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United Airlines has just announced some pretty major changes to its MileagePlus program. Starting April 2, 2026, if you want to earn the most miles per dollar spent on United flights, you'll need to be a cardholder of a United co-branded credit card and hold United Premier elite status. Cardmembers are also getting some valuable new perks that might make you consider applying for a card.
Here's everything you need to know about the latest United MileagePlus changes.
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United Shakes up Mileage Earning Structure
Starting April 2, 2026, the number of miles you earn on your flight will be tied directly to whether you hold a United credit card and your level of elite status.
The cardmember earning rate in the table below is for the three United credit cards that charge an annual fee. If you are a cardholder of the United Gateway℠ Card (Rates & Fees) or the United MileagePlus Debit Rewards Card, you'll need to spend $10,000 on your card in a calendar year to unlock the cardmember earning rate.
Here's the new earning structure:
| Status | Old Earn Rate | New MileagePlus Earn Rate | New Cardmember Earn Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| General member | 5 miles per $1 | 3 miles per $1 | 6 miles per $1 |
| Premier Silver | 7 miles per $1 | 5 miles per $1 | 8 miles per $1 |
| Premier Gold | 8 miles per $1 | 6 miles per $1 | 9 miles per $1 |
| Premier Platinum | 9 miles per $1 | 7 miles per $1 | 10 miles per $1 |
| Premier 1K | 11 miles per $1 | 9 miles per $1 | 12 miles per $1 |
You will earn at the cardmember rate just for having a card. You could still choose to use a different credit card to make the purchase. However, the multipliers for United purchases on select United credit cards are increasing:
- United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 3 bonus miles per $1 spent (previously 2)
- United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 4 bonus miles per $1 spent (previously 3)
- United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 5 bonus miles per $1 spent (previously 4)
That means that a Premier 1K member who is also a United Club cardholder will earn a whopping 17 miles per $1 spent on United flights. Purchasing a $1,500 long-haul business class flight? You'll earn over 25,000 miles on a single booking.
Unfortunately, only the primary cardmember will earn at the cardmember rate. So, if you are an authorized user of a United credit card, you'll earn miles based solely on your Premier status level.
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & 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
$350Rates & Fees
- 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
$695Rates & Fees
- 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
Related: From No Annual Fee to Club Lounge Access: Find the Right United Credit Card for You
Earnings on basic economy tickets
If these changes weren't enough, there's more. Also starting on April 2, 2026 — for tickets issued on or after this date — you'll need to be a cardholder of a United credit card or have United Premier elite status to earn any miles at all on basic economy tickets.
Here's the new earning structure for United basic economy flights:
| Status | New MileagePlus Earn Rate | New Cardmember Earn Rate |
|---|---|---|
| General member | N/A | 3 miles per $1 |
| Premier Silver | 2 miles per $1 | 5 miles per $1 |
| Premier Gold | 3 miles per $1 | 6 miles per $1 |
| Premier Platinum | 4 miles per $1 | 7 miles per $1 |
| Premier 1K | 6 miles per $1 | 9 miles per $1 |
This isn't a surprising move, as many airlines have restricted the ability to earn miles on basic economy bookings. Airlines want to make booking a basic economy ticket as painful as possible to encourage members to book a more expensive ticket. And although you can technically earn up to 9 miles per $1 spent on basic economy tickets, odds are, if you are a Premier 1K member and a credit card holder, you aren't booking a basic economy ticket to begin with.
Related: The Complete Guide to United Basic Economy
New Benefits for United Cardholders
Beginning April 2, 2026, United cardholders will enjoy savings of at least 10% on all United award flights. Premier members who hold an eligible card will save at least 15%. This will rival Delta's TakeOff 15 perk, which gives eligible cardholders 15% off award redemptions on all Delta-operated flights.
Just like Delta, United's new discount on award redemptions for cardholders will apply only to United or United Express award flights and will not include Money + Miles bookings.
Another unique feature coming to cardholders is the ability to share your benefits with your children. Starting April 2, 2026, you will be able to link your child's MileagePlus account to your own to share your cardmember earning rate and cardmember discount on award flights. If you're booking travel for the whole family, you can help your child earn a chunk of miles or save some miles on a redemption.
And keep in mind that one of United's big changes for 2026 is expanded Polaris saver award availability for card holders and elites. That means you could snag a Polaris award for just 68,000 United MileagePlus miles if you are a Premier member and a cardholder.
Related: Sweet Spots with United Airlines MileagePlus Awards
Bottom Line
United is leaning heavily into developing goodwill with its most loyal members — credit card holders and Premier members. If you don't fall into either of these categories, you will have a hard time squeezing maximum value from the MileagePlus program. Discounts on award redemptions and increased earnings on revenue fares are huge incentives to apply for a card and work toward status.
However, general members and infrequent flyers are getting left in the dust. Starting April 2, 2026, standard members will earn up to 40% fewer miles on flights and won't earn any miles on basic economy tickets. Those are tough pills to swallow, and might dissuade travelers from converting loyalty from another airline.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: United Gateway℠ Card (Rates & Fees), United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
I was recently informed that as of March 2026 I will lose my Silver status. Over the past 6 years due to retirement I have fallen from 1K to Gold to Silver and now to no status. This even though I booked 2 business class tickets to Europe and two domestic tickets to San Francisco in 2025 PLUS spent well over $20,000 on my Chase United Explorer Card. I guess it is time to discontinue any loyalty to United. Can this really be accurate? Loyalty works only for business travelers I guess.
I am more than a bit disappointed that I will lose even Silver Status in March. I have flown United in Business class to Europe twice in 2025 and to San Francisco twice plus spent over $20,000 on my Chase United Explorer card. Is this an error? I sure will have no impetus to remain loyal to United from now on if it is the new reality!
So, what would be the cheapest (annual fee, %rate-wise) United branded card to get just to tick the box so that when you (or the linked-kiddos) fly basic economy, you at least earn some miles?
It reads above, that if you have the United branded card to and ticked the box, you can still earn miles in basic economy if you don’t actually use the United-branded card to pay for the ticket, right?
It seems that you merely need to have the card – not use it to pay for the flight – to get the elevated earnings. The United press release states “primary United MileagePlus cardholders will earn up to twice as many miles per dollar from United for United flights than non-cardholders and earn even more miles when they use their United card to buy their ticket.” That indicates that the elevated earning rate is separated from the cardholder earnings.
And the cheapest card would be the no-annual-fee United Gateway Card… but you’ll need to spend $10k on the card to unlock the higher rate. So, you might just want to have the United Explorer Card.
“Those are tough pills to swallow, and might dissuade travelers from converting loyalty from another airline. And that’s likely the point of them to begin with.” Wouldn’t exactly the opposite be true-the point is to ENCOURAGE more travelers to convert their loyalty from other airlines?
Good point — my mistake there. Thanks for catching that.