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Through October 23, 2015, United is offering up to a 80% bonus on purchased miles. The size of the bonus depends on the number of miles you buy, with the largest 80% bonus kicking in at 30,000 miles purchased (54,000 total miles after the bonus.)

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 4.56.35 AM

 

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

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That makes the per mile prices 3.27 cents, 2.79 cents, and 2.09 cents respectively.

Buying 30,000 miles–the fewest you need to purchase to get the biggest bonus–costs $1,129, which is 2.09 cents each for the 54,000 United miles you get.Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 4.57.38 AM

 

Is This a Good Deal?

No, this is a terrible deal. Since United’s huge devaluation last year, I value United miles at around 1.5 cents. The bottom line on all mileage sales is that they’re a good deal if you have an immediate, high-value use and not a good deal otherwise.

There are a few United awards for which you’ll get more than 2.09 cents of value per mile, but even in those cases, you’d probably be better off buying LifeMiles for 1.32 cents each and redeeming them for the exact same award.

Math

To figure out if you have a high-value use, use this simple expression:

(A – B) / (C + D)

  • A: Value of the award. Important: this is the lesser of the cash price and your subjective value.
  • B: Taxes on the award
  • C: Miles used on the award
  • D: Miles you would earn if you purchased the award ticket with cash

This will spit out the dollar value you are getting for your miles. If that number is greater than 0.0209, and you can book the dream award now, and LifeMiles somehow is offering a worse deal, buy during this promotion. Otherwise, don’t buy.

Bottom Line

You can buy 54,000 to 144,000 United miles for 2.09 cents each. That’s way too high to buy speculatively.

United sales are processed by points.com, so you do not get category bonuses on cards that bonus airline or travel purchases like the Citi Prestige® Card, which offers 3x on purchases from airlines.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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