Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: AKL
Programs: A3, AA, AF, AS, BA, SQ, UA, US, IHG, SPG
Posts: 352
2 ways of exchanging miles
There are essentially 2 ways of exchanging/trading miles on Points.com:
1. Exchanging miles/points for FREE
You register your accounts of the programs available on Points.com (eg AA Advantage, Delta Skymiles, IHG Priority Club..) and you swap from one to another, usually at a "not fair" ratio, say 100 AA miles get you 25 Priority Rewards points.
Some programs can be traded both ways - in and out, some only one-way (eg, you can't trade away your DL miles for something else)
This is good if you have unwanted orphan accounts and you can effectively close them buy swapping the points/miles to the ones you actually use and keep.
2. Exchanging miles/points for a fee on GPX
Points.com has a section called GPX, where traders post their desired trade ratio and programs. Some programs like Continental Onepass is only available for trade on GPX.
I think 1c/mile is a fair transfer cost, on par with what the most airlines charge. The difference is that you can trade miles from one airline to another - say 1K DL for 1K CO.
I've used both sections and I think Points.com is useful when the situation/need is right. As far as the OP is concerned, United is not a participant on Points.com, therefore the OP can't trade AA miles for UA miles.
Hope this helps.