A Helpful Guide To Book Awards With Your United MileagePlus Miles

Whether it comes to domestic or international travel, United MileagePlus Miles always come in handy. Both accumulation and redemption are easier when it comes to United’s frequent flyer program. United Airlines is part of Star Alliance, which means miles can be redeemed on the 28 partner airlines. This makes way to a lot of travel opportunities, both domestic and international.

In comparison to other carriers such as American Airlines, United doesn’t burden you with the high fuel surcharges. You wouldn’t have to incur extra costs when it comes to award travel. These, along with plenty of other reasons make United Airlines a fine choice for your next air travel.

If you are new to United MileagePlus Miles, here is a helpful guide to how you can book awards through the airline.

Earning United Miles

United is one of those amazing airlines that are comparatively generous when it comes to earning air miles. You don’t have to complicate your life unnecessarily when it comes to United. This can be done even without buying an airplane ticket.

Once you sign up for an account, you have countless travel opportunities waiting for you. Chase is the co-branded bank for United and earning miles through credit card will surely get you far. These credit cards come as Explorer or Club cards; everyday spending can get you to rack up a huge amount of air miles.

If you love shopping online, United MileagePlus Shopping Portal is an amazing way to collect a pool of miles. There are plenty of participating retailers, so you would never be short of options.

United offers a comprehensive dining program; eating out at the participating restaurants would get you closer to your travel dreams. Some other ways to earn air miles are getting tickets to events sponsored by the airline, opting for car hire, staying with partner hotels, cruises, and donations.

Where will the United MileagePlus Miles take you?

Before you begin with booking awards, you must know where the United Miles will take you. Luckily, this is where United shines out from a lot of other airlines. You can literally fly anywhere when it comes to United.

The airline has a dense network of destinations, both domestic and international. Miles can also be earned and redeemed through airlines partners of the Star Alliance. In addition, you can make use of United’s airline partners. To sum it up, this means you’d never be short of options because of the amazing choices of airlines flying to destinations around the globe! Miles can even be used for destinations that United doesn’t cover. For instance, you can always fly to Athens with Lufthansa. Similarly, United doesn’t fly to Montreal. However, you can use your air miles to fly to Montreal through Air Canada with the same amount of miles!

A Guide to Booking Awards

Airlines have stopped becoming generous when it comes to award bookings. You would often find yourself to have extremely limited options. A lot of times, your results would come out to be disappointing. This is where you as the user have to act smart and make your way to book award tickets.

United’s travel destinations award chart is interactive and fairly easy to understand. Typically, bookings open 330 days in advance. If you have your schedule sorted, make no delay in searching for the award seats. This is because they are likely to be limited and run out while you make up your mind. If you haven’t managed to book early, look out for a very late option. This is because some airlines add these seats the very last moment as they wouldn’t want them to be vacant. Keep an eye out!

When you are booking an award seat, it is best to be flexible. A day later or earlier shouldn’t matter much, as long as you get your desired seat. Similarly, when it comes to group travels you may have to show even more flexibility. Splitting up the family might be the only alternative. Whether this means flying out in separate classes or separate flights, show flexibility whenever it’s possible.

You will often find that booking a Saver award with the economy is next to impossible. Fortunately, there is a way out to this! Once you book your coach ticket, put yourself on a standby list for an upgrade. As per the rules of United, it’s possible to book a coach award at business saver level and be on waiting for business class. If the business class seat is not available as a saver award, you’ll be treated as a priority for upgrades. It’s best to make the best use of United’s generous rules!

Computers may be smart, but nothing beats human intelligence. Put that to use by searching for one segment at a time. This applies best when it is an international trip. When searching for multiple seats, it’s best to look for one seat at a time.

If you still find it impossible to book awards with your United MileagePlus Miles, consider hiring professional award booking services. Against a charge, they help you to put your air miles to the best available use!