United miles have been largely slept on since its devaluation in 2023. However, United stealthily brought back unofficial award charts.
In light of them, I will be comparing them against Air Canada Aeroplan's award chart, most people's preferred Star Alliance award program.
A pro of United Mileage Plus that has been publicized often is the lack of fees United passes on in their award bookings. This includes
fuel surcharges, booking fees, and even change and cancellation fees. This is in stark contrast to Aeroplan's booking fees and
change and cancellation fees that are present on their lower award pricing levels. If the award prices are the same, United will beat out all other programs because
of the flexibility and lack of fees it charges.
Today, I will be sharing exactly how many miles you need and where you can go
to maximize your United miles. However, this is my first rough attempt so please email me at
worldlyexpressmail@gmail.com with any questions, comments or concerns if there is something that
isn't explained well.
I started by searching United's seats.aero page, pouring through hundreds of thousands of airport pairs and their award prices across economy, business, and first class. Using greatcirclemap.com, I compared these pairs geographically, noting the shortest and longest flight distances within each pricing tier to compile distance ranges. Where different award prices applied to flights of similar distances, it became clear that United also incorporates zone-based pricing into their award structure.
Now let's get right to it! Below is the one-way economy award chart for Star Alliance airlines, excluding United itself. The economy and business charts each serve as a master reference, directing to one of five distance-based sub-charts (Charts 1–5) depending on which pricing zone applies to which route.
| Origin \ Destination | North America | Latin America | Europe | Africa/ Middle East | Asia/ Oceania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Chart1 | Chart2 | 44,000 | 49,500 (India included) | 60,500 (India excluded) |
| Latin America | Chart1 | Chart4 | Chart4 | Chart5 | |
| Europe | Chart3 | Chart1 | Chart5 | ||
| Africa/ Middle East | Chart1 | Chart5 | |||
| Asia/ Oceania | Chart1 |
In light of recent devaluations with competitor programs, longer between North America and Europe/Middle East/Africa/Asia, United MileagePlus matches up well to the competition. For flights between North America and Europe/Middle East that exceed 6,000 miles, the rates look really good. Flights such as Los Angeles to Warsaw would qualify. For flights between North America and Asia that exceed 7,500 miles, the flights also look really good. This includes flights from the JFK to Taipei.
As usual, the opportunity to get outsized value are higher with business class award charts.
| Origin \ Destination | North America | Latin America | Europe | Africa/ Middle East | Asia/ Oceania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Chart1 | Chart2 | 88,000 | 88,000 (India included) | 110,000 (India excluded) |
| Latin America | Chart1 | Chart4 | Chart4 | Chart5 | |
| Europe | Chart3 | Chart1 | Chart5 | ||
| Africa/ Middle East | Chart1 | Chart5 | |||
| Asia/ Oceania | Chart1 |
This is the most common award chart that United follows. However, a majority of the award chart gets outclassed by those from Aeroplan, especially for premium cabins. Specifically, for economy flights between Europe and Africa/Middle East and flights within Asia/Oceania, the 2,000 - 2,500 mile distance band and 4,000 - 5,000 mile distance band are cheaper than Aeroplan.
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-750 | 12,500 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| 751-1,500 | 17,500 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| 1,501-2,500 | 22,500 | 65,000 | |
| 2,501-5,000 | 35,000 | 90,000 | |
| 5,000+ | 50,000 | 110,000 | 140,000 |
Zone 2 is more competitive, with the 0-2,500 mile business class coming in cheaper than Aeroplan's rates. This is generally the distance for Air Canada's flights to the caribbeans or Copa Airline's flights from Panama to the US mainland.
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0-2,500 | 22,000 | 38,500 |
| 2,501-4,000 | 33,000 | 60,500 |
| 4,001+ | 49,500 | 88,000 |
This is one of the best sweet spots for United miles. For economy flights under 500 miles, they are cheaper than Aeroplan's award rate by 20%. For the rest of the bands, they also closely mirror economy rates of Aeroplan's, except at 1,500 - 2,000 miles, where they come in 3,500 United miles more. However, there are this chart does not apply to itineraries with a layover. More on that in the layover section below. Business class, stick with Aeroplan.
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0-500 | 6,000 | 30,000 |
| 501-1,000 | 8,000 | 45,000 |
| 1,001-1,500 | 12,500 | 45,000 |
| 1501+ | 16,000 | 65,000 |
The economy flights in this chart are similar to Aeroplan's. The 45,000 United miles price is competitive, as it mirrors the Aeroplan band and price.
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2,500 | |||
| 2,501-5,000 | 45,000 | 90,000 | |
| 5,001+ | 50,000 | 110,000 | 165,000 |
Flights between South America and Asia in economy are the same as Aeroplan's. Other than that, there is not many bright spots here.
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 1,500 | 40,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 |
| 1,501-2,500 | 50,000 | 90,000 | |
| 2.501 - 5,000 | 55,000 | 110,000 | 165,000 |
| 5,001+ | 60,000 | 140,000 |
To understand a little of which destination is which, here is a compiled list of countries that are
a part of each zone. The parenthesis signal exceptions to each zone.
North America: United States, Canada, Mexico (except to Central America)
Latin America (minus Mexico except to Central America): Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda,
Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands, Venezuela
Europe: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Africa/ Middle East: Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt,
Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia/ Oceania: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palau,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekista, Vietnam
Within the Americas, each partner has their own award chart. To be honest, most of these awards have inflated pricing compared to the Star Alliance award charts.
| Distance | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 500 miles | 15,000 | |
| 501 - 1,500 miles | 20,000 | |
| 1,501 - 2,000 miles | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| 2,001 - 2,500 miles | 35,000 | 80,000 |
| 2,501 - 3,500 miles | 45,000 | 115,000 |
| 3,501+ miles | 50,000 | 120,000 |
| Distance | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 500 miles | 11,000 | |
| 501 - 1,000 miles | 13,000 | |
| 1,001 – 1,500 miles | 17,500 | |
| 1,501 - 2,000 miles | 21,000 | |
| 2,000+ miles | 49,000 | 93,000 |
| Distance | Economy |
|---|---|
| 0 - 750 miles | 20,000 |
| 751 - 1,500 miles | 25,000 |
| 1,501+ miles | 30,000 |
Lufthansa City, Olympic Air, Eurowings Discover follow chart 1 rates, even when
within Europe. At the 2,501 - 5,000 miles band, Eurowings Discover has an exception of costing 45,000 United
one way in economy. Eurowings follow chart 4 for flights between North America and Europe instead of costing 44,000 miles in economy.
PAL flights cost 17,500 miles in economy.
All flights operate on the origin and destination of the itinerary. Layovers wouldn't contribute to
a price increase. A flight from Lima to Sau Paulo via Panama costs 22,500 miles in economy. However, the
distance from Lima to Panama is 1,458 miles and the distance from Panama to Sau Paulo is 3,154 miles for a total
of 4,612 miles. If looking at the total distance flown, it should price as 35,000 United miles. If price by each segment
(17,500 miles from Lima to Panama + 35,000 miles from Panama to Sau Paulo), it should price as 52,500 miles. However, the
direct flight path distance from Lima to Sau Paulo is 2,160 miles, which explains why a flight from Lima to Sau Paulo via
Panama costs 22,500 miles in economy.
The one exception is for Chart 3. If there is a layover for flights within Europe, then it would price
as chart 1. For example an economy flight from Nice to Barcelona via Rome would price at 12,500 United miles. Meanwhile a
flight from Barcelona to Rome would cost 6,000 miles and a flight from Rome to Barcelona would cost 8,000 miles.
United still has room in its partner award chart where it is the best option, especially for economy flights. The best sweet spots include direct intra European economy awards, short haul business from North America to Northern South America, Caribbeans, or Central America, and for economy flights between Europe and Africa/Middle East and flights within Asia/Oceania that are within the 2,000 - 2,500 mile distance band and 4,000 - 5,000 mile distance band. Even certain flights, such as from Eastern South America to Western Africa with distances less than 2,500 miles have the same rate as Aeroplan. United's other advantage is that it calculates distance from the origin to the destination. On flights with similar award pricing, booking through United may be the better choice as they pass on less fees with more flexibility.