Why United Saver Awards Are My Favorite Way To Book Last-Minute Flights

I tend to book domestic flights and hotels about 2 months before my travel dates, but sometimes travel plans pop up that require booking the same week I travel — or even the same day. Last-minute flight prices can be astronomical, and if I had to pay cash, I might just skip the trip.

But United Saver Awards have come in clutch on multiple occasions, saving me thousands of dollars while making it possible for me to take those last-minute flights.

Here’s how United Saver Awards have worked for me and why I’ll always have a stash of points ready to book flights at a moment’s notice.

Our Summer Road Trip Fell Apart

This summer, while our kids were at sleepaway camp, my husband and I had a rare opportunity for a short grown-up getaway. Our original plan was a road trip from our home in the Houston area to the waterpark Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, a couple of hours away.

I checked the weather the day before we planned to start our trip, and the severe weather forecast, with a high risk of flooding and tornadoes, prompted us to quickly cancel our New Braunfels road trip plans.

We still wanted theme park fun, but Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio had the same bad forecast, and we didn’t want to drive all the way to Six Flags Over Texas in the Dallas area. We have Walt Disney World annual passes and wondered: What if we flew to Orlando (MCO) and had a kid-free visit to Disney World instead?

I checked Google Flights to see if it was possible. Initially, it didn’t look good. The cheapest flight was nonstop with Frontier Airlines, but it would have cost us $1,110 to both fly round-trip. United Airlines had a $1,616 flight for both of us with an unreasonably long connection, or nonstop flights for $4,096 total.

For those prices, we were ready to just stay home and enjoy a quiet house. But I checked award options with United Airlines before I gave up, and that’s what made a last-minute Disney World trip possible.

I Booked United Flights for 54K Miles

I found United Saver Award flights for 27,000 miles each — a total of 54,000 miles, plus $22.40 in taxes and fees. I have a United℠ Business Card, which gives me access to additional Saver Award fares and at least a 10% discount when I pay with miles. The original mileage cost would have been 60,000 miles.

OFFER EXTENDED

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

United℠ Business Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A business card from Chase for United loyalists with benefits such as free checked bags and discounts on inflight purchases.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

United℠ Business Card

A business card from Chase for United loyalists with benefits such as free checked bags and discounts on inflight purchases.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Up to 110,000 miles + 2,000 PQP

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,320

Annual Fee

$150

APR

19.74% - 28.24% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The United℠ Business Card is a compelling option for traveling business owners that are also frequent United flyers. Not only will this Chase business card help you earn more United miles, but it also offers great perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding, a discount on inflight purchases, and much more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 8x miles per $1 on United flights
• 2x miles per $1 on other United purchases
• 2x miles per $1 on dining

Cons

• Doesn’t earn transferable rewards
• Other United cards are more rewarding for United purchases

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Card Highlights

• Earn up to 110,000 bonus miles and 2,000 PQP after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• $150 Annual Fee.
• NEW! 8x total miles on eligible United flights.
• 2x miles on all other eligible United^® purchases. 2x miles on dining including eligible delivery services, at gas stations, office supply stores, and on local transit and commuting.
• 1x mile on all other purchases. Plus, employee cards at no additional cost - miles earned from their purchases accrue in your account so you can earn rewards faster.
• Receive a 5,000-mile "better together" bonus each anniversary when you have both the United℠ Business Card and a personal Chase United^® credit card.
• Enjoy a free first checked bag - a savings of up to $200 per roundtrip (terms apply), 2 United Club℠ one-time passes per year, and priority boarding privileges.
• NEW! Save 10% or more when booking flights with miles. Premier members save even more.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.74% - 28.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

We decided to sleep on it, agreeing that if we still wanted to make a run to Orlando and the award was still available the next morning, we’d go ahead and book it.

Spoiler: We decided to go for it, and the same award was still there the next morning. So we booked our round-trip nonstop flight for later that day, just 10 hours before departure.

I made this booking happen by transferring 54,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from my Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card to my United MileagePlus loyalty account. I paid the taxes and fees with my United Business card, which gave us both Group 2 priority boarding and free first checked bags. Our economy fares included standard seat selections and carry-on bags.

NEW OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Ink Business Preferred card is hard to beat, with a huge welcome bonus offer and 3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 in so many business categories.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred card is hard to beat, with a huge welcome bonus offer and 3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 in so many business categories.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$2,000

Annual Fee

$95

APR

17.74% - 26.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is a powerhouse for earning lots of points from your business purchases, especially for business owners that spend regularly on ads.

Plus the card offers flexible redemption options, including access to Chase airline and hotel transfer partners where you can achieve outsized value.

Business owners will also love the protections the card provides like excellent cell phone insurance, rental car insurance, purchase protection, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on internet, cable and phone services, shipping expenses, travel, and ads purchased with search engines or social media sites
• Cell phone protection
• Purchase protection

Cons

• No elite travel benefits like airport lounge access

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
• Earn 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
• With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
• Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
• Go further when you book with Chase Travel℠. Enjoy competitive rates, seamless booking and premium benefits.
• Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Receive complimentary access to DashPass by DoorDash.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 17.74% - 26.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Comparing our 54,000-mile booking to the cheapest United cash fare of $1,616, we got about 2.99 cents per mile in value. That’s far greater than our current 1.2 cents-per-mile valuation for United Airlines MileagePlus miles and more than the 2 cents-per-point valuation we have for Ultimate Rewards points. It was a good redemption.

But that $1,616 cash fare is a conservative comparison, as we took nonstop flights, and the cheapest nonstop option on United Airlines was $4,096 for both of us. I saved more than $1,000 by using miles instead of booking the cheapest cash fare available with Frontier, and got almost 3 cents per mile compared to United’s lowest cash fare.

How To Maximize Saver Awards

I was comfortable throwing this flight booking together at the last minute because it’s not the first time a United Saver Award has helped me book spontaneous travel. Earlier this year, I got a short-notice invitation for an event in Seattle that I didn’t want to miss, and a United Saver Award came through to make that possible.

For my Seattle trip, I booked a United Saver Award less than 24 hours before departure. Nonstop flights were around $1,000 round-trip for 1 person, but I found a Saver Award for 30,000 miles. The standard miles cost was 53,900 miles, and my United Business card membership saved me 23,900 miles.

That booking was the linchpin that made the entire trip possible, and I saved about $1,000 and got 3.3 cents per mile in redemption value. And there’s a good chance I could do it again. Checking flights from Houston (IAH, HOU) to New York (JFK, LGA, EWR) for the day after writing this story, I saw another opportunity to get good value from a United Saver Award.

Google Flights had a $400 connecting flight with Frontier that would take all day for an otherwise short flight, but there was a $689 nonstop with United. I usually find flights between Houston and New York for under $300 when booking in advance.

United Saver Awards for the same dates offer much better possibilities. I see multiple round-trip flights for 27,000 miles, and booking them would give me about 2.5 cents per mile.

Why United Saver Awards Are My Favorite

Knowing that United Saver Awards are often available as a strong alternative to costly last-minute cash fares is reassuring. If I need to drop everything and go, there’s a good chance a Saver Award is available to make that happen. That’s why I’ll always have a stash of Ultimate Rewards and a United card ready to go, just in case.

Cash fares can become cost-prohibitive close to departure. For me, it’s the difference between traveling and not. When I’m faced with a $1,000 domestic flight or staying home, I’m probably going to stay home. But in my experience, United award fares often stay reasonable even when cash fares aren’t.

These awards are flexible, too. I like that I don’t have to keep a stash of United miles to redeem Saver Awards. Instead, I can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to United only when I need them, after finding an award I want. That keeps my points flexible for other redemptions, and I find it easier and faster to earn Chase points than United miles.

My United Business card improves the equation, giving me access to at least 10% off award pricing. Cardholders also get access to additional Saver Award inventory, so I can find awards that members without qualifying United cards can’t. I don’t use my United Business card for many purchases, but its benefits often help me save on travel costs.

Are United Saver Awards always the best choice? Not when I can find inexpensive cash fares or the cents-per-mile value is too low. It’s possible that cash is still the better choice. But so far, Saver Awards have come through each time I needed them and saved me thousands of dollars.

Final Thoughts

When severe weather derailed our road trip plans, paying cash for a last-minute flight would have cost us at least $1,100. But a United Saver Award for 54,000 miles changed everything and saved our spontaneous trip to Disney World. These awards have given me valuable options for booking last-minute flights and taking trips even when cash fares are unreasonable.