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Guide to pricing United Airlines award flights (No award chart? No problem!)

  • Joseph Hostetler

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    You can find fantastic value when you redeem United Airlines miles for no-fee airfare. Many of us on the MMS team prefer using United Airlines miles because they never add fuel surcharges to award tickets—even when you use United Airlines miles to fly one of their many partners. Contrast that with some airlines that charge hundreds of dollars.

    There are a large number of United Airlines credit cards, so the miles are easy to earn. But to get the most out of United Airlines miles, it’s important to understand how award seats are priced and where the sweet spots are. That way, you’ll get the best deals and avoid spending more miles than you ought. I’ll explain how United prices its awards and point out some of the best uses for your miles.

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    Use your United miles to fly to colorful Buenos Aires! Here’s what you need to know about the United Airlines award chart (or lack thereof). (Photo by Milosz Maslanka/Shutterstock).

    United Airlines award chart

    Since it’s wordy, let me clarify, this award chart is just for United miles on United Airlines flights. I cannot stress enough that these are rough estimates – United does not publish an award chart – these are general prices when searching for your United flights, to help you plan for your upcoming no-fee award travel. 

    How to use United Airlines miles without an award chart

    Again, United Airlines doesn’t publish award charts. That means the price can be anything United wants it to be.

    United has a long list of Star Alliance partner airlines:

    Additionally, United has a few non-alliance partners:

    You’ll be able to redeem your United miles with any of United’s Star Alliance or non-alliance partners listed above. And since United has so many partners, you’ll have a ton of flexibility when it comes to using your miles.

    United Airlines miles award prices will depend on a couple of things:

    1. What class of service and pricing tier?
    2. Where will you be flying?

    I’ll explain these individually.

    1. Will you be flying in coach, business class, or first class?

    You’re looking at different prices depending on the class of service you want to fly. Once you’ve decided, you’ll be presented with two pricing tiers:

    Saver awards run out much faster than Everyday awards, but they cost a lot less. On partner airlines, you will generally either see Saver availability or no availability.

    It’s best to avoid redeeming your miles for Everyday awards because they cost quite a bit more than Saver awards. However, if you have last-minute travel or no flexibility, Everyday awards might be your only option. Check out the difference between the below business class Saver Award and Everyday Award from San Francisco to Dubai. An Everyday Award is almost 100,000 miles pricier!

    2. When and where will you be flying?

    The final step to figuring out how much you are going to be charged is based on where you are going. As United has obliterated any and all award charts, you’ll have to literally enter your exact desired flights for dates you want to fly — prices may vary by the day. Fortunately, at this time, several partner award flights tend to stick around the same price as United’s old partner award chart, depending on your origin and destination.

    Use United miles to fly to the Maldives and relax in an idyllic overwater bungalow. (Photo by Siraphob Werakijpanich/Shutterstock)

    How to best earn United Airlines miles with cards

    You can find great award flight deals if you’re flexible with your travel dates. United miles are easy to earn with great intro bonuses that come with many of the best credit cards for travel, including:

    The above cards are some of the best airline credit cards, and the fastest ways to earn United miles. There are several little-known sweet spots using United Airlines miles. While no award price is a guarantee (since United Airlines has transitioned to dynamic pricing), you can often find deals such as:

    Bottom line

    United doesn’t have an award chart – but we’ve got an “unofficial” chart that’ll at least help you in your award flight planning process.

    You can receive extremely high United Airlines miles value when redeeming for several sweet spots, like discounted pricing on short-haul flights outside North America. You’ll never pay fuel surcharges, even on partner airlines. Read our United MileagePlus review for more details.

    You can earn United Airlines miles by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points from cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or earn them directly from cards like the United℠ Explorer Card.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)