United MileagePlus miles are valuable for redemptions on United Airlines and Star Alliance Airlines. You can easily earn United Miles; however, if you are short of miles, United is running a discount promotion that lets you buy miles at up to a 45% Discount.
Here are all the details about buying United Miles with a discount.
Current United Miles Discount Offer
If you buy United miles without a promotion, it costs 3.76¢ per mile, including a 7.5% tax that United recovers. That means that if you buy 100K United miles, you will pay $3,762.50. However, until December 31, 2025 [11:59 p.m. CT], you get up to a 45% discount.
This 45% discount offer reduces the cost to 2.07¢ per mile. [Promotion Link]
This promotion, though, is a tiered promotion, and it costs less as you buy more miles:
| Buy From | Buy To | Discount | ¢/Mile (No Promotion) | ¢/Mile (Promotion) |
| 2000 | 4000 | 0% | 3.76 | 3.76 |
| 5000 | 24000 | 20% | 3.76 | 3.01 |
| 25000 | 54000 | 30% | 3.76 | 2.63 |
| 55000 | 200000 | 45% | 3.76 | 2.07 |
Related: When does it make sense to buy Air Miles?
Annual purchase limit: United allows purchases of up to 200,000 miles per calendar year, including bonus miles. The 2025 limit runs until 31 December 2025 and resets on 1 January 2026.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy United Miles?
This United Miles cost calculator shows exactly how much you will pay for the miles you plan to buy:
Is Buying United Miles at 2.07¢ per Mile Worth It?
If you want to buy United miles, make sure you have exhausted other options, such as transferring your credit card points. And, you are still short of United miles. Does it make sense to buy United miles at 2.07¢ per mile?
A cost of 2.07¢ per mile is higher than what I would usually pay for United miles. I would only consider this a good promotion when I have a specific redemption in mind and the cash fare is significantly higher than the cost of buying miles. In practice, this offer only makes sense when topping up miles to complete a booking.
Apart from the cost, some benefits you get on award flights with United miles:
- Low fuel surcharges on award tickets, including most Star Alliance partners
- Free award cancellation and redeposit, giving flexibility if plans change
- Good Star Alliance access, often with decent long-haul availability
History of United Miles Discounts and Bonuses
Here is the past Bonus/discount Points offer summary on buying Miles:
| Start Date | End Date | Maximum Bonus % Offered | ₹/Mile | Cents Per Mile |
| 27th Dec’25 | 31st Dec’25 | 45% | 1.86 | 2.07 |
| 5th Dec’25 | 24th Dec’25 | 50% Discount | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 27th Nov’25 | 30th Nov’25 | 50% Discount | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 5th Nov’25 | 25th Nov’25 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 1st Oct’25 | 18th Oct’25 | 95% | 1.71 | 1.93 |
| 2nd Sep’25 | 23rd Sep’25 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 5th Aug’25 | 24th Aug’25 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 7th Jul’25 | 25th Jul’25 | 95% | 1.71 | 1.93 |
| 9th Jun’25 | 29th Jun’25 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 12th May’25 | 30th May’25 | 95% | 1.71 | 1.93 |
| 7th Apr’25 | 13th Apr’25 | 100%/50% Disc | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 11th Mar 2025 | 29th Mar 2025 | 100%/50% Disc | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 5th Feb 2025 | 28th Feb 2025 | 95% | 1.71 | 1.93 |
| 7th Jan 2025 | 31st Jan 2025 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 9th Dec 2024 | 31st Dec 2024 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 28th Nov 2024 | 1st Dec 2024 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 6th Nov 2024 | 21st Nov 2024 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 3rd Oct 2024 | 25th Oct 2024 | 95% | 1.71 | 1.93 |
| 4th Sep 24 | 20th Sep 24 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
| 7th Aug 24 | 25th Aug 24 | 100% | 1.68 | 1.88 |
Check the latest promotion here.
Related: Ongoing Buying Points & Miles Offer
Bottomline
Buying United MileagePlus miles can make sense if you are short of miles for a specific redemption. Since there are ways to earn United miles, a small top-up may work for some. United’s key advantage remains its low fuel surcharges. That said, before buying, I would also check Avianca LifeMiles and Air Canada Aeroplan, as both use more fixed award charts and can require fewer miles on specific routes.
