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In the not-too-distant past, airlines published award charts explaining how many points or miles are required to redeem for a free flight. However, following a trend started by Delta, many airlines have moved to hide those charts from the public. This allows them to make devaluations without their members' knowledge.
United was one of the airlines that made this change several years ago. Since then, award prices have increased several times, especially on partner business-class and international first-class tickets.
It can be frustrating not to know how much a given award flight might cost you; it can make planning a points strategy difficult. But AwardWallet has you covered. We've pulled recent booking data to provide you with the current redemption rates available through United.
This guide will help you demystify award pricing on United-operated flights and partner airlines and help you get the most value from your miles.
Page Contents
United's Partner Airlines: Who Can You Fly?
One of the best features of United MileagePlus is the variety of airlines that you can book with your miles. Here's an overview of who United partners with — the airlines you can book with United miles:
Star Alliance partner airlines
As one of the largest airline alliances in the world, Star Alliance partners include Air New Zealand, Avianca, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, TAP, Turkish Airlines, SWISS, and more.
Non-alliance partner airlines
United also partners with independent airlines. Award flights on these 16 airlines can also be booked with United Mileage Plus miles.
Related: A Complete Guide to United Airlines Award Travel Rules
The (Unofficial) United MileagePlus Partner Award Chart
To provide you with the most recent information on United partner award pricing, we have compiled the data on bookings made by AwardWallet users since the beginning of August 2024. This data includes the most common, lowest, and highest United partner redemption rates. However, it's worth noting that the tables below are subject to change at any time.
Partner economy class award chart (one-way)
| From continental U.S. to: | Most common rate | Lowest rate | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska & Canada | 17,500 | 17,500 | 35,000 |
| Caribbean | 22,000 | 14,300 | 22,000 |
| Central America | 22,000 | 20,000 | 22,000 |
| Northern South America | 33,000 | 26,300 | 33,000 |
| Europe | 44,000 | 32,000 | 50,000 |
| Middle East | 44,000 | 44,000 | 50,000 |
| Central & Southern Africa | 49,500 | 49,500 | 57,500 |
| Central Asia | 49,500 | 49,500 | 60,000 |
| Northern Africa | 49,500 | 45,000 | 49,500 |
| Southern South America | 49,500 | 49,500 | 49,500 |
| Australia & New Zealand | 60,500 | 60,000 | 60,500 |
| North Asia | 60,500 | 60,500 | 60,500 |
| South Asia | 60,500 | 60,500 | 60,500 |
Partner business class award chart (one-way)
| From continental U.S. to: | Most common rate | Lowest rate | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean | 38,500 | 38,500 | 65,000 |
| Central America | 38,500 | 38,500 | 38,500 |
| Northern South America | 60,500 | 59,900 | 60,500 |
| Alaska & Canada | 65,000 | 45,000 | 65,000 |
| Central & Southern Africa | 88,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| Central Asia | 88,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| Europe | 88,000 | 73,000 | 110,000 |
| Middle East | 88,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| Northern Africa | 88,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| Southern South America | 88,000 | 88,000 | 110,000 |
| Australia & New Zealand | 110,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| North Asia | 110,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| South Asia | 110,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
How do United partner awards compare to other partner programs?
United’s partner awards often cost more than options like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles, which routinely offer better rates for the same flights. Savvy travelers should always compare costs to make their miles go further.
Let’s look at an example: a Lufthansa-operated flight from New York (JFK) to Munich (MUC), with a stop in Frankfurt (FRA). United charges 44k miles one-way in economy and 88k miles each way in business class — plus $46.80 in taxes and fees.
Alternatively, booking the same flights through Air Canada Aeroplan offers two key advantages:
- Economy class costs just 40k miles one-way, though the taxes and fees are slightly higher at ~$95.
- Business class is significantly cheaper, requiring only 70k miles one-way, with similarly reasonable taxes and fees.
If you happen to check Avianca LifeMiles, the same flight is available in economy for just over 33k miles one-way with fees of $66. However, no business-class seats are available through LifeMiles for this route.
In this case, the economy seat available for 33,570 miles each way with just $66 in fees makes Avianca LifeMiles the clear winner for economy bookings. For business class, you might want to look at Air Canada Aeroplan instead.
The takeaway: When you have transferable points, other programs often provide better value for Star Alliance flights, especially for international routes and premium cabins. While United MileagePlus can be a good option for specific Saver Awards, it’s always worth comparing partner programs to ensure you’re maximizing the value of the miles you have access to.
The (Unofficial) United Award Chart for United-Operated Flights
If you are wondering how much it will cost you to fly on a United-operated flight, you will once again find that there is no published award chart. In fact, United awards are priced dynamically and can vary dramatically from day to day based on demand. To simplify things, we’ve created an unofficial chart based on current redemption trends:
| From continental U.S. to: | Economy class flights available from: | Business class flights available from: |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic U.S. | 5,000-15,000 | 30,000 |
| Canada | 9,000-15,000 | 30,000 |
| Hawaii | 10,000-25,000 | 50,000 |
| Caribbean, Mexico, Central America | 5,000-20,000 | 35,000 |
| South America | 20,000-45,000 | 55,000-85,000 |
| Europe | 30,000-40,000 | 80,000 |
| Asia | 31,000-55,000 | 80,000-100,000 |
| Africa | 45,000 | 80,000 |
| Middle East | 34,000-40,000 | 80,000 |
| Australia, New Zealand, Oceania | 37,500-55,000 | 85,000-100,000 |
These redemption rates represent the lowest prices currently observed and are subject to change at any time. If you're a United credit cardholder, you gain access to an expanded pool of saver awards. This means you’re more likely to find flights priced at the lower end of these ranges — if not below.
Simply log in to your MileagePlus account to see the additional award availability automatically reflected in your search results.
Related: United Airlines Credit Cards: Which One Matches Your Style?
How To Earn United MileagePlus Miles
Even though the pricing mechanism is pretty convoluted, there are still plenty of reasons to collect United miles. Outside of flying and crediting flights to the MileagePlus program, one of the best ways to earn United miles is by leveraging sign-up bonuses on a co-branded United credit card.
- 2X miles per $1 spent on purchases from United®
- 2X miles per $1 spent on dining and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 5 miles per $1 spent at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 3 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants
- 2 miles per $1 spent on select streaming services
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Earn 4 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Additionally, you can transfer Chase points to United at a 1:1 ratio. This means points earned on cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can be converted to United miles instantly for your next redemption.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
You can also transfer points to United from Bilt Rewards or a bunch of hotel partners:
Finally, you can also buy United miles. Doing so can make sense during some limited-time buy-miles promotions.
Our Take
United Airlines may not publish its award charts for their own awards or for partner redemptions, but we have the data to show how much flights cost — at least for now. If you have a stash of United MileagePlus miles and want to book a flight on United or with one of its many partners, it likely won't be a steal, but at least you know (mostly) for sure what it'll cost.
For international flights — especially in premium cabins — make sure to check other partner programs like Aeroplan and LifeMiles before booking through United. Comparing costs across programs helps ensure you stretch your miles further.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Are the award redemptions shown for one-way flights or round-trip flights? I can’t find that specified anywhere
All mileage rates in the post are one-way unless otherwise specified. But I can totally understand the confusion, so I just updated the post to spell out that mileage rates are one-way.
If I wanted to fly Sydney to Perth either one way or return how many United miles would I need – either in Virgin Australia or Qantas
We aren’t sure quite yet. United is about to become Virgin Australia’s new partner, but award flights don’t seem to be available yet. You can read about this partnership here: https://awardwallet.com/news/airlines/virgin-australia-partner-switch/
turkish airlines awards can be difficult to book sometimes.. as stated below using the united programme is a good way to do it-but unfortunately not all flights are av sometimes.. turkish airlines has better availability on their own programme
The best way to use miles which I have found is to save until you have enough for a trip in first or business on partners. The business class experience on Scandinavian, Turkish, Thai and Asiana are all of excellent quality. This gives far more value than taking a couple of flights in economy.
It is tragic that the new award pricing system is too dynamic / complicated.
Thanks for this, very useful. I don’t chase United miles but they gradually have accrued over the years and a redemption chart – as above – is a great help. Katy
Thanks for the in-depth research. I hope devaluations are not so significant once this covid-19 is mostly over.
Are the 8K miles for short flights still available though?
I believe they are, but I haven’t seen any lately.
They are still available, including the partner intra-European awards, and hopefully will still be available for the next few years.
Very informative, especially since I frequently fly in/out of EWR. I suspect we’ll see these award charts continue undergoing changes as the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on air travel.
Great article. It’s moves like this from United that makes me glad I no longer “chase” any form of status with them.
It’s never a good thing when they remove an awards chart. I almost always fly partner airlines when using UAL miles. The partners offer more direct flights (or at least flights with one stop instead several) from my airport, and that’s my number one consideration.
The complexity of air travel award travel is quite literally off the charts. The difficulty is real and only gets worse to figure out this game.
It seems so that they increase the awards of about 10%.
The worst thing is that they implemented this change without announcing it.
Focusing on transferable points rather than airline miles seems to be the smart course of action given the constant devaluations.
Just the first shoe to drop in devaluations that will keep happening – airlines want you to burn more of those miles they keep selling you for cheap-ish (either directly or through CC spend bonuses) so they can make some cash.
It started as a 10% increase, but I’m afraid as time goes the jump could increase to 20%, 30%, and so on.
It is really disappointing that they have removed the award chart. As we have seen with others such as Hilton it allows the airline or hotel to massively increase the points or miles required overnight and without notice.
In in today’s climate you better believe more devaluations are coming.
It’s so weird. Good thing I only have 8k miles in United… Not really wanting to transfer any more in from Chase.
I expect award points and miles to be worth a lot less after Covid. But devaluations coming.
Unfortunately you’re not wrong. There’s a reason airlines and hotels are running tons of promotions on buying points. The devaluations will be coming some time thereafter.
Devaluation, again.
Now that United miles last for ever -they are not worth collecting…
This is bad news.
Yes, at least at this point in time in the travel loyalty game, it seems like we can only have one or the other, only one good thing, but not two.
Florencia. as JT says, you can’t transfer–but the good news is, you don’t need to! You book a Turkish Airlines ticket directly from your United account. If the Website can’t handle it, phone UA to book. UA will tell you the price of your TK flights in UA miles + taxes to be paid with real money.
How do you book it directly from the UA account? I’ve been looking at flights from US to Europe and everything seems to be on UA metal only?
Thanks for the article, it is very interesting. If I have 60,000 miles at United, and would like to change them to fly in Turkish, when transferring, do I keep 60,000 miles?
Unfortunately, you can’t transfer United miles to Turkish miles. However, you can transfer Citi ThankYou Points or Marriott Bonvoy points to Turkish, or you can still use United miles to book a Turkish Airlines flight.
thanks for doing this-its very difficult without a chart(presumably thats why they did it!)