Do United miles ever 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.



People Also Ask

How can I protect my Miles & More award miles from expiry? Award miles can be protected from expiry through status membership or a Miles & More Credit Card.

MORE DETAILS

When Do United Miles Expire? United Airlines announced on August 28, 2019, that United miles will no longer expire—in most cases. Previously, miles expired after 18 months of account inactivity. United required MileagePlus members to earn or redeem miles at least once every 18 months to reset the clock.

MORE DETAILS

However, points and miles earned with airline and hotel loyalty programs do typically expire following a lack of activity. Miles and points earned on co-branded hotel and airline travel rewards credit cards usually expire if you aren't actively using your account.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

At a million miles, you'll get Premier Gold for life. At two million miles, you'll receive Premier Platinum status for life. At three million miles, you'll get Premier 1K for life. At four million miles, you'll receive lifetime Global Services elite status.

MORE DETAILS

Yes, United miles can be transferred to others, however not only will you pay to do the transfer, but you'll have to pay a processing fee as well. United charges $7.50 per 500 miles transferred plus a $30 processing fee. So, if you wanted to transfer 50,000 miles, you would have to pay $780.

MORE DETAILS

If you forgot to input your loyalty number during checkout—or if you weren't even a member at the time of your flight—you can retroactively claim those miles, or request a mileage credit.

MORE DETAILS

It's rarely worth it to buy frequent flyer miles — especially without a bonus or discount. Airline and hotel programs generally price points and miles at such a high rate that it's hard to get more value than what you paid for them. Let's take Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles as an example.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

You're automatically eligible for a Complimentary Premier Upgrade as long as you are a Premier member (the higher your status, the earlier you become eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades and are flying on an eligible ticket on any eligible United-operated flight.

MORE DETAILS