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6 Great Ways to Redeem United Airlines Miles for International Award Travel

Scott Mackenzie

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August 3, 2020

After all the hard work you’ve invested in earning miles with the United MileagePlus program, you’ll want to know that you can redeem them for a truly valuable trip. The most common award redemption is a domestic flight for 25,000 miles round trip in economy class. Of course, many people could pay for that out of pocket.

What about the once-in-a-lifetime vacations that first lured you into collecting miles? This article discusses several excellent opportunities for redeeming United Airlines miles for a special international trip.

The Basics of United MileagePlus Redemptions

Keep in mind that the suggestions below all quote round-trip rates; United charges half as much for one way travel. The main difference between one way and round trip-reservations is that a roundtrip permits one free stopover — the opportunity to spend a few days or even weeks in a connecting city other than your destination. One way reservations don’t permit stopovers, even if you book two separate one way tickets that together create a round trip itinerary.

United Airlines airplane — United MileagePlus allows one stopover on a round-trip award ticket

To book a stopover online, perform a multi-city search with the city you are stopping in as one of your destinations. The stopover can be located on your way to your destination or during the journey home.

Finally, be aware of the difference between United Airlines awards and Star Alliance awards. United MileagePlus always charges the same amount if you’ll be flying in economy class, but some routes cost more in business or first class when traveling on a Star Alliance partner. Not all destinations offer United-operated flights as a cheaper alternative.

Fly to Europe in Business Class for 115,000 Miles

One of the most affordable premium cabin awards is to visit Europe for just 115,000 miles in business class. United Airlines charges the same amount wherever you originate in the continental U.S. and Canada, although you will find many more direct flights to Europe from the East Coast.

Concerned about making your way to a smaller city? You can include a connecting flight on a European partner, such as Lufthansa or SWISS, without invoking the higher rates that MileagePlus charges for Star Alliance awards (70,000 miles each way or 140,000 miles round trip). Just make sure that the transatlantic portion of your journey is operated by United Airlines.

Travel to Africa in Business Class for 160,000 Miles

Although United Airlines doesn’t serve many destinations in Africa, you can get there with Lufthansa, SWISS, or a variety of other Star Alliance partners by connecting in Europe and paying only slightly more. Business class is probably the best compromise between comfort and price at just 160,000 miles roundtrip, or you can choose economy class for 80,000 miles.

Lufthansa and SWISS reach Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa from their hubs in Frankfurt and Zurich. You’ll want to focus on flights between the U.S. and either of these two cities to make your onward journey as convenient as possible. South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways also provide extensive service throughout the continent, which is important if you need to reach a smaller city, but they generally receive less positive reviews for their service from the U.S.

Experience Asia in Business Class for 140,000 Miles

United MileagePlus is one of the best loyalty programs for booking award travel to Asia. It has several Asian partners, as well as its own extensive transpacific network. Many of these airlines release award space on a regular basis. United Airlines is a good choice if you’re starting at one of their hubs in San Francisco or Los Angeles since you can take advantage of more direct flights, including United’s new nonstop service between San Francisco and Singapore beginning in June.

Shanghai financial centre — United MileagePlus is one of the best loyalty programs for booking award travel to Asia

If you don’t mind connecting, you can also travel with ANA, Asiana, EVA, or Singapore Airlines for a slightly higher price of 160,000 miles round trip. (Thai Airways doesn’t operate transpacific flights.) Some of these carriers are known for offering better service than United, justifying the higher price. For example, EVA is one of the few airlines to serve Dom Perignon in business class. Award space may also be easier to come by. Asiana consistently offers business and first class awards from Los Angeles and Seattle in advance and close to departure.

Visit Europe and Asia Together for 160,000 Miles with a Free Stopover

It costs more miles to visit Asia instead of Europe, but that doesn’t mean you’re forced to choose one or the other. Because the Star Alliance has an extensive European presence, United MileagePlus allows members to book a trip from the United States to Asia and connect in Europe along the way. Combine this with the rules permitting a free stopover, and you can visit both continents for the price of one.

However, you won’t be able to take advantage of the cheaper awards available on United-operated planes because these flights don’t exist between Europe and Asia. That means paying higher prices for a Star Alliance award, which costs 160,000 miles to reach Asia whether you go via the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic. This is not much more than a Star Alliance award to Europe for 140,000 miles, but it is a big step up from a United Airlines award to Europe that costs only 115,000 miles.

A sample itinerary would be traveling from San Francisco to Frankfurt on Lufthansa (or United), spending a couple days, and then connecting onward with Singapore Airlines to Singapore. You could connect elsewhere — London or Paris, for example — but if you travel around Europe by ground you’ll still need to return to your stopover city to pick up where you left off.

Keep in mind that you must also return home via Europe, though you only get one stopover. Return journeys via the Pacific Ocean are not permitted because this would create a “round-the-world” fare.

Visit Fiji and Australia in Business Class for Just 160,000 Miles

You can actually lower the price of your ticket to Australia by adding additional flights! The cost of a business class award from North America to Fiji is just 150,000 miles round trip vs. 160,000 miles for an award that only reaches Australia. However, you are permitted to connect in Australia on the way to Fiji, and remember that round trip awards include a complimentary stopover.

Of course, finding award space to Australia can be difficult in the first place. Adding a connection to Fiji doesn’t make the award any easier to book — just cheaper. This difference in price also applies to economy class awards if you’re looking to save miles. Round trip travel in economy will cost 70,000 miles to Fiji or 80,000 miles to Australia.

Relax on Two Caribbean Islands for 35,000 Miles in Economy Class

Caribbean islands airplane — United charges just 35,000 miles to fly roundtrip to the Caribbean or Central America

Looking for the ultimate deal on a budget? United Airlines charges just 35,000 miles to fly round trip in economy class to the Caribbean or Central America. You can still take advantage of a free stopover even though this award is close to home. The one caveat is that there aren’t many connecting options other than returning to the United States, and that would cut the trip short.

In order to visit two islands, two Central American cities, or one of each in the same trip, you must connect in Panama City — and you can’t spend more than 24 hours while there. However, this is still plenty of time for a day trip to the famous Panama Canal.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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10 Ways to Redeem Miles on United Airlines for Maximum Value

Scott Mackenzie

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June 25, 2020

How much value are you able to find when redeeming your frequent flyer miles? Quite a lot, it turns out. Here we takes a close look at ten ways to redeem miles through the United MileagePlus program to get an incredible deal.

Although several resources suggest that United miles are worth between 1.7 and 2 cents per mile (CPM) on average, that includes options like cheap domestic flights. You don’t want average. The aspirational awards in this list may offer up to six times more value. Of course, you might not actually be in a position to pay over $20,000 for a ticket that travels around the world, but some ideas may provide you with a sense of just how rewarding your miles can be.

We looked at real flights at least six months in the future (to avoid the higher prices you might find just a few weeks before departure) and compared them to the number of miles required to book the same itinerary. You can likely originate in a different city within North America without redeeming any more miles, adding connecting flights on United Airlines or Air Canada.

Be aware that sometimes United will charge more miles for flights operated by a partner airline. However, this usually applies only to the international long-haul portion. The addition of shorter flights operated by a carrier, such as an intra-Europe connection on Lufthansa, may or may not invoke higher prices.

Note: All sample itineraries were found using the Matrix search engine, a free service of ITA Software.

1. Add a Stopover to Any Round-Trip Itinerary

Before discussing any other options, remember that you can add one free stopover to round-trip itineraries without increasing the price. This means that you can stop in a connecting city, spend a few days (or even weeks) and then continue on to your final destination. Or, place the stopover on the return journey. It’s a great way to visit two places for the price of one.

Most complex itineraries with a stopover or open jaw can be booked using United’s multi-city search tool. Enter at least three segments between your home, the stopover and the destination. Check United’s award chart to confirm that the final price of the itinerary with the stopover matches the price you would be charged without it, since sometimes the computer does make mistakes.

2. United Airlines Business Class — Denver to Tokyo

United operates an international hub at Japan and also charges fewer miles for travel there compared with the rest of Asia. In fact, the Denver-Tokyo route was one of United’s first international flights operated with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Take advantage of regular service from this and other U.S. airports for just 130,000 miles round-trip. That provides outstanding value at 8.52 CPM in this particular example of $11,076.76 for business class.

3. United Airlines Business Class — Chicago to Sydney

United is also using the Dreamliner on its routes to Australia from San Francisco and Los Angeles, phasing out the less fuel-efficient Boeing 747. Flights to New Zealand are also available at the same price of 140,000 miles round-trip for business class. Compare that to paying $8,841.46 and you’ll find your miles have a value of 6.32 CPM.

4. United Airlines Business Class — San Francisco to Paris

The market between North America and Europe is among the most competitive, so you won’t lack for options. What you do need to watch for are different prices. The cheapest awards will be on flights operated by United Airlines, which charges 115,000 miles round-trip. Fly on a partner airline like Lufthansa or Swiss and you can expect to redeem 140,000 miles roundtrip. That difference is larger than most other markets where United and its partners both offer award flights.

Flying on a United-operated itinerary like this one between San Francisco and Paris will provide the best value. Redeeming 115,000 miles instead of paying $4,871.46 results in 4.24 CPM.

5. Swiss and Thai Airways Business Class — New York to Bangkok via Zurich

Among the better known tricks when redeeming United miles is the option to travel from North America to Asia via Europe — something that most other loyalty programs forbid. The distance is about the same across either ocean when departing from the eastern United States, and with the addition of a stopover in Europe you can enjoy two very different vacations. One important rule: you must return the same way.

The price to visit South Asia on a partner airline (United doesn’t operate flights between Europe and Asia) is 160,000 miles round-trip. Here’s one such example from Newark to Bangkok via Zurich. By contrast, a paid fare for this unusual itinerary is $20,225.26. The award ticket presents an incredible deal at 12.64 CPM.

6. United Airlines Business Class — Chicago to Hong Kong

Not everyone wants to take the long way, and fortunately United is one of the best programs for booking travel to Asia given the abundant award space. Remember that traveling on United Airlines is cheaper, and it also tends to offer more options to fly non-stop. This itinerary from Chicago to Hong Kong costs $7,203.66, but an award ticket is just 140,000 miles. That’s a rate of 5.15 CPM.

Partners like EVA, Asiana, ANA, and Singapore Airlines tend to offer better service if you find that they also have award space. For example, EVA is one of the only carriers to serve Dom Perignon in business class. But, they do require more miles: 160,000 round-trip.

7. Lufthansa First Class — Los Angeles to Rome

One of the more popular options for traveling to Europe is Lufthansa First Class. Award space is almost never released to partner airlines like United in advance, but you can usually find it within two weeks of departure — perfect for those who are willing to book last-minute and take a small risk. This $10,622.66 itinerary to visit Rome in the springtime will cost 220,000 miles. Despite the high cost of the award, it still results in 4.83 CPM.

Look forward to some of the best in-flight service to Europe, as well as Lufthansa’s dedicated First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. The staff will provide a tarmac ride to the aircraft and the option to rent a Porsche 911 for as little as €100 during longer layovers. Don’t forget to grab one of the limited-edition rubber ducks from the private bathrooms!

8 and 9. Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways First Class — Southeast Asia to Japan

If you don’t want to splurge on a more expensive award ticket to fly a partner airline across the Pacific Ocean, you can still get a taste by booking an intra-Asia award. All the other examples in this article assume you’ll be originating in North America. However, if you book an open jaw to fly into one Asian country and depart another, then booking a separate one-way award may be necessary to connect the two.

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways are both known for offering exceptional service to their first class passengers when departing their home airports (Singapore Changi and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, respectively). Singapore has the “Private Room,” a separate lounge-within-a-lounge not made available to the first class passengers of other airlines. Thai offers a complimentary one-hour spa treatment.

These two examples for travel to Tokyo each cost 60,000 miles but are significantly different in cost. Singapore Airlines charges $3,740.10 (6.23 CPM) and Thai charges $1,690.90 (2.82 CPM). Keep in mind that Thai has much more plentiful award space.

10. United Airlines Economy Class — The Island Hopper

A rite of passage for frequent travelers is United’s Island Hopper route, which connects Honolulu and Guam. Flight UA154 makes several stops at minor islands along the way, and you can usually get off the plane to walk around during short layovers. Business class award space is rare, so expect to redeem 70,000 miles round-trip for economy class. A regular ticket costs $1,519.97 — valuing the miles at 2.17 CPM. Despite the low CPM, this unusual journey may be worth it.

Don’t forget to book a stopover on this route if you want to spend more time! There’s also no need to stop at every island in both directions, so take the non-stop alternative on the return journey if you wish. It’s also not that expensive to redeem more miles and continue onward to Asia or Australia. The Island Hopper can be part of a larger itinerary or a destination in itself.

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