Exploit The “Excursionist” United Airlines Loophole for Free Segments: Part 4 – 5 Crazy Ways to Use the Excursionist Perk for Big Travel

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    I’ve asked Million Mile Secrets contributor Jake to show y’all more advanced ways to get Big Travel from the United Airlines Excursionist Perk!

    Jake:   United Airlines recently changed their MileagePlus program, including some of their award flight booking rules.  For some folks, booking award flights has become trickier and even more expensive.

    But for others, via Travel is Free, United Airlines’ new policies will provide great value.

    This is due to a new rule under the United Airlines award program called Excursionist Perk.  The Excursionist Perk is a free one-way flight you can book in addition to a round-trip or multi-city itinerary.

    Use These 5 Strategies to Get Incredible Deals From United Airlines’ Excursionist Perk

    In this 4-part series, I’m teaching you how to use the Excursionist Perk to get Big Travel with Small Money!

    Exploit the “Excursionist” United Airlines Loophole for Free Segments: Series Index

    In Part 3, I showed you practical tips for using the United Airlines’ Excursionist Perk to extend your vacation or save miles.  In this post, I’ll outline 5 ways to use the free one-way flight to get huge savings!

    Some of these itineraries may not fit into your travel plans.  But if you can make them work, you can stretch your United Airlines miles to get Big Travel for a great price!

    1.   Start in Hawaii for a Free Domestic US Flight

    Remember, the rules for the United Airlines Excursionist free one-way flight state that travel must originate and conclude in the same region.  This means that finding a region with cheap flights can make the Excursionist Perk’s free flight even more valuable!

    For example, consider the following itinerary departing from Honolulu:

    Use Your Free One-Way Flight to Save Over 50% of Your Miles!

    So your total cost would be 12,000 United Airlines miles for 3 flights.  And you would get the one-way flight from Los Angeles to Newark for free, saving you 12,500 United Airlines miles.  That’s over 50% off the normal booking price!

    Fly Across the US for Free in Conjunction With Your Round-Trip Intra-Hawaii Flights
    Note:   Even if you don’t use your final flight from Maui to Honolulu, this booking strategy still saves you miles!  If you only booked the flights from Honolulu to Maui and Los Angeles to Newark, your total would be 18,500 United Airlines miles.

    2.   Start in Hawaii for a Free One-Way Flight in Any Region

    For most folks, using a free one-way flight within the Continental US will be the most practical.  But based on the above strategy, you could use a Hawaii booking to get a free one-way flight within any region in the world!  Remember, these are subject to United Airlines’ region definitions.

    The key to this strategy is that United Airlines only charges 6,000 miles for one-way coach flights within Hawaii.  And since you can use your free one-way flight in conjunction with any other 2 flights, it makes sense to book the cheapest 2 flights you can find.  Then, you can use your free one-way flight on a much more expensive flight, while only paying for 2 very cheap flights!

    Note:   United Airlines does not actually fly within Hawaii.  All intra-Hawaii flights booked with United Airlines miles will be operated by Hawaiian Airlines.
    Use Hawaii as Your Origin to Get Free and Cheap One-Way Flights!

    For example, you could save 20,000 United Airlines miles by using your free one-way flight within the “Middle East” region.

    Use Your Free One-Way Flight in the Middle East to Save 20,000 United Airlines Miles

    Or, save 17,500 United Airlines miles by using your free one-way flight within the “South Asia” region.

    Or, Save 17,500 United Airlines Miles by Using Your Free One-Way Flight Between Hong Kong and Thailand

    Remember that the free one-way Excursionist Perk flight can be booked up to 1 year in advance, but must be in between the dates of your 1st and 2nd booked flights.  So if you are planning to travel to Hawaii anyway, try to make use of this awesome perk!

    Note:   You can NOT “throw away” both of your intra-Hawaii flights in order to get a free one-way flight for only 12,000 United Airlines miles total.  This is because United Airlines will cancel the remainder of your itinerary if you fail to board the first flight.  So you can “throw away” your final flight, but you must take your first flight in order to get the free one-way with the Excursionist Perk.

    3.   Cheap Business Class Flights Throughout Asia and Oceania

    You could also use the United Airlines Excursionist Perk in conjunction with longer flights.  For example, the following itinerary from Australia to Asia would cost only 47,500 United Airlines miles.

    Save Even More Miles When Booking Business Class Flights

    Your routing could look like:

    You can book the free one-way flight in Business Class because the one-way flight preceding it is in Business Class.  Or, your free one-way flight could be in coach, because it is a lower class of service.

    But remember that your free one-way flight must be within a single “award region.”  So you can book your free one-way flight between Hong Kong and Bali because both cities are within United Airlines’ “South Asia” region.

    But you can NOT book your free one-way between Hong Kong and Shanghai, because Shanghai is part of United Airlines’ “North Asia” region.  So be sure to reference United Airlines’ region chart before trying to book your free one-way flight.

    Use the Free One-Way Flight to Explore Asia and Oceania on One Award Ticket

    This would also give you the chance to fly Thai Airways Business Class on a few different airplanes, such as the 747, 777, and A380!  In total, you would get ~20 hours in Business Class for less than 50,000 United Airlines miles!

    4.   Free One-Way Flights Within Africa

    United Airlines divides Africa into the 2 “regions” of Northern Africa and Central & Southern Africa.  But Central & Southern Africa covers some very far distances!

    So you could add on a free flight between Johannesburg and the Seychelles, or between Cape Town and Nairobi, Kenya.  This could be especially useful for folks traveling to Europe or the Middle East who want to explore Africa as well.

    Use Your Free One-Way Flight to Explore Different Parts of Africa

    Your itinerary could be:

    Note:   You still have to pay the taxes and fees on your “free” one-way flight!  Only the cost in miles is truly free.
    Remember You Will Pay the Taxes on Your Free One-Way Flight!

    Or, folks might consider booking this award in conjunction with a cheap round-trip fare from Europe or the Middle East.

    5.   Explore the Caribbean and Latin America on One Itinerary

    For folks based in the continental US, some of the above options require lots of travel.  More practically, you could use the free one-way flight with the United Airlines Excursionist Perk to visit additional cities in Central America and the Caribbean.

    Use Your Free One-Way Flight to Save Miles and Explore More Cities in the Caribbean

    For example, you could book the following itinerary:

    This itinerary would save you 10,000 United Airlines miles when booked in coach.  You can also stop in each destination for as long as you want, up to one year.  But remember that you would need to make other plans to travel to Aruba, from San Juan to San Jose, from Panama City to Belize City, and home from Nassau!

    Use Any of the Above Flights as Your Free One-Way to Explore More of the Caribbean and Central America

    For a family who wants to see a few different cities in the Caribbean, this strategy could be a great way to save miles!  This could be especially valuable in conjunction with the Southwest Companion Pass.  Because Southwest offers non-stop flights to Aruba, Belize City, Nassau, San Juan, and San Jose!

    Bottom Line

    By using the free one-way flight in creative ways, you can save tons of miles with the United Airlines Excursionist perk.  For many folks, the basic strategy of booking 2 one-way flights within Hawaii with a free one-way in another region can lead to big savings!

    And using the Excursionist Perk in Business or First Class can lead to even more savings!  But remember that your free one-way flight can not be in a class of service higher than the flight preceding it.

    Most importantly, remember that your free one-way flight must be within a single United Airlines award region.  So use your free flight in an expensive region if you want to get the best value!

    Though incredibly valuable, the free one-way flight with the United Airlines Excursionist perk can be very confusing!  Leave any questions or comments below and I’ll try to help with the answers.

    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! :)
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