United miles have been devalued over and over again, though not at the level of SkyMiles yet. The miles are dynamic for their own flights but partners are not. I would like to preface that many comparisons will be made to Air Canada's Aeroplan. Many people default to booking Star Alliance awards through Aeroplan so comparing them with United MileagePlus should give a good reason to consider United when booking awards. A feature United MileagePlus has is that they do not pass on any surcharges, which airlines such as those in the Lufthansa group are notorious for charging. They also do not pass on an award booking fee or charge for changes and cancellations, unlike Air Canada's Aeroplan. What I did find is that they also follow a similar award chart style as Air Canada, a mix of zones and distance bands. However, their's is much more complicated. The prices listed below are also for non United card members. These prices are further discounted by 10% for United card holders. 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.
Now lets get right to it! Here is the one way economy award chart for Star Alliance airlines not including United itself.
| 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 |
For flights between North America, Europe and the 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 |
To be honest, this is probably one of the weakest of United's award charts. The pricing on each of the distance bands get outclassed by those from Aeroplan. Although the most common of United's award chart, use Aeroplan instead for flights in this chart zone.
| 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. With a United card, the 10% award discount also brings economy flights from 0 - 4,000 mile distance band in line with those of Aeroplan's, with less fees to pay on top.
| 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, with the United card member discount, these rates are the best that Star Alliance transfer partners can offer. 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 is the 50,000 United miles if paired with the United card holder discount. The same goes for the business class rates, just not for first class.
| 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 |
| 1,501 - 2,000 miles | 21,000 | |
| 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 |
Flights on Airlink follow a zone based award chart. I personally don't think there is any exceptional opportunity here, given the short distance this award chart covers from South Africa.
| 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.
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.
For those that have United credit cards, the math is much more favorable and can provide better rates against other Star Alliance programs a majority of the time. Many times, they are for the same rate and a 10% discount would put them over ahead of their competition. For direct economy flights within Europe, United offers the best pricing for Star Alliance flights. Business class flights from North America to South America and the Caribbeans that are less than 2,500 miles away will cost the lowest when booking with United miles. Furthermore, United Mileage Plus does not charge any surcharges, booking fees or change and cancellation fees that other programs often come with. For scenarios that have the same mileage cost, choose United Mileage Plus for the cheapest cash component of the award booking.