Do United mileage accounts expire?

United Airlines miles never expire, so you can freely earn miles and redeem the miles at anytime. You no longer have to worry about having qualifying activity every 18 months in order to keep your miles from expiring. For more miles and points news, deals and analysis sign-up for our newsletter here.



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Memberships are open only to members of the United MileagePlus Program and such members must be 18 or older. Membership will expire on the date indicated when purchasing the membership. You can renew a United Club membership beginning 60 days prior to its expiration at the price effective on the date of renewal.

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While most airline and hotel points expire, there are a few exceptions. For example, points and miles within Best Western Rewards, Delta SkyMiles, Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club don't expire.

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Here's the catch. Air Miles themselves do not expire. But, if your account “expires” by being “dormant” (or inactive) for 24 consecutive months, then the points on it will disappear. An account is considered inactive if there are no points transactions within that period.

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The primary way of earning PQP is by flying United, United Express, and any of United's airline partners. These consist of all Star Alliance members, plus some unique partners like Brazil's Azul, Hawaiian Airlines, Emirates, JSX, and Virgin Australia.

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The problem arises when your AIR MILES account becomes inactive for a period of 24 consecutive months. At this point you will lose all of your miles, so make sure you keep your account active by earning some Miles at least once every two years.

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Miles and points earned on co-branded hotel and airline travel rewards cards do expire usually if you are not active in redeeming them for 12 to 24 months, depending on the terms of the hotel or airline loyalty program.

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United award flight prices vary substantially based on the cabin class and when you're flying. Example: Economy Saver Award prices for the short hop from San Francisco to Los Angeles run as low as 5,100 miles, while a first-class Everyday Award for the same hop costs around 30,000 miles.

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