Originally Posted by
shirts6
We had 3 family members fly to China awhile back, so we all have at least 25,000 miles in our accounts. Trouble is, we just don't fly United much. What is the best use of these miles? Can I transfer them into something else?
25,000 miles gives a saver (capacity controlled) ticket within the US and Canada.
UA's web site will show you what is available from UA, but you have to call if you want to try to redeem on non-UA Star Alliance airlines (e.g. Air Canada, US Airways).
Hint: Air Canada and US Airways do allow you to search award inventory even if you do not have an account. You can find out which flights are available at 25,000 mile awards for their own frequent flyer members. Those available for UA miles will be a subset of those flights. I.e. not all of them will be available for UA miles, but you'll know where to start when you get on the phone to UA reservations.
From my most recent experience redeeming miles, Air Canada's availability tends to be better than UA's availability, while US Airways' availability tends to be worse.