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If you've got a gift card you'll never use, there's no sense in letting it collect dust. You can turn your gift card into a sum of United miles through the MileagePlus gift card exchange. This quick and easy process can help you turn something you don't want or need into your next award flight.
Here's everything you need to know about the United MileagePlus gift card exchange — and why it might be worth a pass unless you (really) have no use for a gift card.
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Turn Your Unused Gift Cards Into United Miles
The United MileagePlus gift card exchange offers conversions for gift cards to what seems like most retailers. However, the catch is that gift cards must have a minimum value of $15, the conversion rate is pretty terrible, and the miles you earn are subject to a federal excise tax.
Even if the terms aren't in your favor, you'll get something tangible (United miles) for something that may provide no value to you. For some, that's better than keeping an unwanted gift card in the junk drawer.
Gift card to United miles conversion rate
But just how many miles will you get through the MileagePlus gift card exchange? United advertises that you'll walk away with a minimum of 670 miles for a $25 gift card, 1,330 miles for a $50 gift card, and 2,660 miles for a $100 gift card. For added context, here are a few additional data points we're currently seeing:
- Exchange a $15 gift card to Nordstrom for 400 United miles.
- Exchange a $40 gift card to Nike for 1,070 United miles.
- Exchange a $75 gift card to Patagonia for 2,000 United miles.
As you can see, the payouts aren't anything to write home about. On most swaps, you're effectively redeeming the gift card to buy United miles for 3.75 cents apiece.
Related: The Unofficial MileagePlus Award Chart for United and Partner Airline Flights
Terms and conditions
- Only U.S. residents with MileagePlus accounts at least 90 days old may participate.
- You can enter your gift card info and review the amount of United miles offered before submitting it for exchange.
- The amount of award miles offered varies and includes a 7.5% federal excise tax.
- No mailing of gift cards is necessary; the exchange takes place electronically.
- You'll receive the entire value of the gift card in MileagePlus miles.
- Gift cards must have at least a $15 value and might have a maximum value cap.
- Miles may take five business days to post.
- There's no limit to the amount of gift cards you exchange.
- All exchanges are final.
Step-By-Step: Exchange a Gift Card for United Miles
If you're ready to swap your gift card for some United MileagePlus miles, head to this website and choose “Get started.” If you're not logged in to your United account, you'll be prompted to do so here.
You'll enter a merchant, quantity, and card balance on the next screen. If you've got multiple gift cards to exchange, click “Add additional card” and follow the same steps.
Once you populate the fields and choose quantities, click “Get Mileage offer” to see how much United will pay you in miles for your gift card:
Next, enter your gift card numbers and pins, then hit “Continue to next step.” Then, click “Continue to next step” again to complete the process:
Finally, sit back and wait. Your United miles should deposit into your MileagePlus account within five business days.
Final Thoughts
The United MileagePlus gift card exchange is a neat idea — but it doesn't provide great value. This shouldn't be treated as a backdoor way to earn a lot of United miles, as the miles you'll get are certainly worth far less than the gift card you exchanged. But there is something to be said about convenience, and this tool offers just that.
If you need to top off your MileagePlus account to make a redemption, you're better off transferring points in from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt Rewards, or Marriott Bonvoy. Or, depending on the day, you can buy United miles with a discount or bonus — which often provides a much better rate than 3.75 cents per mile.
And if you're not in a time crunch, consider signing up for a United credit card and earning the welcome bonus to collect several thousand miles in one fell swoop.
- 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
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees)
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