What happened
United MileagePlus is selling miles through September 30 with a bonus of up to 95%, at 1.93 U.S. cents each. The rate is available only at buymiles.mileageplus.com and is open to MileagePlus members.
Each transaction with the bonus is capped at 50,000 miles, down from 200,000. Bonus miles count toward a 50,000-mile limit over any consecutive 90 days, which resets from the purchase date rather than on a fixed calendar. A calendar-year cap of 200,000 miles applies. Miles usually post when the purchase completes but can take up to 72 hours. Purchased miles are nonrefundable and do not count toward Premier status. The bonus is calculated per transaction and does not apply to past purchases.
Buying with a United MileagePlus credit card earns spend miles on the purchase. The price can make sense for expensive United international business or first awards. It rarely does for Star Alliance partner awards, other than some short-haul economy.
Buy only after pricing the United award against cash, and treat bonus miles as part of the 50,000-mile 90-day cap.
- Starts
- Sep 8, 2026
- Ends
- Sep 30, 2026
- Numbers
- 95%: buy-miles bonus
- 1.93 US cents: price per mile at 95% bonus
- 50,000 miles: rolling 90-day purchase cap including bonus miles
- 200,000 miles: calendar-year purchase cap
- 50,000 miles: maximum miles per transaction with the bonus
- 72 hours: possible delay before miles post
- Who qualifies
- United MileagePlus members
- Takeaway
- Compare current United award costs to cash fares before buying, and treat bonus miles as counting toward the 50,000-mile 90-day cap.