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Update: The booking window on this United award sale closed on August 9, 2024. If you made flight reservations by this date, you can complete your travel through December 12, 2024.
Got a United Airlines credit card and future travel to book? If fall or winter travel is in the cards but you haven't made flight reservations yet, United MileagePlus is back with another award sale that might be a good use of your miles.
For travel booked on August 9, 2024 (today!) and flown between August 9, 2024, and March 31, 2025, United is offering discounted economy rates to Hong Kong. You can book a one-way ticket for as little as 40,000 MileagePlus miles.
Here are the details on United's flash award sale to Hong Kong.
Page Contents
United Award Sale Overview
- Book economy awards to Hong Kong for 40,000 miles (cardholder exclusive rate) per way or 45,000 miles per way (non-cardholder rate).
- Bookings must be made by August 9, 2024, 11:59 pm ET.
- The promotion is valid for travel from August 9 through December 12, 2024.
- No blackout dates
- The offer is valid for travel from the 48 contiguous U.S. states.
- The promotion is only valid for travel to Hong Kong (HKG).
You can view the full terms and conditions on the promo webpage.
United Award Sale: One-way Flights to Hong Kong From 40K Miles
Flights between the U.S. and Hong Kong used to be much more frequent. However, several airlines have since exited the market. United is the only U.S. airline to fly to Hong Kong, making this award discount rather helpful. One-way fares of 40,000 miles per way might be a deal worth considering if you finally want to visit the former British colony.
Note that these prices are exclusive to those with a Chase-issued United Airlines MileagePlus credit card. That said, award pricing (and availability) with the sale is generous for United cardholders.
For example, one-way economy awards to Hong Kong cost just 40,000 miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees. Premium economy awards start at 65k miles. However, we aren't finding any United Polaris awards under 170k miles one-way.
United flies to Hong Kong (HKG) from Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Newark (EWR).
You can view the full terms and conditions on the promo webpage.
Finding award availability
To find availability, your best bet is to use United's 30-day calendar for a bird's-eye view of all dates with cheaper pricing. Across United's routes, cardholder-exclusive availability is fairly consistent from now until the end of the travel period.
How To Earn United Miles
This award sale is exclusive to United cardholders, so you won't be able to book discounted United award space with a currency other than United MileagePlus miles. If you're short on miles, converting transferable points to United miles is the best way to build your balance quickly. Presently, the following points transfer to United:
Related: Do United MileagePlus Miles Expire?
Wednesday's Deal: One-way Flights to Tahiti From 30K Miles
On Wednesday, August 7, United offered one-way fares to Tahiti from 30,000 miles per way. For example, one-way economy awards from Newark to Papeete, Tahiti, in August 2024 cost 30,000 miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees.
You could even fly one-way economy awards from Miami to Tahiti in March 2025 for 30,000 miles and just $5.60 in taxes and fees.
United only flies nonstop to Papeete, Tahiti (PPT) from San Francisco (SFO). So, you needed to fly through SFO to take advantage of this promotion.
Monday's Deal: One-way Flights to Australia From 40K Miles
On Monday, August 5, United offered one-way fares to Australia from 40,000 miles per way. For example, one-way economy awards from Newark to Sydney in December 2024 cost 40,000 miles and $33.90 in taxes and fees.
Similarly, one-way economy awards from Miami to Sydney in March 2025 cost 40,000 miles and $33.90 in taxes and fees.
We also saw some deals in the front of the cabin. A one-way business class award from Los Angeles to Sydney in December 2024 cost 100,000 miles plus $33.90 in taxes and fees.
Unfortunately, the promo pricing only applied to United-operated flights, so travelers couldn't find cheaper partner rates on the likes of Air New Zealand, for example.
All three participating Australian destinations are only served by flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles. The only exception is Sydney, where United also operates a service from Houston. If you're interested in booking a discounted award flight, it might be worth booking a positioning flight, or shopping around for the best all-in prices.
Related: The Best Points and Miles for Flights to Australia and New Zealand
Final Thoughts
Flights to Hong Kong are a lot less common than before the pandemic. But with United's latest award sale, you can travel there for a little less. Through August 9, 2024, you can book and travel to Hong Kong for as few as 40,000 MileagePlus miles in the economy each way. On some routes, that's a 10k mile discount off typical rates. On other date and route pairings, this is a discount of over 50%.
In case you're wondering, yes, this sale is even available to those with the no-annual-fee The New United Gateway℠ Card.
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