United Airlines Partners

United Airlines is a founding member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, that includes the following global airlines:

• Aegean
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• All Nippon Airways (ANA)
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Egyptair
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Air
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• SWISS
• TAP Air Portugal
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

You can earn United MileagePlus miles any time you fly these carriers and credit flights to the MileagePlus loyalty program.

Additionally, when you reach MileagePlus Premier Gold status, you automatically earn Star Alliance Gold status, which comes with the following benefits every time you fly a Star Alliance partner:

• Priority airport check-in
• Priority baggage handling
• Priority boarding
• Airport lounge access
• Extra baggage allowance
• Gold Track priority lanes
• Priority reservations waitlist
• Priority airport standby

Outside of the Star Alliance, United has partnerships with the following carriers:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Dolomiti
• Airlink
• Azul
• Boutique Air
• Cape Air
• Edelweiss
• Emirates
• Eurowings
• Flydubai
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JSX
• Olympic Air
• Silver Airways
• Virgin Australia
• Vistara

To receive United mileage credit on these airlines, add your MileagePlus number to the reservation and check that it appears on your boarding pass when you fly.

Looking for a place to stay? Make a reservation through United Hotels, powered by Hotels.com, enter your MileagePlus number and earn 2 United miles per dollar.

Keep in mind that using this method to book accommodation has pros and cons. Yes, you’ll earn bonus miles on a hotel stay, but if you book a chain hotel, your elite status won’t be recognized and you won’t receive elite night credits because United Hotels is a third-party booking platform.

If booking through an online travel agency isn’t your cup of tea, you can earn MileagePlus miles by paying eligible rates or converting points from a number of hotel rewards programs, including:

• Accor Live Limitless
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Marriott Vacation Club
• Shangri-La Circle
• World of Hyatt
• Wyndham Rewards

You’ll typically get a better return by crediting the hotel’s own loyalty program, particularly if you have elite status, but you can choose to earn MileagePlus miles instead. Just remember to set United as your earning preference when booking, if required.

Marriott Bonvoy

United and Marriott elite members can get value from their status level by linking their Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus accounts. United MileagePlus Premier Gold members and above enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. Likewise, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite members receive complimentary Premier Silver status in the United MileagePlus program.

Additionally, Marriott members who prefer transferring their Bonvoy points to airlines get a special transfer ratio. Normally, Bonvoy points transfer to a few dozen airlines at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred. However, United members get an extra boost in the form of a 10,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points converted. In other words, transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points will yield 30,000 MileagePlus miles.

Avis and Budget

MileagePlus elite members and certain co-branded cardholders receive complimentary Avis elite status.

If you’re a holder of the United Club℠ Infinite Card, the United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Card (not open for applications), the United Club℠ Business card* or the United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Business Card (not open for applications), you receive complimentary Avis President’s Club status.

MileagePlus Premier Silver and Premier Gold members get Avis Preferred Plus status, and Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members get Avis President’s Club status.

Additionally, you can save up to 35% off base rates on Avis and Budget rental cars and earn up to 1,250 MileagePlus miles in the process.

United MileagePlus members earn bonus miles on qualifying rentals at the following rates:

• General members: 500 miles
• United MileagePlus Chase cardmembers: 750 miles
• Premier Silver and Premier Gold members: 1,000 miles
• Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members: 1,250 miles

To earn United miles on car rentals, make a reservation through United, provide your MileagePlus number and enter a promotional reference code.

Vrbo

Book a vacation rental through Vrbo, an online marketplace for short-term rentals, and earn 3 United miles per dollar spent (excluding taxes and fees). To get started, you must make a reservation through a dedicated page and provide your MileagePlus number. United miles will be awarded after a completed stay.

MileagePlus X

United MileagePlus X is an app that earns miles on the go by selling eGift cards to various merchants and restaurants. To earn United miles, download the app, log in with your MileagePlus account, link a credit card and purchase gift cards for popular retailers to use online or in-store.

Mileage earning rates vary by retailer, but you can earn multiple miles per dollar with many of them. And if you link a co-branded United credit card to the app, you’ll earn a bonus of 25% on top of your miles.

You can earn MileagePlus miles by flying United as well as its partners. If you fly United or United Express flights, you’ll earn miles based on the fare cost (excluding taxes and fees) and your elite status. As a MileagePlus member, you’ll earn the following number of redeemable miles:

• General member (no MileagePlus status): 5 miles per dollar
• Premier Silver: 7 miles per dollar
• Premier Gold: 8 miles per dollar
• Premier Platinum: 9 miles per dollar
• Premier 1K: 11 miles per dollar

If you purchase a ticket from and fly a United partner airline, you’ll earn miles based on the flight distance and fare class flown. Each partner’s earning rates are different, and you’ll want to check the rates for each fare class (that’s attached to your ticket) to see how many MileagePlus miles you’d earn for a partner flight.

To redeem MileagePlus miles for flights operated by United partners, go to United.com, enter your trip information and make sure the Book with miles box is checked.

Once the search results appear, you’ll be able to see which flights are serviced by a partner airline. The operating carrier is displayed without having to expand the flight details.

Select the flight option that suits you best and off you go.

One of the fastest ways to earn United miles is by opening a co-branded credit card and meeting the minimum spending requirements. Chase issues the following co-branded United credit cards to consumers and small business owners:

• United Gateway℠ Card
• United℠ Explorer Card
• United Quest℠ Card
• United Club℠ Infinite Card
• United℠ Business Card
• United Club℠ Business card*

If you collect Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you’re also able to transfer points to United MileagePlus at 1:1 ratio with the following cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Thanks to all the partnerships in place, including airlines, hotels and credit card partners, there’s no shortage of ways to earn United MileagePlus miles.

Any time you fly a Star Alliance or a non-alliance partner, rent a car from Avis or Budget or book a vacation rental through Vrbo, you can earn MileagePlus miles, which are redeemable for flights with United Airlines or any of its partners.

And if you need United miles in a pinch, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to MileagePlus as long as you hold select credit cards.