United Airlines Mileage Plus – Buy or Gift Miles at 40% Discount

United just emailed me an offer (same as last month) for buying miles at 40% when you buy more than 30000 miles at a time. This offer is valid until September 19 11:59PM CDT. Although the wording of the email indicates that this offer is targeted, it should be open for anyone using the link. The price of a mile bought under this offer including the tax is 2.26 cents each.

The maximum number of miles that you can buy per year per account is capped at 100000. The way around is to open an account for all household members.

Does it make sense to buy United Mileage Plus miles at 2.26 cents each?

you are using your miles for international business and first class travel on Star Alliance partner airlines and don’t otherwise have easy access to earning miles, the answer is most likely yes. I personally value my United miles highly due to rather lax routing, double open jaw and a stopover rules.

Here are the terms and conditions of this offer:

Offer details:

• To take advantage of this offer, you must use the order links on this page.
• For a limited time, save 20% off the regular price on purchases of less than 30,000 award miles, save 40% off the regular price on purchases of 30,000 award miles or more
• Buy Personal Miles or Give Miles for less – only $28 per 1,000 miles when buying less than 30,000 award miles or only $21 per 1,000 miles when buying 30,000 or more award miles (normally $35 per 1,000 miles) plus a 7.5% excise tax for a limited time
• 2,000 mile minimum purchase required and after that miles are available in increments of 1,000
• Discount can be used multiple times while the promotion is valid
• Promotional offer valid until 11:59 p.m. CDT on September 19, 2012
• Purchase up to 100,000 MileagePlus Personal miles or Give Miles per account per calendar year
• Credit card will be billed immediately for purchase
• Program fees and mileage rates subject to change
• Discounted pricing will automatically display when using the links on this page
• Allow 48 hours for miles to post to MileagePlus® account
• Personal Miles and Give Miles are non-refundable
• These miles can only be used for awards and do not count toward Premier® status
• If you have questions or concerns about this offer, please email custserv@ualmiles.com for assistance
• All MileagePlus Program Rules and terms and conditions apply

(TB4485/TB4489)