Sail for Miles: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus United MileagePlus Miles Through United Cruises Sail for Miles: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus United MileagePlus Miles Through United Cruises

Sail for Miles: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus United MileagePlus Miles Through United Cruises

AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.

This promotion has ended; please review current/active promotions.

The United Cruises Semi-Annual Sale offers United Airlines credit cardholders up to 10X miles per dollar when booking by June 22, 2025. This means that cardholders can earn up to 60,000 bonus miles, along with other benefits from individual cruise lines. Alternatively, you can get up to 60,000 miles back when booking with miles.

MileagePlus members can take advantage of generous bonus opportunities, including extra miles and onboard perks, when booking through United Cruises. Some top benefits are reserved for United cardholders and MileagePlus Premier status members.

Here are the details of this United Cruises promotion and how to maximize your earnings from booking a cruise.

What Is United Cruises?

United Cruises is one of the many airline and hotel loyalty platforms that allow you to earn rewards miles on cruises. These platforms are generally powered by World Travel Holdings, which offers cruises from 30 cruise providers, including all the major lines. And sometimes, you can score quite a deal on these bookings.

Remember that using any third-party booking platform has pros and cons. In this case, a pro of using United Cruises is earning bonus miles on your cruises.

Current United Cruises Offers

United credit cardholders: Earn up to 10X MileagePlus miles per dollar

This month, United Cruises is holding its Semi-Annual Cruise Sale. Through June 22, 2025, United credit card holders will receive 10X miles per dollar (instead of 7X) when booking a balcony or suite on eligible cruises. Eligible departures are through December 31, 2026. Furthermore, with this promotion, the maximum number of miles members can earn with a single cruise jumps to 60,000 miles.

United Cruises Up to 60,000 Bonus Points 2025 Promotion
Credit: United Cruises

In addition to earning up to 60,000 bonus miles, the Semi-Annual Cruise Sale includes other offers with each cruise line. For instance, Norwegian Cruise Line is offering up to $300 to spend onboard and 70% off for the second guest.

United Cruises Semi-Annual Sale 2025
Credit: United Cruises
The New United℠ Explorer Card
The New United℠ Explorer Card
Annual Fee$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150
Welcome Offer Limited-Time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
The New United℠ Explorer Card is Chase's mid-tier United card, providing an excellent mix of functional benefits and value. Notable perks include a credit of up to $120 every four years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS fees​​, priority boarding​​, and a free first checked bag for the cardmember and a traveling companion on the same reservation, offering up to $160 in savings​​. Additionally, cardholders receive 25% back on inflight purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi on United-operated flights​​, and two one-time United Club℠ passes annually​​.
  • Limited-Time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles
  • $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
  • 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
  • Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
  • Free first checked bag - a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip. Terms Apply.
  • Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
  • Earn a $100 United travel credit after spending $10,000 on purchases with your United℠ Explorer Card within a calendar year
  • Over $400 in partner credits each year
  • Member FDIC
  • Rates & Fees
  • 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

Get 60,000 miles back on cruises booked with miles

If you prefer to book your cruise with United miles, you can earn up to 60,000 miles back through June 22, 2025. Book a balcony or stateroom and notify the agent that you are a MileagePlus Visa credit cardholder to get your miles rebate. Regular customers will receive 6X miles back per dollar spent, up to 45,000 miles. United credit cardholders will receive an additional 4X miles back, up to a total of 60,000 miles.

Prices exclude port charges, port expenses, taxes, and travel protection. New bookings only. Members can pay with miles or a combination of miles and cash.

Bonus miles for MileagePlus members and cardholders

United cardholders and MileagePlus Premier status members can also earn bonus miles when booking United Cruises. Through December 31, 2025, United MileagePlus members earn 2X miles per dollar on any stateroom category booking and 4X miles per dollar on balcony and suite bookings. Even better, United credit card holders receive 4X miles per dollar on standard staterooms and 7X miles per dollar on balcony and suite bookings.

MileagePlus members can earn a maximum of 25,000 bonus miles per cruise. United cardholders can earn a maximum of 45,000 bonus miles per cruise.

Cruise ship departing a port in Alaska.
Credit: Steinar Engeland/Unsplash

United Cruises promotion terms and conditions

  • Bonus miles, onboard credit, and additional savings are not available on all cruises.
  • Each cruise and cruise line has individual terms and conditions, so ensure you check your desired sailing for the fine print to ensure you can receive the benefits listed above.
  • United Cruises will post bonus miles to member accounts within 6-8 weeks after the cruise is completed.

Our Take

Many MileagePlus members may not know about the opportunity to earn bonus United miles by booking cruises. It's a valuable proposition if you prefer ocean-based vacations to land-based ones. Better yet, the bonus miles offered by some cruise lines are in addition to the miles that United cardholders earn.

If you book by June 22, 2025, you can either earn up to 60,000 bonus miles as a United credit cardholder or get up to 60,000 miles back when booking with miles.

Looking for a cheaper way to earn United miles than booking a cruise? Check out United's credit card offerings:

The New United℠ Explorer Card
The New United℠ Explorer Card
Welcome Offer Limited-Time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & Fees
Credit ScoreExcellent, Good
  • 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
The New United Quest℠ Card
The New United Quest℠ Card
Welcome Bonus Best Offer Ever: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee$350Rates & Fees
Credit ScoreGood, Excellent
  • 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
The New United℠ Business Card
The New United℠ Business Card
Welcome Bonus Earn 75,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & Fees
Credit ScoreGood, Excellent
  • 2x on United® purchases
  • 2x on local transit and commuting — including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
  • 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
  • 1x on all other purchases

Would you book a cruise through United Cruises to earn bonus miles?

For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), The New United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)

AwardWallet Tip of The Day
Are you overwhelmed by too many accounts appearing on your AwardWallet dashboard? You can now declutter by moving the accounts you no longer need into the "Archived Accounts" tab. Once an account is archived, it won't appear in your main "Active Accounts" list. Please note that this feature is not yet available on our mobile interface.
Show me how

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.