Who doesn’t like free flights? Different airlines offer different sorts of benefits for the redemption of miles. Some offer free stopovers, open jaws, etc. But United Airlines offers an Excursionist Perk. It simply means a free flight for which you don’t have to pay any additional United Miles. United Excursionist Perk is a great way to enhance the value you can get from redeeming United Miles. However, there are certain rules for using it and some great values. Here’s what you need to know about the United Airlines Excursionist Perk and how to use it.
What are United Airlines Excursionist Perk Rules?
You need to follow these rules to get the United Airlines Excursionist Perk:
- Travel must end in the same region where travel originates. For example, if a flight originates from India, then it should end in a country in the same region as India.
- The Excursionist Perk segment should be in a different region than where you started.
- The cabin of service of the free one-way award is the same or lower than the preceding one-way award. So, if you are travelling in business class, then free flights can either be in business class or economy class, not vice versa.
- Only the first occurrence will be free if two or more one-way awards qualify for this benefit. That means you will only get one free flight if two or more qualify.
How to Book?
To book United Excursionist Perk, you need to follow the below steps:
- Go to Book and Award Travel
- Click on “Multi-City Option.”
- “Add Another Destinations” [As a Minimum of Three are needed]
- Enter your destinations and dates.
- Click Find Flights
- Voila! It’s done; you will see the complimentary flight with “Zero” miles.
Pro Tip: First, search your flights individually to determine available dates.
United Airlines Excursionist Perk Examples
Let’s see some examples.
Free Flight within Europe
So, I searched for flights from Delhi to London, London to Zurich, and Zurich to Delhi. The London to Zurich fight will be free since both are in the same zone.
1st Flight: Delhi to London in First Class
2nd flight: The Free flight with Excursionist perk, London to Zurich in Business Class
3rd Flight: Zurich to Delhi in Economy Class
The total flight cost will be 101500 miles from Delhi to London and Zurich to Delhi Route.
Pro Tip: There are 44 countries in the European region of United Excursionist Perks. That allows you to add a free flight within Europe to several destinations. You no longer rely on the Bus or Rail to visit your next European country.
Free Flight within Africa
There are 51 Central & Southern African countries for Excursionist Perks. So you can travel even further within Africa. For Example, I searched for Mumbai to Nairobi, Nairobi to Johannesburg and Johannesburg to Mumbai. My Nairobi to Johannesburg flight will be a free flight, which is 4 hours and usually costs 26K United miles.
Free flight within South Asia
India is part of Central Asia, and 14 countries are considered to be in South Asia. The best thing about this is that THAI & Singapore Airlines have hubs in South Asia, allowing you to travel to another country without additional miles.
There are no direct flights between India and the Philippines. You can, however, travel this or via this country for free.
Let’s say you want to travel to Singapore and the Philippines. So, with the United Excursionist perk, you can travel to one of these countries for free.
Open Jaws with United Airlines Excursionist Perk
You don’t have to travel from the same destination to be eligible for a free flight. It means you can get a free flight if your next flight is in the same region.
Let’s take the first example of free flights within Europe. The free flight in that was from London to Zurich. But now, instead, I want to go to Frankfurt and then to Zurich. The London to Frankfurt flight will be a paid flight or can be booked separately. Since your second flight will be from Frankfurt to Zurich in the same region, it will not cost you anything additional.
You can even use this even if your region changes. Let’s say I travelled from Delhi to London and then from London to Nairobi; my flight was paid. Then you can get Nairobi to any other Central & South African destination for free.
There are so many opportunities to use the United Excursionist perk. Try for yourself.
List of countries and regions
Here is the list of countries and regions.
| Region | Countries/Regions |
|---|
Frequently Asked Questions
India is in the Central Asia region for United Perk.
Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are in the Central Asia.
No, only per free flight is eligible for the United Excursionist Perk.
Yes, there is no limit on travellers who can get free flights using this perk. However, it will be subject to availability.
Yes, you can. However, I highly doubt the competence of United Customer Service.
Yes.
No. Even connecting flights are eligible.
There are 17 regions in this perk.
You can get the United Region list here.
Related: Buy United Miles for a Bonus or Discount.
Bottomline
United Airlines Excursionist Perk is a great way to reduce the cost of your trip. There are several options for using it. Using it for a region with a large number of countries can potentially save huge costs. There is no turning back once you get used to using this perk unless you also explore Aeroplan.
