Mileage With A Twist! Up To 100% Bonus On Purchased Miles From United Airlines Through December 18th
United Airlines MileagePlus is running a promotion on purchased miles through Friday, December 18th, 2016. It’s a variable promotion that yields up to 100% bonus depending on how many miles you purchase.
The amount of mileage bonus you receive is targeted to your elite status level in the MileagePlus program, which I think is an interesting way to look at things.
You can access the deal here to see what your percentage bonus is (for those interested in such things, it appears points.com is providing the back-end processing).
Here’s what I was targeted for as a Platinum member:
I’m guessing the 100% threshold is the same or lower for 1K members and possibly higher for lower tier elites. The obvious play here if you’re going to buy is to buy at least 30,000 miles (or whatever number you’re targeted for) to get the 100% bonus. For me, that works out to 1.88 cents per mile (there are some taxes and fees you won’t see added until you hit the payment page). That’s actually not a bad price, and one of the lowest I can recall seeing.
I value a United MileagePlus mile somewhere between 1.5 and 2 cents each, but your value may differ greatly depending on circumstances. If you have an upcoming trip that you’re paying for, it’s easy to run the math if award availability exists to see if it makes sense to buy versus redeem.
If you’re trying to figure out how much you think various miles or points are worth, I think the Points Guy monthly point value posts are a great asset. You don’t have to agree with all of his numbers (he and I disagree here and there), but it’s a great starting point and the posts also discuss the methodology behind his values. You can use that information to determine what you would pay in a given situation.
It’s an interesting way to look at the sale of miles. I see these on a daily basis and most of the offerings are repetitive. While there can be hidden pockets of value from time-to-time, I’m rarely a buyer of miles. However, this one probably makes sense for a good number of folks.
Please report back on what your offer is. I’ll be curious to see how United targets this.
Mine looked exactly the same and my United status is “Member”. Not buying though. I bought a bunch of Lifemiles a couple of weeks back, so I’d hate to dump cash just to have the miles sit.
FTG, I think this is easier than Lifemiles for entry-level mile earners to process and with a bit less variability. But, I’m not a buyer either. I think 1Ks will get the 100% bonus at 20K miles.
FTG, still having tech difficulties. Comments show as coming from Denny, but it’s Ed.
As GS, I got:
Buy 5,000 – 9,000 miles | Get 25% bonus
Buy 10,000 – 29,000 miles | Get 50% bonus
Buy 30,000 – 75,000 miles | Get 100% bonus
Interesting, David. Not that different from the other offers after all.
I have no status with United and I got the same offer you got. In fact, I think anyone gets this offer. United is desperate to sell miles… but I’m not buying. 🙂