers. My tiered bonus works out as follows:

• Buy 5,000-19,000 miles for a 30% bonus
• Buy 20,000 – 49,0000 miles for a 65% bonus
• Buy 50,000 – 125,000 miles for a 100% bonus

When you buy United MileagePlus miles, you usually pay 3.5 US cents per purchased mile, plus a 7.5% excise tax charged in the US. With the 100% tiered bonus, and an increased limit of 250,000 miles purchase, one can buy 125,000 miles (and get a 125,000 miles bonus) for USD 4,703.13, a rate of USD 1.88 cents per MileagePlus mile (or INR 1.57)

Note that United MileagePlus limits members to purchasing 200,000 MileagePlus miles per account per calendar year, including any bonuses offered. For this round of the promotion, the quota has been bumped up to 250,000 MileagePlus Miles. If you are buying 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?

Typically, these point purchases are processed through Points.com and not directly by the hotel or airline. However, you will pay in USD, not INR. So, the best cards to earn a bonus are Citi Prestige, Axis Reserve or American Express Platinum Charge Card, as these cards offer extra points on international spending. Beyond these, look at any card that provides a reduced foreign exchange spend conversion or one where you want to meet minimum spend requirements.

One of the great features of United Mileage Plus is that United does not pass on fuel surcharges to customers. Another great feature is that United MileagePlus miles don’t expire. So, you get to keep your miles no matter what. You can use them to redeem on Star Alliance member airlines.

Bottomline

United MileagePlus offers a bonus on purchased miles, with a tiered bonus. With this sale, MileagePlus miles can be acquired for US Cents 1.88/ INR 1.57 each at the top end. The promotion is valid for the miles purchased till April 30, 2024 (11:59 PM Central Time) or May 1, 2024 (11:29 AM IST). Crunch the numbers before you buy.

Do you plan on buying United MileagePlus miles with this promotion? 

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