Earn MileagePlus miles with United’s airline, hotel and credit card partners

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Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information. TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

Despite recent devaluations, United Airlines’ MileagePlus program is still a useful one for points and miles enthusiasts. One attractive feature is its wide network of partner airlines, hotel groups and rental car companies, which opens up more destinations and new ways to earn and redeem airline miles. But United’s partners aren’t limited to travel; you can also earn valuable MileagePlus miles through shopping, dining and other everyday activities.

In fact, one of the airline’s cobranded credit cards is currently offering its highest-ever welcome bonus.

This article will give you an overview of the many partners you should know about if you’re a United loyalist, to help you avoid leaving rewards on the table.

Related: How to pool United MileagePlus miles with family and friends

United’s Star Alliance airline partners

United is a founding member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world. United frequent flyers can earn and redeem miles with all the member airlines, opening up a huge route network that spans all inhabited continents and nearly all major cities worldwide.

In addition to United, the Star Alliance member airlines are:

• Aegean Airlines
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Egyptair
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Airways
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Swiss
• TAP Air Portugal
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines

Related: What are airline alliances, and who’s in them?

United’s nonalliance airline partners

United also maintains a handful of airline partnerships outside of Star Alliance, giving United customers access to even more destinations around the world. You can earn and redeem miles with these partners in most cases, though some may have restrictions.

For example, MileagePlus members can earn miles on interisland Hawaiian Airlines flights but not flights from the mainland U.S., and flyers cannot book Hawaiian Airlines flights with United miles.

Here’s a rundown of United’s nonalliance airline partners:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Dolomiti
• Airlink
• Azul Brazilian Airlines
• Cape Air
• Discover Airlines
• Edelweiss Air
• Emirates
• Eurowings
• Flydubai
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JSX
• Lufthansa City Airlines
• Olympic Air
• Virgin Australia

Note that United has also announced a new partnership with JetBlue Airways, though the timeline for implementation of the “Blue Sky” agreement isn’t yet clear.

Read more: Why I’m excited about United and JetBlue’s new partnership, and where there’s room to grow

Earning United miles with partners

From airlines to car rental companies, United has many ways to earn miles through partners. Here’s a quick overview.

United airline partners

You can earn United miles when you add your MileagePlus number to flights operated by any of United’s partners.

If United issues your ticket (i.e., your ticket number starts with “016”), you’ll earn 5 base miles per dollar spent. If you have Premier status with United, you’ll earn additional bonus miles per dollar spent on the flight.

If a partner tickets your flight, you’ll earn United miles based on the distance flown and the fare class.

For example, a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) booked as an M fare (economy) would earn 5,806 miles. This is because the flight from LAX to FRA is 5,806 miles, and the Lufthansa chart shows that M fares earn 100% of the mileage flown.

You can also earn Premier qualifying points and Premier qualifying flights on partner flights. Flights on United’s “preferred” partner airlines earn 1 PQP for every 5 miles flown; flights on other partners earn 1 PQP for every 6 miles flown. However, note that United has limits on how many PQPs and PQFs you can earn, depending on the partner airline and the fare class.

You can view the PQP guidelines, as well as miles earning rates for each partner airline, on United’s website. Review these pages closely — sometimes, airlines restrict mileage earning to specific routes and fare classes.

Related: How to get maximum value from the United MileagePlus program

Hotel partners

United has partnerships with most major hotel chains and some hotel booking platforms to allow members to earn United miles on lodging. Some earn a set number of miles per stay, while others earn miles based on how much you spend at a given hotel. Many hotel loyalty programs also let you transfer your hotel points to United, though that usually isn’t the best use of your points.

Here’s a look at all of United’s hotel partnerships:

Related: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?

Rental car partners

Rental cars are an important part of many trips, especially if you plan to travel outside big cities.

When you rent with Avis and Budget, you can earn United miles by simply providing your MileagePlus membership number when you book. However, you may need to pay a frequent traveler program surcharge if you opt to earn miles on your rental.

United flyers can also take advantage of discounts of up to 35% with Avis and Budget using their respective discount numbers.

Or, you can rent through car-sharing service Turo to boost your MileagePlus balance. You’ll earn 5 miles per dollar spent on your first Turo rental​ and 1 mile per dollar thereafter.

Related: How you can redeem points and miles for car rentals

United credit cards

United Airlines has an exclusive partnership with Chase to issue credit cards in the U.S. Each card offers extra miles on United purchases, and some offer additional perks like free checked bags and United Club access.

Here’s an overview of the currently available United personal cards and their welcome bonuses:

• [applyLink pid=”7557″ overridetext=”United Gateway℠ Card”]: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see [termsConditions pid=”7557″ overridetext=”rates and fees”]).
• [applyLink pid=”22035884″ overridetext=”United℠ Explorer Card”]: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see [termsConditions pid=”22035884″ overridetext=”rates and fees”]).
• [applyLink pid=”7752″ overridetext=”United Quest℠ Card”]: Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 3,000 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open (see [termsConditions pid=”7752″ overridetext=”rates and fees”]).
• [applyLink pid=”6976″ overridetext=”United Club℠ Card”]: Earn 90,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see [termsConditions pid=”6976″ overridetext=”rates and fees”]).

United also has two business credit cards:

• [applyLink pid=”6874″ overridetext=”United℠ Business Card”]: Earn 75,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQPs after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see [termsConditions pid=”6874″ overridetext=”rates and fees”]).
• United Club℠ Business Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQPs after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

The information for the United Club Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Best United Airlines credit cards

Transferring credit card rewards

There are two credit card reward currencies that you can transfer to United MileagePlus: Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards Points. Both transfer at a 1:1 ratio, so you can turn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards or Bilt points into 10,000 United miles — and transfers are almost instant.

Here are some of our favorite cards that earn these valuable points:

• [applyLink pid=”22125056″ overridetext=”Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card”] (see [termsConditions pid=”22125056″ overridetext=”rates and fees”])
• [applyLink pid=”221211836″ overridetext=”Chase Sapphire Reserve®”] (see [termsConditions pid=”221211836″ overridetext=”rates and fees”])
• [applyLink pid=”10965″ overridetext=”Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠”] (see [termsConditions pid=”10965″ overridetext=”rates and fees”])
• [applyLink pid=”221211974″ overridetext=”Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card”] (see [termsConditions pid=”221211974″ overridetext=”rates and fees”])
• [applyLink pid=”10615″ overridetext=”Bilt Mastercard®”] (see [termsConditions pid=”10615″ overridetext=”rates and fees”])

In many cases, you can earn United miles faster with one of these cards than with the United cards we mentioned earlier. While you don’t get airline-specific benefits like free checked bags, you can earn more points on everyday purchases. Not to mention, you can transfer your points to other airlines and hotels if you find a better redemption.

Shopping and everyday partners

United has a suite of other partners that you can use to earn United miles on your daily purchases.

Related: Earn bonus points or miles on events, attractions and more with Undercover Tourist

Reciprocal elite status benefits

United Premier elite members get reciprocal benefits on all Star Alliance carriers. United Premier Silver members are eligible for Star Alliance Silver status, while United Premier Gold and above members are eligible for the more lucrative Star Alliance Gold status. To take advantage of your Star Alliance benefits when flying partner airlines, add your United MileagePlus number to your booking.

Check out our Star Alliance benefits guide to see the perks of both Star Alliance status tiers.

Related: How to get airline elite status

Bottom line

United is one of the biggest airlines on the planet, and its MileagePlus loyalty program can deliver a lot of value to both frequent and occasional United travelers. Although the carrier is known to price award space on partner-operated flights slightly higher than on its own planes, you can leverage United’s partner network to fly to destinations not served by United for only a few thousand extra miles — meaning United miles can take you just about anywhere in the world.

To earn more United miles, you might consider opening one of United’s credit cards. However, if you’re just beginning your mileage journey, we highly recommend starting with a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt points. After all, you can transfer these points to United (and many other programs).

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click [termsConditions pid=”10615″ overridetext=”here”].
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.