Buy Up to 150,000 United Miles. Good Deal?

Through April 20, 2015, United is offering up to a 30% discount on purchased miles. The size of the discount depends on the number of miles you buy, with the largest 30% discount kicking in at 30,000 miles purchased.

United miles normally cost 3.5 cents per mile plus a 7.5% tax, bringing the full price to 3.76 cents each.

Current State of Free Oneways

This blog became famous because I was the first to articulate how to book free one ways on United and US Airways awards.

A free one way is a one way trip to or from your home airport that is tacked onto another award for no extra miles.

United Making a Move toward Revenue Based Awards

Wandering Aramean got "part of an internal memo describing [United's] plans for the coming year." It says:
Deliver first phase of united.com 2.0 by 2q 2015, including bundled ancillary offerings;
Some time in this quarter (by June 30), United plans to roll out a new website with new bundled fare options, which sounds like what American Airlines offers. Not that interesting. Moving on...
begin introducing dynamic award pricing.
Uh-oh!

"Dynamic award pricing" would mean that award prices change, presumably based on the cash price of the underlying ticket.

United Making a Move toward Revenue Based Awards

Wandering Aramean got "part of an internal memo describing [United's] plans for the coming year." It says:
Deliver first phase of united.com 2.0 by 2q 2015, including bundled ancillary offerings;
Some time in this quarter (by June 30), United plans to roll out a new website with new bundled fare options, which sounds like what American Airlines offers. Not that interesting. Moving on...
begin introducing dynamic award pricing.
Uh-oh!

"Dynamic award pricing" would mean that award prices change, presumably based on the cash price of the underlying ticket.

20% Off United Awards to Hawaii

United is offering a 20% discount on roundtrip Saver economy awards booked to Hawaii by April 19 and flown Mondays through Thursdays from April 14 to May 19. The total cost of a roundtrip is 36,000 miles.

Don't Book This Promotion
If you have United miles, this may be a good deal. If you have Ultimate Rewards, do not transfer them to United miles to book this deal.

20% Off United Awards to Hawaii

United is offering a 20% discount on roundtrip Saver economy awards booked to Hawaii by April 19 and flown Mondays through Thursdays from April 14 to May 19. The total cost of a roundtrip is 36,000 miles.

Don't Book This Promotion
If you have United miles, this may be a good deal. If you have Ultimate Rewards, do not transfer them to United miles to book this deal.

Up to 50% Bonus on Purchasing United Miles

United is offering a targeted bonus on purchasing miles through March 23, 2015 that varies from 20 to 50%. Check your email for the subject line: "Reveal your bonus: Receive up to a 50% bonus when you buy or give miles"

When I clicked "Reveal my bonus >" in my email, I learned that my bonus is 25%.

United miles cost 3.76 cents each. With my 25% bonus, they cost 3.01 cents each. If you get a 50% bonus, your miles will cost about 2.5 cents each.
Is even 2.5 cents per United mile a good deal?
No.

United to Offer Flat Beds from Boston to Los Angeles

In July and August 2015, United will put one of its p.s. 757-200s, configured with flat beds up front, on the Los Angeles to Boston route. These planes fly every flight between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Occasionally they are put on other routes on a one-off basis like Los Angeles to either Boston or Newark.

The premium cabin on the 757-200 features flat beds in a 2-2 configuration meaning that window seats do not have direct aisle access. While the normal p.s. routes have special service and catering, non-p.s. routes that use p.s.

American vs. United vs. Delta: Best Flat Bed Transcon Award Space

American Airlines, United, and Delta fly flat beds on their daily flights between New York-JFK and San Francisco and Los Angeles. Delta also flies its flat beds between New York-JFK and Seattle.

All three airlines compete in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Only Delta flies between Seattle and JFK with flat beds.

Which has the best flat bed award space on the routes?
What are the prices? 
What are the products?

The Products & Prices
Delta

Delta throws 757s and 767s configured with flat bed seats at its transcontinental routes.

DoT Reasoning for Not Enforcing United Krone Fares Might Doom Mistake Fares

A few weeks ago, United's Danish website was way under-pricing First Class tickets from London to the United States, about $100 to anywhere you wanted to go. United said it would not honor those tickets, and I sided with United while noting that United States Department of Transportation (DoT) rules seemed clear that United couldn't unilaterally cancel its tickets.

Now the DoT has weighed in with a statement.

The statement makes clear that United will not have to honor the mistake fares.