The United MileagePlus is one of the largest travel rewards programs, partnering with dozens of airlines and hundreds of merchants. MileagePlus Members can earn miles by taking flights as well as booking other types of travel, dining, and shopping with certain partners.
As you might expect, people who frequently fly between the States will probably get the most out of this loyalty membership. However, United launched its first Canadian credit card in 2026: the United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard. As is typical for Neo, there's also a secured version of this card.
This article explains how the United MileagePlus program works, lays out the value of the various redemption options, offers tips for how to make the most of your rewards, and much more.
Key Takeaways
- The United Airlines rewards program, MileagePlus, offers 6 ways (7 for Americans) for members to earn miles.
- There are also 6 ways to redeem MileagePlus miles, though booking flights with United offers the best value.
- MileagePlus miles are worth an average of 2.06 cents per mile when redeemed for United flights.
- The MileagePlus Program offers 4 membership tiers with exclusive benefits and earn rates.
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What is United MileagePlus?
MileagePlus is the travel rewards program of United Airlines. In addition to earning MileagePlus miles for qualifying United flights, members can earn miles on flights with over 25 Star Alliance partner airlines. These miles can be redeemed for free flights, cruises, and merch.
United Airlines flies to and from 10+ major airports in Canada, making the MileagePlus program a viable choice for Canadians. These are some of the Canadian airports that United serves:
- Calgary (YYC)
- Edmonton (YEG)
- Halifax (YHZ)
- Montreal (YUL)
- Ottawa (YOW)
- Quebec City (YQB)
- Regina (YQR)
- Toronto (YYZ)
- Vancouver (YVR)
- Winnipeg (YWG)
Overview
Currency: Miles
Redemption options: Charity, Experiences, Flights, Shopping, Travel, Travel extras
Pros:
- 350+ destinations and 1,000+ aircraft in the United network
- 25+ airlines in the United Star Alliance partner network
- 10 Canadian destinations
- 2 Canadian credit cards, 4 US-issued United credit cards, and 11 international credit cards
- 6 ways to earn miles (7 for Americans)
- 6 ways to spend miles
- 4 membership tiers with premium travel perks
- Miles don't expire
Cons:
- Miles worth as little as 0.1 cent CAD each
- Can't transfer miles for free
- Miles don't have fixed value
How much are MileagePlus miles worth?
United MileagePlus miles take their value from what you decide to redeem them for. For example, if you decide to use them for flights, you can expect to recoup about 2 cents per mile (CPM).
Value of reward in CAD / cost of reward in miles x 100 = value in cents per mile (CPM)
Depending on how you choose to redeem your MileagePlus miles, you could get anywhere from 0.1 – 35.45 CPM.
| Redemption option | Categories | Average Value ** |
|---|---|---|
| Experiences | * Travel * Sports * Culinary & dining * Arts & culture * Entertainment | 2.24 CPM |
| Flights | * United and United Express flights * Star Alliance partner flights | 2.06 CPM |
| Travel extras | * Airport dining * Baggage fees * Cabin/fare upgrades * In-flight dining * Seat selection * TSA PreCheck * United Club membership * Wi-Fi | 1.17 CPM |
| Travel | * Car rentals * Cruises * Hotels | 0.94 CPM |
| Shopping | * Apple * Gift cards * MileagePlus Merchandise Awards * Newspapers | 0.77 CPM |
| Charity | * Campaigns * Partners | N/A * |
** Note: Charitable donations are calculated differently than other redemption options. See more information below.
MileagePlus membership tiers
Every United, United Express, and Star Alliance partner flight earns MileagePlus miles, plus 1 Premier Qualifying Flight (PQF) and a number of Premier Qualifying Points (PQP).
| Purchase category | PQP earning rate | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| United and United Express flights | 1 PQP per $1 USD spent * | * None |
| United and United Express reward flights and upgrades | 1 PQP per 100 miles redeemed | * None |
| Economy Plus subscriptions | 1 PQP per $1 USD spent * | * None |
| General purchases with United credit cards | 1 PQP per $15 – $20 USD spent | * 1,000 PQP per calendar year (First Hawaiian Bank cardholders only) |
| Flights aboard MileagePlus partner airlines | 1 PQP per 6 miles flown | * 500 PQP per Economy or Premium Economy flight * 1,000 PQP per First or Business Class flight |
| Flights aboard preferred partner airlines | 1 PQP per 5 miles flown | * 750 PQP per Economy or Premium Economy flight * 1,500 PQP per First or Business Class flight |
* Excluding any taxes, fees, and surcharges.
You must take at least 4 United or United Express flights and collect enough PQF and/or PQP in one year to advance your membership to Premier status. Premier membership takes effect the moment you qualify and lasts until the end of the next program year.
MileagePlus currently offers 4 Premier membership levels:
| Premier Silver | Premier Gold | Premier Platinum | Premier 1K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements | * 15 PQF + 5,000 PQP OR * 6,000 PQP | * 30 PQF + 10,000 PQP OR * 12,000 PQP | * 45 PQF + 15,000 PQP OR * 18,000 PQP | * 60 PQF + 22,000 PQP OR * 28,000 PQP |
| Bonus miles earned per $1 USD spent on flights | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| Boarding zone | Group 2 | Group 1 | Group 1 | Priority |
| Complimentary Premier upgrade request window | Day of departure | 48 hours prior | 72 hours prior | 96 hours prior |
| Free checked bags on Economy flights | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Free Economy Plus seats | * Yes * At check-in | * Yes * At booking | * Yes * At booking | * Yes * At booking |
| Free preferred seating | * Yes * At booking | * Yes * At booking | * Yes * At booking | * Yes * At booking |
| Free Economy Plus seats for travel companions | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Free preferred seating for travel companions | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Lifetime status requirement | N/A | 1 million miles | 2 million miles | 3 million miles |
| Priority phone booking service fee | $25 USD | $25 USD | Free | Free |
| Free checked bags in premium cabins | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority check-in | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority security screening (where available) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Free same-day confirmed flight changes | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority customer service | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| UnitedClub membership discount | ❌ | ❌ | $100 | $200 |
| PlusPoints awarded | ❌ | ❌ | 40 | 280 |
| Skip upgrade waitlist | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
United announced a one-time PQP deposit for 2026. Everyone who earned Premier status as of February 1, 2026 (except Trial status holders) received between 300 and 1,400 PQP.
PlusPoints are a special rewards currency Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members can use to request flight upgrades for themselves and their travelling companions.
The cost to upgrade from Premium Plus to Business Class ranges from 10 – 80 PlusPoints, with short-haul flights at the lower end of the scale and long-haul flights at the other. If you request multiple upgrades for one trip, you'll only be charged for the highest-priced upgrade – so you get the lower-priced upgrade for free.
To request a PlusPoints upgrade, select "PlusPoints" as the type of upgrade you'd like to request on the "Enter Trip Information" page.
To skip the waitlist, select an upgrade with the "Skip Waitlist" on the "Pick Your View" page during a PlusPoint upgrade request. You can do the same by clicking "Upgrade" on an existing booking, but either way, you must request to skip the waitlist at least 30 days before departure.
Remember: PlusPoints expire at the end of the year in which you earn Premier Platinum or Premier 1K status.
How to earn MileagePlus miles
Flying with United is a guaranteed way to earn miles, but it's not your only way to accumulate rewards. These are a few more ways to earn:
- Book other travel
- Use a United credit card
- Boost, buy, convert, or transfer miles
- Fly with partner airlines
- Shop and dine with partners
Some of these options aren't very convenient for Canadian members, so we've ranked them by usefulness below.
Fly with United
If you're a frequent flyer aboard United or United Express, your miles will quickly add up. You can boost your earnings even faster with Premier membership status.
| Membership status | Miles earned per $1 USD spent – Standard fares | Miles earned per Basic Economy fares |
|---|---|---|
| General member | 3 | N/A |
| Premier Silver | 5 | 2 |
| Premier Gold | 6 | 3 |
| Premier Platinum | 7 | 4 |
| Premier 1K | 9 | 6 |
Note: Miles cannot be earned on taxes, fees, or surcharges.</sup>
Some Star Alliance and MileagePlus partner airlines also use these earning rates. However you fly, United limits your rewards to 75,000 miles per flight.
Some specialty tickets (such as bulk, group, and tour fares) earn miles based on flight distance and fare class instead of price.
Use a United credit card
There is one Canadian credit card that is part of the MileagePlus program – the United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard. With it, you'll be able to earn miles everywhere at these rates:
- 1.25 miles per $1 spent on United and Star Alliance flights
- 1 mile per $1 spent on restaurants and groceries
- 0.75 miles per $1 spent on everything else
You'll earn bonus miles when shopping with Neo partners, too.
United Airlines travellers get several other perks and benefits when using this card:
- 5,000 bonus miles every year on your anniversary
- Free first checked bag
- Minimum 10% discount on reward flights
- Priority boarding for United flights
- $120 NEXUS credit every 4 years
The annual fee is a very reasonable $89, which is significantly lower than most World Elite Mastercards in Canada.
If you don't qualify for the United MileagePlus Neo World Elite Mastercard, check out the United MileagePlus Secured Neo World Elite Mastercard, a secured form of the United Neo card. You will have to provide security funds, which act as the credit limit for the card.
Fly with partner airlines
When it comes to earning miles, United divides partner airlines into 2 categories: Preferred partners and MileagePlus partners.
- Preferred partner airlines earn 1 PQF per flight + 1 PQP for every 5 miles
- MileagePlus partner airlines earn 1 PQF per flight + 1 PQP for every 6 miles
Every partner flight booked directly on the United website uses the same rewards chart as United and United Express flights.
Flights booked "indirectly" on partner websites (or other third-party sites, like Expedia) earn miles based on distance and fare class, even if you provide your MileagePlus membership number during checkout. The higher your fare class, the more miles you'll earn.
Using the table below, you can see each airline's partner category and how many PQP and PQFs it awards:
| Preferred partners | MileagePlus partners |
|---|---|
| * Air Canada * Air China * Air New Zealand * ANA (All Nippon Airways) * Austrian Airlines * Avianca * Azul Brazilian Airlines * Brussels Airlines * Copa Airlines * Discover Airlines * Edelweiss Air * Eurowings * ITA Airways * Lufthansa * Lufthansa City Airlines * SWISS International Air Lines * Virgin Australia | * Aegean Airlines * Air India * Asiana Airlines * Croatia Airlines * EGYPTAIR * Ethiopian Airlines * EVA Air * Juneyao Air * LOT Polish Airlines * Olympic Air * Shenzhen Airlines * Singapore Airlines * South African Airways * TAP Air Portugal * Thai Airways International * Turkish Airlines |
Some of the partners listed above have individual guidelines and restrictions for which fare tiers can earn Premier qualifying credits, so be sure to check the fine print before booking.
These airlines are partners that do not award Premier qualifying credits at all:
- Aer Lingus
- Airlink
- Cape Air
- Emirates
- Flydubai
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue
- JSX
- Silver Airways
Book other travel
Like many airlines, United offers more than just air travel. You can earn miles for every step of your booking journey with these partners:
| Partner type | Examples | Earn rate |
|---|---|---|
| Cruises | * Carnival Cruise Line * Disney Cruise Line * Holland American Line * Norwegian Cruise Line * Royal Caribbean * Viking Cruises | Up to 7 miles per $1 USD |
| Hotels & short-term rentals | * Delta Hotels * Marriott Hotels & Resorts * The Ritz-Carlton * Sheraton Hotels & Resorts * Westin Hotels & Resorts * VRBO | Varies by location and stay |
| Vacation packages | * Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts * Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts * Iberostar Hotels & Resorts * RIU Hotels & Resorts * Secrets Resorts & Spas * Sunscape Resorts & Spas | Earn miles for the qualifying travel + 1,000 bonus miles per booking |
| Rental cars | * Avis * Budget | Up to 1,250 miles per rental |
| Rideshare | * Lyft | Up to 4 miles per $1 USD |
For Premier members, booking non-air travel on the United website has more benefits than just reward miles. Look for bonus miles and extra goodies from partners such as:
- Avis and Budget card rentals: Up to 35% off, up to 1,250 miles per rental, and automatic Avis President's Club and/or Avis Preferred Plus status for all Premier members
- CLEAR+: Get 5% – 100% off a CLEAR+ membership for faster security screening
- Marriott hotels: Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status for Premier Gold Platinum and Premium 1K members
- United Hotels: Complimentary drinks, breakfast, room upgrades, early check-ins, late check-outs, and more for all Premier members (where available)
- United Cruises: Complimentary wine, spa treatments, and more, plus up to $250 in credits for all Premier members
To qualify, you must use the official links provided by United's travel partners and provide your MileagePlus membership number at some point during checkout.
Shop and dine with partners
The best way to earn miles on non-travel-related purchases is to download MileagePlus X. Available on Android and iOS, this mobile app provides a single portal where members can buy gift cards, get dining offers, browse shopping offers, and pounce on last-minute deals, all while earning miles.
You can also access some of the app's individual features from the web by visiting these sites:
- MileagePlus Dining: Collect up to 500 miles on your first order, plus up to 5 miles per $1 USD spent on dine-in or takeout food orders.
- MileagePlus Shopping: Earn 50 – 5,800-mile bonuses or up to 20 miles per $1 USD spent at 1,100+ stores, including Adidas, Home Depot, Lenovo, PetSmart, and more. Link your credit or debit card to earn miles on in-store shopping.
While the MileagePlus Dining network is limited to the United States, Canadians can use MileagePlus Shopping to shop at stores that ship to Canada. Add the MileagePlus Shopping button to your web browser to get notifications for deals, price drops, and coupon codes.
Boost, buy, convert, or transfer miles
United offers several paid options to boost your MileagePlus miles. Paying for miles detracts from their values, so use the following methods in moderation:
- Buy up to 108,000 miles for $35 USD per 1,000 miles, with a minimum 2,000-mile purchase
- Gift or transfer up to 100,000 miles to another member for $7.50 per 500 miles, plus a $30 processing fee
- Multiply your miles by purchasing an Award Accelerator when you book a flight, or by redeeming a personalized multiplier offer
You can also buy extra Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) by adding a Premier Accelerator to your purchase of an Award Accelerator.
As the above-mentioned methods can get expensive, we instead recommend converting your points from one rewards program to MileagePlus miles for free.
These are some of the partners that allow you to convert points to MileagePlus – though it's important to note that you can't transfer from MileagePlus to any of these (or other) programs:
| Rewards program | Conversion ratio (points to miles) |
|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy | 3:1 |
| Hilton Honors | 10:1 |
| IHG One | 5:1 |
| World of Hyatt | 2.5:1 |
| Choice Privileges | 5:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 5:1 |
How to redeem United MileagePlus miles
United is an incredibly flexible rewards program, offering 6 ways to redeem your miles, plus about 20+ sub-categories:
- Flights
- Other travel
- Travel extras
- Shopping
- Experiences ("Exclusives")
- Charitable donations
We've already introduced you to the most valuable rewards in the program, so in this section, we'll explore your redemption options in greater detail, from the most to least recommended.
Experiences
Average value: 2.24 CPM
Categories: Broadway shows and MileagePlus Exclusives
Best option (at time of writing): 2 Mezzanine tickets to see Chicago at the Golden Gate Theatre, plus a $25 dining credit for $386.90 or 15,000 miles (3.66 CPM)
While MileagePlus Exclusives are experiences available across the United States, the Broadway shows are restricted to New York City. We found a few experiences available for comparison, but the ones with a "Buy Now" option averaged 2.24 CPM.
The downside is you don't get to choose which show you want to see, the date, or the time.
While you can score a great deal by bidding on select experiences, we'd say the risk of non-fulfillment isn't worth it for Canadian members.
Flights
Average value: 2.06 CPM
Redemption options: United and United Express flights, Star Alliance partner flights, and Money + Miles
Best option: One-way from Toronto (YYZ) to London (LHR) in Business Class for $10,280 or 96,400 miles (2.58 CPM)
One of the most obvious ways to use up all of those miles is to cash them in for a flight. There are 3 ways to fly:
- Aboard United or United Express flights for an average of 2 CPM
- Aboard partner airlines for an average of 1.6 CPM
- Using Miles + Money to pay for flights for a fixed 1.42 CPM
Redeeming miles is easy – just search for flights on the United website after ticking the "Book with miles" checkbox. The value of your miles can vary depending on whether you apply them to United or partner flights.
Travel extras
Average value: 1.17 CPM
Categories: Airport dining, Baggage fees, Inflight dining, Seats, TSA PreCheck, United Club membership, Upgrades, and Wi-Fi
Best option: In-flight Wi-Fi for $8 USD or 800 miles (1.42 CPM)
You don't have to use all of your miles on flights. Instead, cash in some of those miles for a few travel perks to make your next trip a little nicer. These are your options:
- Wi-Fi: Redeeming 800 miles for a one-time use of Wi-Fi provides 1.42 CPM and 35% more value than a month's subscription
- In-flight dining: Whether you spend them on snacks, meals, or drinks, every mile you spend on United's in-flight menu yields 1.2 CPM
- United Club membership: Get unlimited, free access to United and Star Alliance airport lounges around the world starting at $650 USD or 85,000 miles, or 1.09 CPM
- TSA PreCheck: With 11,000 miles, you can cover the $78 USD TSA PreCheck application fee and get 1.01 CPM
- MileagePlus Upgrade Awards: You can upgrade your seat for as little as 6,000 miles, with values ranging from 0.1 – 20+ CPM
These travel extras are also available, but certain details aren't available online, so we aren't able to calculate their CPM values:
- Airport dining: Redeem miles for food at select restaurants at the airports in Newark (EWR) and Houston (IAH)
- Prepaid baggage fees: Use miles to prepay your baggage fees up to 24 hours before your flight
- Seating fees: Members can use miles to pay for Basic Economy, preferred seating, or Economy Plus seats on United or United Express flights
You can combine multiple upgrades on a single trip, allowing you to customize your flight experience completely in miles.
Note that TSA PreCheck is only available to MileagePlus members located in the US at the time of redemption.
Travel
Average value: 0.94 CPM
Categories: Car rentals, Cruises, and Hotels
Best option: The least expensive rental car for a 2-day booking in Toronto for $586.04 or 48,000 miles (1.22 CPM)
Similar to flights, there are 3 ways to redeem your miles for non-air travel:
- United Cruises for a fixed 0.99 CPM
- United Hotels for an average of 0.96 CPM
- United Car Rentals for an average of 0.86 CPM
The good news is that you can always get the most bang for your buck by booking a United Cruise. The bad news is that its redemption value is fixed at just 0.99 CPM, and Canadian members aren't eligible for cruise rewards.
If you decide to opt for a car rental or hotel instead, we found that different travel dates have little effect on value. Instead, try opting for the least expensive rental cars or any hotels running a promotion.
At the moment, you can't redeem miles on a United Vacations package.
Shopping
Average value: 0.77 CPM
Categories: Apple purchases, Gift cards, MileagePlus Merchandise Awards, and Newspaper subscriptions
Best option: Varies by current merchandise price
MileagePlus offers 4 types of shopping rewards, but not all of them guarantee good value. Most provide less than 1 CPM or have unusual limitations:
- Newspapers: Although newspapers are listed as a redemption option, we struggled to find any newspapers in major U.S. cities.
- Apple: Shop the full range of Apple products for an average of 0.83 CPM.
- MileagePlus Merchandise Awards: Shop thousands of rewards, from golf to kitchen products, but note that you'll only get an average of 0.77 CPM.
- eGift Cards: Every $10 USD from over 200 retailers costs 333 miles, yielding a fixed value of 0.43 CPM.
Unfortunately, Mileage Merchandise Awards is the only category available for Canadian members.
Charitable donations
Average value: N/A
Categories: Campaigns and Partners
Best option: N/A
MileagePlus enables members to donate miles to support individual campaigns and partner organizations. At the time of writing, a few of United's featured partners in this category are:
- World Central Kitchen
- Special Olympics
- Airlink
- Make-A-Wish
Charitable donations work differently from other MileagePlus redemption options. Instead of requiring a specific number of miles for donation, United sets a goal for each campaign and/or partner, and you can choose how many of your miles to donate toward the overall goal.
How to get the most out of your MileagePlus miles
While everyone's travel needs are different, the most effective ways to use your United MileagePlus miles include avoiding popular travel dates and earning Premier status:
- Avoid popular travel days: Holidays, we're looking at you. Not only will it be harder to find qualifying flights using your miles, but these trips will also cost you more miles since everyone is hoping to fly on those days.
- Earn United Premier status: Keep an eye on United's status changes in 2026, but expect good things. Not only will you earn miles faster as a Premier member, but you can also redeem miles for useful travel upgrades. This might mean you can buy a cheaper fare, but upgrade a specific perk you want (like premium snacks, drinks, and extra bags).
- Play around with travel dates: The next time you're booking a trip with your miles, use the flexible fare date option to see when it's cheapest to fly. Adjusting your travel plans by a day or 2 could save you thousands of miles.
United MileagePlus vs. other programs
Here's a look at how the United MileagePlus program compares with 2 other top airline rewards programs, Aeroplan and WestJet Rewards:
| Feature | United MileagePlus | Aeroplan | WestJet Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currency | Miles | Points | Points |
| Participating airlines | 26 | 50+ | 50+ |
| Co-branded cards available in Canada | 2 | 12 | 3 |
| Rewards | * Experiences
* Flights * Charity * Merchandise * Travel upgrades | * Flights
* Air Canada gift cards * Car rentals * Vacation packages * Hotels * Merchandise * Gift cards | * Flights
* Vacations * Merchandise * Transfer points |
| Best redemption option | Experiences | Air Canada flights | Flights or vacations |
| Free membership benefits | Quicker check-in | Free in-flight Wi-Fi | Checked bag discount |
FAQ
What is US United MileagePlus?
Mileage Plus is the free reward program for United Airlines. It's free to join, and you'll earn miles for booking qualifying travel through United and its partners. Redeem your miles for future travel, experiences, merchandise, and more – unfortunately, though, redemption options are more limited for Canadian members.
Is it worth it to get United MileagePlus?
Since it's free to join and the miles never expire, you really don't have anything to lose by joining United MileagePlus. In fact, the more you fly with United or its partners, the more you'll end up saving in the long run.
How much is 50,000 United MileagePlus miles worth?
The exact value of 50,000 miles completely depends on how you choose to redeem them. Your most valuable option is to redeem for "experiences" through United, giving you approximately $1,125 in value. You can find the value of your points by using our handy United MileagePlus calculator.
Does it cost to be a United MileagePlus member?
No, it's totally free to join United MileagePlus. Your miles won't expire, and as you travel more, you'll gain elite status (Premier status) that allows you to earn miles even faster. You'll also earn more travel benefits and rewards, so flying United becomes even better.
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