How to Use the United MileagePlus Shopping Portal to Earn More Miles [2020]
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If you’re planning to shop online, what would you say if we told you you could earn extra miles just by clicking a few extra buttons? Pretty sweet, huh?
This article will teach you how to use the United Airlines MileagePlus Shopping portal to do just that!
Table of contents
Table of Contents
How to Log in and the Basics of Using MileagePlus Shopping
You can view the bonus miles offered for shopping at various retailers without logging in, but you will need to log in to actually earn rewards when you’re ready to shop.
If you already have a MileagePlus frequent flyer account with United, you’re in luck! You won’t need to create a new account to log in and start shopping. The login details for the MileagePlus Shopping portal are the same as for your account on united.com.
Once you are logged in to MileagePlus Shopping, you just need to search for the retailer you want to shop with to see the number of bonus miles you can earn for purchases!
Let’s say you are interested in shopping at Macy’s. At the time of writing, we found a bonus of 8 United miles for each dollar spent on macys.com purchases, which is a huge bump over its usual offer.
To earn the bonus miles, click “Shop this offer” to be redirected to the Macy’s online store, then complete your purchase in the new window. You don’t need to do anything else to earn the bonus!
Hot Tip: Only coupon codes provided by MileagePlus Shopping will be eligible for your purchase to earn miles.
Special Shopping Offers
Occasionally the MileagePlus Shopping portal will offer bonus miles for spending various amounts of money. These offers come and go throughout the year.
You should keep an eye out for United’s special MileagePlus Shopping bonuses; they make it easy to earn even more miles!
Here are some examples of past bonuses to be on the lookout for:
- Spend $125 in the next 2 weeks and earn 500 bonus miles
- Spend $150 and earn 500 bonus miles; spend $750 and earn 2,500 bonus miles; spend $1,500 and earn 5,000 bonus miles.
Example Retailers
The number of miles earned through the online shop and the available retailers change regularly. At the time of writing, here are some of the better bonuses being offered through MileagePlus Shopping!
- AT&T: 2,600 miles
- ESPN+: 400 miles
- Nike: 12 miles per $1
- Florists.com: 10 miles per $1
- Aveda: 9 miles per $1
- Grubhub: 5 miles per $1
Hot Tip: If you are curious how these bonuses compare to other portals, use CashBack Monitor to easily check over 40 different shopping portals.
United MileagePlus Shopping Button
Don’t miss out on extra miles by downloading United’s MileagePlus Shopping button.
If you’re the type of person that forgets to login to your account and click through via the normal shopping portal, download this browser extension for Chrome and you’ll never miss out on another mile again!
Every time you visit a retailer’s website that is part of the program you’ll get an alert telling you that can earn miles when shopping on the website. Everything then happens automatically when you purchase on the retailer’s website. It’s that simple!
Earning In-Store Miles at Brick-and-Mortar Retailers
MileagePlus members can also now earn miles when shopping at traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Login to your MileagePlus Shopping account, add 1 or more credit or debit cards to your profile, and link any desired in-store offers to your cards.
When browsing stores, in-store retailers will have a black store icon to indicate that the offer is in-store only. The earning rates can vary between in-store and online, so see which scenario works best for you before making your purchase.
When you make an eligible in-store purchase, paid for by a linked card, you will automatically earn miles on qualified purchases.
Every offer you link is only valid to redeem for 1 single in-store purchase. Members can even receive SMS notifications of their in-store purchase transactions.
Using Credit Cards to Earn Extra Miles and Points
Even though you’ll be earning bonuses through MileagePlus Shopping, that isn’t an excuse to put your charges on a debit card! You’ll want to make sure you’re paying with a credit card that will give you rewards for spending, too.
If your main focus is earning United miles, you should use cards that earn United miles directly or cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to United at a 1:1 ratio.
Consider whether your earnings can be multiplied further by taking advantage of a specific credit card category bonuses, too!
Below you’ll find rewards cards that earn United miles as well as Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® - This is our favorite beginners travel rewards card, which is currently offering a 60,000 point bonus after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points per $1 on travel and dining worldwide, eligible delivery services, take out and dining out, plus other travel benefits such as excellent travel insurance coverage and no foreign transaction fees. The sign up bonus is worth $750 in travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals etc) when you redeem your points through Chase's travel portal, which works like Expedia. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® - This premium card will get you access to 1,000+ airport lounges. as well as a number of other card benefits. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll also get a $300 travel credit per year which wipes away a big chunk of the $550 annual fee. |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® - A fantastic, no annual fee card that earns you a $200 bonus after you spend $500 in your first 3 months. Earn 5% cash-back on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases, but you won't get any travel benefits with this card. |
If you’re a business owner, Chase has several business credit cards too.
Hot Tip: Don’t miss a chance to earn extra Ultimate Rewards points when you shop at a MileagePlus Shopping retailer! Check your Chase Offers before any online purchases to activate any special deals or discounts for popular online retailers.
United MileagePlus Cards
| CREDIT CARD | BENEFITS & INFO |
|---|---|
UnitedSM Explorer Card Learn More (at Chase's secure site) |
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UnitedSM Business Card Apply Now (at Chase's secure site) |
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United ClubSM Infinite Card Card Apply Now (at Chase's secure site) |
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Final Thoughts
Utilizing MileagePlus Shopping is an easy way to earn an extra mile or more per dollar spent on most of the purchases you’re already making online. You may also want to check out United’s dining program to really maximize your awards.
The more rewards you earn, the closer you will get to redeeming your United miles for a much-deserved vacation!
I want to find how many miles I have so I can get magazines, but I cannot seem to get to my account.
Hi LeVeta,
I am happy to help out with your issue, but keep in mind we are not affiliated with United so we are not able to access your account for you. Have you tried resetting your password?
I have made three purchases through The MileagePlusX app, purchasing after it links through the app. None of my purchases have shown up in my miles. $155 at Macy’s. A small amount at Target (just as a test) and most recently around $150 at Walmart.com. What is going wrong? My miles haven’t changed at all.
Hi Greta,
How recently did you make these purchases? Sometimes it can take a few weeks for your miles to show. Have you contacted United about the issues you’re having?