‘Tis the season for items — and that features reward playing cards. Sadly, you’ll have obtained some reward playing cards for the vacations that you just aren’t very enthusiastic about. If that is the case, now we have some excellent news: You may flip these undesirable reward playing cards into United MileagePlus miles by means of United’s MileagePlus Present Card Change. This is the way it works.
Associated: What bank cards must you use to buy reward playing cards?
Which reward playing cards are eligible for United miles?
On the MileagePlus Present Card Change touchdown web page, there is a hyperlink to a “Present card retailer checklist” on the backside. This checklist at present consists of over 30 retailers, resembling Finest Purchase, Sears, Starbucks and Walmart.
Nonetheless, word that some retailers on this checklist could not truly be accessible for trade on the web site. There are additionally some retailers accessible for trade that are not on the checklist, together with The North Face and HP.
Associated: Flights, bank cards and extra: Tips on how to earn miles with the United MileagePlus program
Is it value exchanging reward playing cards?
United has a chart itemizing the “Minimal award miles awarded,” which might make you assume that some choices supply extra miles than these charges. However we checked dozens of various retailers, and the mileage supply was the identical for each.
Regardless of the chart, you are not restricted to $25, $50 and $100 reward playing cards. In accordance with the homepage, you may trade reward playing cards with no less than a $15 minimal stability. Nonetheless, there are larger minimal balances for some retailers, like $50 at The North Face. In case your stability is just too low, a purple field with the minimal will pop up once you click on “Get Mileage supply.”
From what we have gathered, the variety of miles supplied is the reward card worth instances 26.6, rounded as much as the closest 10 miles. This comes out to between 3.70 and three.76 cents per mile, relying on what number of you are buying and selling in. For instance:
- $15 reward playing cards equal 400 United miles (3.75 cents per mile)
- $20 reward playing cards equal 540 United miles (3.70 cents per mile)
- $25 reward playing cards equal 670 United miles (3.73 cents per mile)
- $30 reward playing cards equal 800 United miles (3.75 cents per mile)
- $40 reward playing cards equal 1,070 United miles (3.74 cents per mile)
- $50 reward playing cards equal 1,330 United miles (3.76 cents per mile)
- $100 reward playing cards equal 2,660 United miles (3.76 cents per mile)
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This price is far larger than TPG’s December 2024 valuation of 1.35 cents per United mile, that means you are not getting good worth out of your reward playing cards. Nonetheless, when you’d somewhat have the miles than the reward card, this could possibly be a helpful technique to offload them.
Additionally, no less than United is being constant. When United is not operating a purchase miles promotion, you should buy United miles at a price of $35 per 1,000 United miles. After taxes and charges, this comes out to three.76 cents per mile.
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Limitations to the Present Card Change
To promote reward playing cards by means of the MileagePlus Present Card Change, your MileagePlus account should have been open for no less than 90 days and have a optimistic account stability. This implies you may’t trade your reward playing cards for miles if there are not any miles in your account.
But when your account is empty, don’t fret: There are a number of simple methods to earn United miles with out flying, resembling by means of the MileagePlus buying portal or the MileagePlus Eating program.
Though the location could provide you with a quote for $10 reward playing cards at some retailers, the phrases and circumstances state that “reward playing cards accepted should have a $15 minimal stability on the cardboard and should have a most imposed.” It additionally seems that the trade will solely settle for reward playing cards as much as $100.
In case you resolve to promote a present card by means of the MileagePlus Present Card Change, the miles ought to arrive in your United account inside 5 enterprise days.
Associated: Tips on how to use factors and miles to provide items with zero out-of-pocket value
Backside line
When you’re not going to get one of the best worth from exchanging reward playing cards for United miles, it is good to have the choice to swap an undesirable reward card for one thing extra helpful. The MileagePlus Present Card Change might turn out to be useful when you want United miles for an upcoming redemption, have tapped out your Bilt Rewards Factors and Chase Final Rewards factors, and are holding a qualifying reward card. In case your solely different possibility is to purchase United miles, you would possibly as nicely liquidate the reward card — particularly if it is one you would not use quickly anyway.
Then again, if you do not have a United redemption in thoughts, it is perhaps value checking on-line for an additional reward card trade program (resembling CardCash) that will provide you with a greater price.
