United MileagePlus lands at pay.com.au: Use miles to the USA and beyond 

With direct flights from Australia into Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, United Airlines is a force to be reckoned with across the Pacific. Now, United’s flights are even easier to book, with PayRewards members able to convert points directly into United MileagePlus miles.

This opens the door to reward bookings in United Premium Plus (premium economy), which aren’t often available via United’s other partner frequent flyer programs. There’s also stacks of reward seat availability for MileagePlus members in United Polaris (business class). Expect to find business class reward seats to the USA almost every day, year-round. Now we’re talking!

Converting your PayRewards Points to into United MileagePlus miles

Our new partnership with United MileagePlus allows you transfer PayRewards Points at a 3:1 rate. That means 300,000 PayRewards Points can fetch you a cool 100,000 miles with United MileagePlus.

As it happens, that exact amount could take you the USA in United Polaris, plus a payment of less than $150 AUD in taxes and fees.  But it pays to learn more about how MileagePlus works, as reward rates can vary. Keep reading to learn how to get the best value from the program.

Travel options when spending United MileagePlus miles

United miles can be spent in a great many ways, but the best opportunities fall into four key categories:

• Reward bookings on United. Travel in style from Australia to North America and beyond. Or book domestic flights in the US from just 6,300 miles + $5.60 USD on key routes like Los Angeles to San Francisco.
• Fly on United’s Star Alliance partners. There’s Air Canada’s direct flights from Australia to Vancouver, for starters. But this opportunity stretches beyond North America. Jet from Australia to Tokyo with ANA – or from Australia to Europe with a host of other carriers. Mix in Air China, Air New Zealand, South African Airways and more, and we’re cooking.
• Upgrade on United flights. Stuck booking economy under a client’s strict travel policy? Use MileagePlus to escape the confines of ‘coach’ and chart your own course.
• Book Virgin Australia flights. It’s a great way to use up small balances of miles in your MileagePlus account.

While reward seat pricing on United is variable – and upgrades are soon heading the same way – reward rates on partner airlines seldom change. That’s because partner bookings follow the traditional ‘reward seat’ approach, where points prices are low, but availability is limited. By comparison, on United, reward rates vary, but availability is greater. Think of it as trading more miles to secure more reward seats… but still with some sweet spots to be found.

Fly to the USA with MileagePlus

United has a great network of services from Australia to the continental United States. Routes include:

• Sydney to Los Angeles and San Francisco (year-round), plus Sydney-Houston (seasonal).
• Melbourne to LA and San Francisco (year-round).
• Brisbane to San Francisco (year-round).
• Adelaide to San Francisco (launching December 2025, seasonal).

With the caveat that reward rates can change at any time, we’ve observed a few patterns when spending miles. On flights to the US west coast, it seems that United’s current asking prices are as straightforward as ‘1, 2, 3’. That is, a jaunt in United Polaris typically costs either 100,000 miles, 200,000 miles or 300,000 miles, one-way.

Naturally, you’ll find the greatest availability at the 300,000-mile price, but the best value (and the fewest seats) at the prized 100,000-mile rate. But here’s just one example that we found after mere minutes spent searching, from Melbourne to San Francisco:

Interestingly, on this date, a multi-city hop from Melbourne to San Francisco via Los Angeles needed no more miles than Melbourne-San Francisco direct. Sure, there’s around $5 (USD) more to pay in tax. But for the price of a cup of coffee, you can get an entire day in LA for any meetings (or sightseeing), while still getting to San Fran in style. When you need to tackle two cities on the one trip, that’s just smart business.

You can also use the ‘flexible dates’ option when searching on the United website. This loads a month-by-month calendar, unearthing the best mileage rates for your chosen route and cabin. You’ll even see those lowest rates highlighted in green, so keep your eyes peeled.

United Premium Plus

Psst: there are scores of United premium economy reward seats available between Australia and the US. And unlike business class, the rates don’t tend to vary as much. We often spot reward flights on routes like Sydney-LA between 70,000 and 77,000 United miles, one-way. Unlike those top-value business class bookings, this isn’t the ‘needle in the haystack’. It’s just the norm. Here’s why.

In economy and business class, MileagePlus members compete with travellers spending points from many other frequent flyer programs. But in premium economy, there’s little competition. Most partner airlines simply can’t book these seats with miles – and that’s an opportunity for MileagePlus members.

Sure, you might want a flatbed. But on a day where premium economy is 70,000 miles, and business class is 300,000 miles, is that still the case? It’s always good to have options – and to know when to use them.

Reward flights on Star Alliance partners, and Virgin Australia

While United doesn’t formally publish reward rates, we’ve noticed a few patterns. Here are some of the reward options we’ve observed with consistency:

• Air Canada Signature Class (business class): Australia to Vancouver for 110,000 miles + $110.17, one-way. (Cash price of a Brisbane departure).
• ANA business class: Sydney to Tokyo for 90,000 miles + $101.28, one-way.
• Multiple airlines to Europe: Sydney to Paris for 140,000 miles + tax (e.g. $109.92 on Thai Airways), one-way.
• Singapore Airlines business class: Darwin to Singapore for 65,000 miles + $146.22, one-way. (You won’t find this option from the likes of Sydney or Melbourne though, as Singapore Airlines withholds seats on those aircraft types from many of its partners, like United).

As for travel on Virgin Australia, connections to and from international flights bring the best value. Need to fly Sydney-Bangkok on Thai Airways, on a day when there’s only a seat from Melbourne? Easy. United’s systems can weave a Sydney-Melbourne Virgin Australia flight into your plans, and stitch it onto that Melbourne-Bangkok flight to get you there, all on the one ticket. Usually, without asking for any more miles than you’d have spent to fly direct. Even on days where direct flights are open, you’ll still have that extra option, if it’s available.

Hot tips with United MileagePlus

Get the most out of United’s loyalty program by keeping these points in mind.

• • There’s no lounge access on US domestic-only itineraries. Yes, even if you’ve booked ‘First Class’ on that domestic sector. It’s a standard policy in the US, and one adopted by United’s competitors, too. But if your domestic leg connects to or from an international flight, the doors glide open.
  • Scope out reward rates and availability before you transfer from PayRewards. There are often multiple ways to reserve the same flight using points. Check all your options before you transfer and book, to get the best value every time. Sometimes, you’ll also find seats open for booking via one program, but not through another. That hunt is all part of the game.
  • You don’t need a MileagePlus account to search for reward flights. Just tick ‘book with miles’ when searching on com. You can ignore the (optional) prompts to login, and it’ll take you straight to the flight results.
  • There are no carrier charges on United. Some airlines adds hundreds of dollars (or more…) onto the cash amount payable when you fly using miles. United, fortunately, isn’t one of those airlines. When you book United flights using United miles, you only pay the genuine airport fees and government taxes.
  • United miles don’t expire. As long as your account is in good standing, there’s no ticking clock on your well-earned balance. If you’re looking to use up a relatively small pool of miles, though, booking a Virgin Australia domestic flight can be good for this. But if that’s your goal from the start, Velocity is likely a better match.
  • Need even more United miles? There’s no limit to the number of PayRewards Points you can convert to MileagePlus. But if you need even more miles, a credit card could help. Transfer points to MileagePlus from CommBank Awards at a 3.5:1 rate, from Virgin Money Rewards at a 3:1 rate, or from Star Alliance Rewards (from the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card) at a 1.25:1 rate. United also sells top-up miles direct to customers – often, with a discount or bonus attached.

Written by Fabian Andreou

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