Buy United MileagePlus Miles with an 80% Bonus
United MileagePlus is running its strongest sale of the year so far, offering an 80% bonus on miles purchased through its buy-points portal.
You can earn up to an 80% bonus when you buy 2,000 miles or more through May 4, 2026.
As is standard with United’s buy-miles promotions, offers may vary by account, so it’s worth logging in to confirm the exact bonus you’ve been targeted for.
Buy United MileagePlus Miles with an 80% Bonus
To check your offer, head over to the promotion landing page and log in with your MileagePlus credentials.
United typically charges 3.5 cents per mile (USD) when buying directly from the program. With the 80% bonus applied, the effective rate drops to 1.94 cents per mile (USD).
That sits above our current valuation of 1.2 cents per MileagePlus mile (USD), so this isn’t the kind of promotion you should jump on for speculative balance-building. It’s a useful tool when you have a specific premium-cabin redemption lined up that delivers well above the acquisition cost.
For context, United’s last buy-miles sale ran with roughly a 52% bonus, working out to around 2.3 cents per mile. The 80% offer is a real step up from that, and it’s within striking distance of the best rate we’ve ever seen, which was a 100% bonus that brought the cost down to about 1.88 cents per mile.
If you’re not in a rush, sales of this calibre come around fairly often with United, and the 100% bonus does occasionally resurface. But if you have a redemption lined up between now and the next sale window, this is a solid offer to take advantage of.
How many United miles can you buy?
United caps purchased miles at 200,000 base miles per calendar year, with a sub-limit of 50,000 base miles per 90-day window. Bonus miles earned through promotions sit on top of those caps.
If you were able to spread purchases across the full year and max out the cap with the 80% bonus, you’d end up with 360,000 miles for a total cost of $7,000 (USD).
Within a single 90-day window, the math works out to 90,000 miles for $1,750 (USD). With this promotion ending May 4, most members will only realistically have time for one purchase before the bonus disappears.
Which credit card should you use to buy United miles?
United sells miles through Points.com, the same external vendor used by most major loyalty programs. The transaction doesn’t code as a travel purchase, so there’s no benefit to using a co-branded United card.
Instead, the best practice is to use a card with a strong base earn rate, or one where you’re working through the minimum spend requirement on a welcome bonus.
The charge will hit your statement in US dollars, so a US-issued credit card avoids the FX fees you’d otherwise pay on a Canadian card.
Who Should Buy United MileagePlus Miles?
Buying miles speculatively isn’t something we recommend, especially with a program like United where prices on its own metal increasingly lean dynamic. The picture is different when you have a specific redemption in mind that prices well above the acquisition cost.
Premium Cabins on Star Alliance Partners
The strongest case for buying United miles continues to be partner award redemptions. United gives you access to all of Star Alliance, and partner awards are typically priced more reasonably than United’s own metal.
Lufthansa, Swiss, ANA, EVA Air, and Singapore Airlines are all bookable with MileagePlus miles, and several of these carriers don’t release business class space to other partner programs as readily as they do to United.
A round-trip Polaris business class redemption to Europe or Asia frequently comes in at 140,000–160,000 miles, against cash fares that can easily exceed $5,000 (USD). At those values, miles bought at 1.94 cents apiece still come out comfortably ahead.
Topping Up for an Imminent Redemption
The cleanest case for buying miles is when you’re a few thousand miles short of a booking you’ve already lined up. If award space is sitting there waiting, the difference between making the booking and walking away is worth the premium over our valuation.
Just confirm the award space is bookable before purchasing, and remember that miles posted through a buy-points sale are non-refundable.
Other Ways to Earn United MileagePlus Miles
If you’re thinking about buying miles for general balance-building rather than a specific redemption, the better path is usually through credit card sign-up bonuses.
United® MileagePlus® Neo World Elite® Mastercard (Canada)
Canada finally has a co-branded United card, courtesy of Neo Financial’s partnership with United, which launched earlier this month.
The card earns up to 25,000 MileagePlus miles in the first year, with 5,000 miles after your first transaction and another 15,000 miles after spending $3,000 (CAD) within three months. There’s also a 5,000-mile renewal bonus on each anniversary as long as the account stays active.
At an annual fee of $89 (CAD), that’s a much cheaper way to earn 20,000–25,000 miles than buying them outright at this promotion’s rate.
Marriott Bonvoy Transfers
Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to United MileagePlus at a rate of 3:1, with an enhanced 10,000-mile bonus when you transfer in increments of 60,000 Bonvoy points. That works out to 30,000 miles per 60,000 Bonvoy transferred, an effective 2:1 ratio thanks to the Marriott–United RewardsPlus partnership.
That makes United the most generous of Marriott’s airline transfer partners, and combined with the Canadian-issued Amex Marriott Bonvoy cards, this is a strong indirect path to building a MileagePlus balance.
US-Issued Chase Cards
If you have access to US credit cards, Chase’s United co-brand lineup includes the United Explorer, Quest, Club Infinite, and Business cards, all of which run welcome bonuses ranging from 50,000 to 100,000+ miles depending on the cycle.
Previous Promotions
Recent buy-miles offers from United have stacked up like this:
| Bonus | Cents per mile (USD) | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 80% bonus | 1.94 | May 4, 2026 |
| Up to ~52% bonus | 2.30 | March 30, 2026 |
| Up to 100% bonus | 1.88 | (historical best) |
Conclusion
An 80% bonus is the strongest United buy-miles offer we’ve seen in some time, and it pulls the per-mile cost close to the program’s historical low.
But even at 1.94 cents per mile, you’re paying above our valuation of MileagePlus miles. The math only works in your favour if you’ve got a premium-cabin redemption on partner metal lined up, or you’re a few thousand miles short of a specific booking.
If neither of those is true, sit this one out. United runs sales near-monthly, and the 100% bonus tends to surface a few times a year if you’re patient.
If you do have a redemption in mind, make sure to purchase your miles before May 4, 2026 while the 80% bonus is live.
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