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There are several reasons the United MileagePlus loyalty program might ruffle your feathers. Collect MileagePlus miles? United's devalued its miles multiple times this year without notice. Earn Premier elite status only to find the juice wasn't worth the squeeze? Well, at least you can drown your sorrows at the nearest United Club. Oh, wait. United elite status won't grant you access unless you're flying an eligible international route — and only if you're a Premier Gold or better.
We could spend the entire day ripping on recent United Airlines changes. While those things are incredibly frustrating, let's look for a solution instead. Here are some alternatives to continuing your loyalty to United.
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Why Are You Looking To Switch?
First, determine what's got you down. Pinpointing your primary gripe with United Airlines is the key to figuring out what solutions apply to you. And it's likely one of two things — if not both.
- MileagePlus devaluations
- Declining elite status benefits
If you've concentrated on collecting United MileagePlus miles over the past few years, you likely have recently woken up to find that your miles are suddenly worth less than they were yesterday.
Over the past few years, there have been several instances in which United reduced the value of your miles without informing you in advance. Let's take a little walk down memory lane:
- United Teases Higher Rates for Intra-Japan Flights Are Coming — May 9, 2024
- United Skyrockets Business Class Partner Award Pricing by up to 200% — May 1, 2024
- United Hikes International First Class Award Prices by as Much as 100% — April 23, 2024
- United Makes Major Award Chart Devaluation — May 18, 2023
- United Eliminates Partner Award Chart — April 29, 2020
- United MileagePlus Increases All Award Costs Close To Departure — December 1, 2019
Does United have to give you a heads-up before devaluing its miles? According to the terms and conditions of MileagePlus, the answer is “no.” But that goes to show how much the airline values your patronage.
On the bright side, there are several viable alternatives to collecting United MileagePlus miles and crediting your flying activity to United Airlines.
Alternatives to Earning United Miles
If you're ready to play the field, the good news is that you have plenty of alternatives to earning United miles directly. Your optimal strategy may vary depending on whether you earn most of your miles from flying or card spending.
Having a concentrated approach to earning points and miles is the quickest way to reach your award travel goals. If you decide to earn Lufthansa miles from flying and carry an Aeroplan credit card, it will take you longer to earn enough miles for a redemption vs. consolidating your earnings.
Earn while flying
Crediting United and partner flights to MileagePlus is the simplest way to earn while flying. But it's possible to continue to fly United while earning a currency other than MileagePlus miles. Doing so simply requires crediting your flying activity to partner programs. And you can credit your United flights to dozens of other mileage programs.
On the “Traveler Info” page, you'll see the following 31 options (MileagePlus excluded) for earning United miles when purchasing a ticket on another airline:
| Aegean Mile+Bonus | Asiana Club | EGYPTAIR Plus | SAS EuroBonus | Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | Austrian Miles & More | Emirates Skywards | Shenzhen PhoenixMiles | Vistara Club Vistara |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Avianca LifeMiles | Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Virgin Australia Velocity |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Azul TudoAzul | EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | South African Airways Voyager | |
| Air India Flying Returns | Brussels Airlines Miles & More | Juneyao Air Club | SWISS Miles & More | |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | LOT Polish Airlines Miles & More | TAP Miles & Go | |
| ANA Mileage Club | Croatian Miles & More | Lufthansa Miles & More | THAI Royal Orchid Plus |
In almost every case, mileage earnings are reciprocal. If you can earn United miles on COPA flights, you can earn COPA miles on United flights. However, some programs make more sense than others. For instance, Air Canada Aeroplan points are more valuable than TAP Miles & Go miles.
One of the best aspects of Aeroplan is that you can book thousands of United routes for a reasonable price. For example, you can book 680+ United routes for just 6,000 Aeroplan points. Moreover, Aeroplan lets you book travel on 50 separate airlines; the same can't be said about MileagePlus.
Avianca LifeMiles is a solid option, too. But before making an executive decision about switching programs, it's worth considering elite status and the benefits you value. We'll dive into this in a later section.
Earn on spending
Paying for your United flights with a Chase-issued MileagePlus credit card has pros and cons. On the plus side, some cards offer complimentary checked bags, more access to United saver awards, and more. But on the other hand, you'll earn MileagePlus miles on your purchase.
One option is to pay with a credit card that earns transferable points. These currencies are better protected from program devaluations, as you can transfer to frequent flyer or hotel programs when you find an award that suits you.
If you want to get some protection from United devaluations while still having the option to book United awards, you can pick up a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees). That way, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to MileagePlus should you see a United award you like. Not to mention the other travel-related benefits and protections you'll enjoy as a cardholder.
Alternatively, premium options like The Platinum Card® from American Express have plenty of upside, too. Alongside earning valuable Membership Rewards points, the Amex Platinum features a $200 airline incidental fee credit. If you pick United as your airline of choice, you could use the credit to pay for seat selection or checked bags — if you don't have elite status or another way to avoid these fees on United.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
You could even still earn airline miles if you wanted. We touched on both Air Canada and Avianca in an earlier section. Both airlines offer compelling options via the Aeroplan® Credit Card and the Avianca LifeMiles American Express® Elite Card.
Put together, this means you can continue to purchase flights on United while earning a currency other than MileagePlus miles and not have to contend with United's all-too-frequent mile devaluations. Dare we call that a win-win?
Other Ways To Earn Star Alliance Elite Status
Another frequent source of frustration is the Premier Elite status aspect of the MileagePlus program. Suffice it to say that elite status doesn't hold the same weight it used to. For many, the time, money, and energy required to invest in earning Premier status isn't worth the lack of upgrades, restricted access to United Clubs, and more.
That's not to say it's not worth earning United elite status. But, there is an opportunity cost to going out of your way to earn United Premier status — especially when other programs offer more value and possibly award more valuable frequent flyer miles in the process.
And these problems aren't unique to United. A couple of notable exceptions aside, domestic programs are generally declining as a whole. You've heard us grumble about Delta SkyMiles and highlight the drawbacks of the American Airlines AAdvantage® program — for good reason.
After all, why push to earn elite status when you can pick up a mid-tier airline credit card that offers many of the benefits of elite status? You'll save a lot of money this way!
But for the sake of this article, we'll focus solely on Star Alliance programs worth your attention. Multiple foreign programs offer compelling benefits, earn valuable miles, and feature tiers that are easier to attain. Let's look at three options that satisfy each value proposition.
Pro tip: Earn Star Alliance Gold status
Airlines that belong to an alliance offer reciprocal benefits to their elite members on other airlines in the alliance. Thus, if you have MileagePlus Premier Gold status, you'll enjoy Star Alliance Gold status. That affords you perks when you fly Lufthansa, for example.
Star Alliance has two tiers: Silver and Gold. Gold is far preferable to Silver, as it offers priority check-in and boarding, the ability to check an extra bag for free, and access to airport lounges. Silver's benefits are much more limited and are generally up to the individual airline how (or if) they want to recognize your status.
Having Star Alliance Gold-equivalent status through a foreign airline means you can access United Clubs when flying United on domestic itineraries. Remember, you can't access United Clubs on domestic itineraries as a MileagePlus Premier with Star Alliance Gold-equivalent status.
In other words, it's worth going for Gold if you plan to earn elite status with a Star Alliance airline that isn't United. The perks are simply better.
Air Canada Aeroplan
The rubber meets the road at Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 50K. At this tier, you'll earn a Star Alliance Gold-equivalent level of status that's sure to improve your travel experience alliance-wide.
You can earn 50K by collecting 50,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) or flying 50 Status Qualifying Segments (SQSs) and earning $9,000 Status Qualifying Dollars (SQDs) on fare purchases, vacation packages, eUpgrade add-on fees, and more.
The easiest route largely depends on how you travel. For some, earning SQMs as a percentage of distance flown (true for most Air Canada partners — including United) is easier than collecting SQSs and spending a requisite amount of SQDs.
For example, Air Canada offers 150% of miles flown for United flights in business class cabins. In other words, flying 33,334 miles in United business earns 50,000 SQMs — enough for Aeroplan 50K and, by extension, Star Alliance Gold. Economy earning rates range between 25% and 125% of miles flown.
You'll earn an identical amount of Aeroplan points for the percentage of miles flown. And there are several valuable ways to maximize Aeroplan points. AwardWallet users find plenty of value through Aeroplan points, too — they redeem Aeroplan points for an average of 1.85¢ apiece.
Asiana Club
Most airlines give you 12 months to earn elite status. Asiana Airlines gives you double that. Your 24-month earning window kicks off when you open your account, so you'll want to wait to register before you're ready to start flying.
To earn Star Alliance Gold, you'll need to accrue 40,000 miles in the initial 24 months. Depending on the cabin you book and the airline you fly, you could earn Asiana Club Diamond quickly — think two round-trip tickets in Singapore Airlines premium economy from New York to Southeast Asia.
You'll earn at least 100% of miles flown in premium cabins, which adds up fast. However, economy tickets earn 25% of miles flown, which isn't as lucrative. At this rate, you'd need to fly 160,000 miles or more in United economy to earn Asiana Diamond.
And the best part? Once you've earned Asiana Club Diamond, it's valid until the end of your 24-month earning period plus another two years! That means you can conceivably earn Star Gold elite status for nearly four years by meeting the requirements shortly after your base period.
But what can you do with the Asiana Club miles you earn from flying? Here are a few redemption options:
- Star Alliance business class awards from the U.S. to Europe for 40K miles per way.
- Korean Airlines first class from the U.S. to Seoul for 80K miles per way.
- Copa Airlines business class from the U.S. to South America for 35K miles per way.
Avianca LifeMiles
Historically, Avianca LifeMiles was valuable for its mileage currency, and that was about it. Earlier this year, the program underwent some positive changes, which brought its elite status program back into relevancy.
Of the four LifeMiles elite tiers — Red Plus, Silver, Gold, and Diamond — the latter two afford Star Alliance Gold status. For this example, we'll look specifically at LifeMiles Gold.
You can earn LifeMiles Gold status by earning 24,000 qualifying miles and flying at least 12,000 miles on Avianca. On flights and add-ons, you'll bank one qualifying mile for each base LifeMile earned. Those with an elite bonus will earn an additional qualifying mile for every 20 LifeMiles earned.
But what's particularly interesting about Avianca's qualifying miles system is that transferable reward points transferred to LifeMiles count as qualifying miles. You'll earn one qualifying mile for each two LifeMiles you earn. The 1 QM for each 2 LifeMiles earned rate applies to the following activities as well:
- Flights on Star Alliance partners.
- Spending on Avianca LifeMiles credit or debit cards.
- Club LifeMiles subscriptions.
- LifeMiles Hotels
- LifeMiles purchases.
- Spending with commercial partners.
Put differently, earning qualifying miles should be a piece of cake. And it gets easier when you consider that you can earn up to 125% of miles flown on United and most flights operated by other partners. On Avianca flights, the base miles you earn count as qualifying miles.
And with the LifeMiles you earn, you can fund some pretty sweet redemptions — think transcontinental business class for 25K miles, business class flights to Europe for as little as 35K miles, and even Lufthansa first class for 87K miles. On average, AwardWallet users redeem LifeMiles for 2.85¢ apiece.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes, it's time to move on. And if United Airlines MileagePlus has fallen out of your good graces — of which there are several reasons it very well could have — rest assured, plenty of other programs and mileage currencies worth your attention. Even better, many of these programs offer better benefits and utilize a more valuable mileage currency than United does.
While this post doesn't cover every single alternative to MileagePlus, it should, at the very least, pique your curiosity as you find better ways to reach your elite status and award travel goals.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
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