How to earn MileagePlus miles
Learn how to earn miles everywhere you go. Our miles never expire, so you'll keep what you earn as a MileagePlus® member until you're ready to redeem.
Flights
Every time you purchase eligible tickets and travel with us, you'll earn miles. The number of miles you can earn on a flight depends on your MileagePlus status on the date of travel, the type of ticket purchased, the ticketing airline and the operating airline. You may be able to earn Premier® qualifying points (PQP) for some of these flights. For more information, visit the how to qualify for Premier status page.
United and United Express flights
Tickets issued by United earn 5 miles per dollar on the base fare, up to 75,000 miles.* This includes all flights operated by United and United Express. Star Alliance™ and MileagePlus partner airline tickets issued by United also earn miles at this rate.**
Premier members will earn bonus miles on every flight. The amount depends on the purchased fare and status level on the date of travel.
To earn miles for your flight, add your MileagePlus number to your reservation and make sure it’s on your boarding pass at check-in.
The miles you earn for flights operated by United and United Express should be credited to your account 48 hours after your travel is completed. If they are not deposited into your account, you can request credit for the missing miles.
| MileagePlus status | Base miles earned1 | Premier bonus miles earned1 | Total miles earned on fare1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General member | Base miles earned1 5 | Premier bonus miles earned1 - | Total miles earned on fare1 5 miles per dollar |
| Premier Silver | Base miles earned1
5 | Premier bonus miles earned1 2 | Total miles earned on fare1 7 miles per dollar |
| Premier Gold | Base miles earned1
5 | Premier bonus miles earned1 3 | Total miles earned on fare1 8 miles per dollar |
| Premier Platinum | Base miles earned1
5 | Premier bonus miles earned1 4 | Total miles earned on fare1 9 miles per dollar |
| Premier 1K® | Base miles earned1 5 | Premier bonus miles earned1 6 | Total miles earned on fare1 11 miles per dollar |
*Members can earn a maximum of 75,000 miles per ticket, excluding purchases or bonuses from applicable promotions.
** Tickets issued by United start with the numbers “016.”
Star Alliance
Tickets issued by Star Alliance partner airlines earn miles based on flight distance and fare class. Visit the airline partners and global alliances page for partner-specific information and exclusions.
Specialty tickets
Some United and United Express tickets earn miles based on flight distance2 and purchased fare class instead of price. This includes unpublished, bulk, group, tour and opaque tickets.
How to earn MileagePlus miles FAQ
You will only earn miles on the base flight fare and any carrier-imposed surcharges. Government-imposed taxes and fees do not earn miles.
For eligible tickets, yes. You will earn miles on the original base fare price and any carrier-imposed surcharges.
Yes. You will earn miles on the portion of the base fare paid for with money, excluding taxes and fees. The miles will be deposited to your account after the flight is complete. Money+ Miles flights are not eligible to earn miles with other airline loyalty programs. Learn more about Money + Miles.
Yes, the member who travels will earn the miles, not the person who buys the ticket.
Yes. You will earn miles on the new discounted base fare price and any carrier-imposed surcharges.
Yes, but only the primary paid ticket will earn miles.
You will not earn miles on these purchases. United travel products include Economy Plus®, United Club℠ membership and passes, Award Accelerator® and Premier Accelerator℠. Optional service charges include checked bag fees, MileagePlus Upgrade Award co-pays and reservation change fees.
Yes. We will convert the purchase to U.S. dollars using an industry standard exchange rate and then calculate the number of miles you will earn.
Yes. U.S. and international United MileagePlus credit cards offer benefits when you use them to book a flight. Learn more about our credit card partners.
- The fare is the base fare of the ticket plus carrier-imposed surcharges, excluding any government-imposed taxes and surcharges. For tickets purchased in a currency other than U.S. dollars, we will convert the purchase to U.S. dollars using an industry-standard exchange rate and then calculate the number of miles you will earn. Please note that the price displayed when purchasing a ticket on united.com includes up to a 7.5% U.S. Federal Transportation Tax on the base amount of the fare on itineraries wholly within the United States. This tax also applies to certain itineraries between the U.S. and Canada or Mexico. You will not earn PQP or miles for the full amount of the displayed price for these itineraries because the U.S. Federal Transportation tax is not eligible to earn PQP or miles.
- Flight distance is the miles scheduled for a specific flight, as determined solely by United.
- Base miles are miles that MileagePlus members earn for travel on flights operated by United, United Express, Star Alliance member airlines or MileagePlus partner airlines, excluding any fare class bonus miles, Premier bonus miles or any other miles earned from promotions or offers.
The price displayed when purchasing a ticket on united.com includes up to a 7.5% U.S. Federal Transportation Tax on the base amount of the fare on itineraries wholly within the United States. This tax also applies to certain itineraries between the United States and Canada or Mexico. You will not earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) or award miles for the full amount of the displayed price for these itineraries because the U.S. Federal Transportation tax is not eligible to earn PQP or miles.
MileagePlus miles may not be earned on certain United and MileagePlus partner airline tickets. These include, but are not limited to:
- United tickets purchased and used in violation of United's Contract of Carriage, fare tariffs and the MileagePlus Program Rules.
- All free travel and all MileagePlus award travel.
- Charter flights
- Industry free or industry reduced-rate tickets
- Promotional certificates
- Unpublished or opaque fares, including but not limited to those booked through priceline.com and Hotwire.
- Tickets, products or services purchased and used in violation of the terms and conditions applicable to United's MileagePlus partners.
Certain premium cabin flight segments may earn different miles than those defined for your ticketed fare class in the chart (your fare class for each flight segment is displayed during booking and when viewing a ticketed itinerary on united.com). In these cases, earning is based on the first letter of the fare basis code, which may correspond to an economy cabin fare class including Y, B, M, H, Q, U, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, or N. You can determine your fare basis code when booking a reservation on united.com by selecting the Fare Rules and Restrictions link on the itinerary review page prior to purchase.
Codeshare and partner flights: If you purchase a ticket for a flight that is marketed by United but operated by another airline (known as a codeshare flight), the fare class that appears on your ticket may differ from the fare class that the operating airline uses to determine flight miles earned. If a partner flight is not eligible to earn miles, then it is also not eligible to earn Premier qualifying credit. Please visit the airline partners and global alliances page for partner-specific information and exclusions.
MileagePlus members who purchase Basic Economy tickets will earn award miles based on the fare, status level and lifetime miles. Members will also earn segments toward the 4-segment minimum and Premier qualifying points (PQP). Basic Economy tickets do not earn Premier qualifying flight (PQF) credit.
United Airlines reserves the right to exclude certain flights, fares, tickets, routes, products and/or programs from earning MileagePlus miles and/or Premier qualifying credits.
Travel partners
Car rentals and cruises
Earn miles on car rentals with Avis® and Budget®, cruises and other transportation partners.
Hotels and vacation rentals
Stay with hotel and vacation rental partners like Marriott Bonvoy®, IHG® and Villas of Distinction to earn miles.
MileagePlus offers
Featured deals
Save on summer cruises
Get on board this summer with the hottest prices and deals, like up to 45,000 miles.
Explore and earn with United Hotels
Take a trip somewhere sunny with United Hotels and earn 2 miles per $ spent.
Consider these United rewards cards for rewarding benefits
Earn more miles and more benefits for every kind of vacation. Choose the card that fits your travel style and enjoy rewards everywhere you go.
MileagePlus X app
Download the MileagePlus XSM app and earn miles for every dollar you spend on purchases at retailers like TJ Maxx, Starbucks and Walmart.
Earn miles for shopping
Buy or transfer miles
Get your next award flight quicker or share miles with another MileagePlus member.
The accrual of miles and Premier qualifying credits, redemption of and provision of benefits through the United MileagePlus program, including the Premier Program, are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the MileagePlus program.
Read the complete rules and details of the MileagePlus program