How Do I Redeem My Frequent Flyer Miles for a Flight with United Airlines?

Nowadays with all of the different airline credit cards and online promotions, airlines miles can accumulate rather quickly. Did you know you can pay for more than just flights? Here's how you can redeem your mils with United.

May 20, 2020

United Airlines uses a regular-flyer program called MileagePlus to reward loyal customers where they can earn and redeem miles by flying on United or any of its 26 Star Alliance partners airlines. It uses a dynamic award pricing in contrast to its previous award chart system, implying that the rates applied are subject to fluctuation depending on the season.

Below is a guide on how you can redeem your frequent flyer miles for a flight with United Airlines or its partners.

  • Visit the United Airlines website (united.com).
  • From the homepage, click on the "Book" and "FLIGHT" tabs and then select the nature of your trip as either one-way or roundtrip.
  • Click on the "Book with miles" box.
  • Enter your travel details such as the number of travelers, destination, origin date, etc. You can click on "Advanced search" to gain a full booking screen if you need upgrades or multi-city reservations.
  • After filling in the details, click on "Find flights." You'll be redirected to a page that shows the convenient flight options and other extra customized options that allows you to narrow your search.
  • You can click on the "View 30 day calendar" to view award flight prices for the whole month or click on any column headers to sort by that specific level of award flight.
  • Customers can click the "Details" or "Seats", of their particular flight to check the applicable information such as seat maps.
  • Upon settling on the award flight of interest, click on the "Select" box.
  • Review your itinerary and complete your redemption by entering your traveling information and credit card details to cover the taxes.
  • If you have United elite status or a United credit card, you should log in by clicking on the "SIGN IN" tab located at the right top of the toolbar on the homepage. Then, enter your MileagePlus member number and password.

You can also redeem your frequent flyer miles for upgrades on paid travel on United Airlines. Factors such as your United Airlines elite status, route, paid ticket, fare-class of your paid ticket, and your booked seat determine the fee to upgrade your paid ticket to another class.

Additionally, If you choose to redeem your frequent flyer miles for a multi-city trip, you could benefit from one free stopover or an Excursionist Perk, enabling you to book a free one-way flight in any region other than the area where your trip originated. Hence it's possible to book flights to two cities for the price of one.

Alternative method

You could also access information on the MileagePlus Loyalty program, including how you can redeem your frequent flyer miles for a flight with United Airlines by contacting the United Airlines' customer service team.

Final thoughts

United Airlines provides dependable flight services and appropriate pricing options for its customers to travel to several destinations worldwide and appreciate the value for their money.

It thus attracts many customers, and you may find yourself in need of customer care services. GetHuman provides useful information about large companies, including United Airlines, and how to access customer care services promptly.

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Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

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How you can redeem your frequent flyer miles for a flight with United Airlines
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