Earning United miles without CHASE
 

Hi all,

Are there any recommended ways to earn United miles without going through Chase?

I already have the Chase United Mileage Plus, and the Sapphire Preferred. I also have a few other Chase Cards, so I feel hesitant to apply for any more at this time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

SPG though the transfer rate isn't awesome.

Wyndham Rewards. Get the card with 2x points per dollar, which transfers over to UA at a 2.5:1 ratio, or 0.8 miles per dollar.

Not the best, but better than SPG.

Your best bets are with a Chase card, either with mileage plus program cards or UR program which transfers 1:1.
I would take it easy for now and in 4-6 mths go for another round with Chase with their biz versions (United Biz card or any of the Ink Biz cards).
Most of the other programs devaluates United miles too much and should only be done if truly need the miles to get a tix and no other options open to you.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

don't forget dining programs and shopping portals.

if you only need a few miles (to refresh expiration date) then there are a few ways, including completing surveys.
But if you are looking for big miles then you pretty much have to stick with chase sign up bonuses.

There was a 25k miles for directv signup , 1-2k for dining programs, shopping portals for a few miles, etc. Oh and there was/is a wine program to earn like 2-3k miles .

+1, or by flying United (oh the horror). United's page for partner earning is here:
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...n/default.aspx

You can also buy them directly from united 3.75 cents/mile (CPM), or 2.3 CPM through award maximizer (see thread in united forum), which most people agree is not a great value unless you are buying them for a specific goal.

And, the dining program has a 3000-mile enrollment bonus going on now: http://mpdining.rewardsnetwork.com/.

For purchasing miles, a 25% bonus right now: http://www.ualmiles.com/holidaycatalog2013. Not as good a deal as the award maximizer, but better than buying at 3.5 cents per mile.

Two more ideas. At some point, consider the Chase Freedom, no fee card. There used to be more generous signup bonuses, up to 35K, but for the last year or so, the bonus has been 10K. The key here is the rolling quarterly bonus spending categories, which give you up to 7500 Ultimate Rewards points per quarter or 30K per year. You'll need to hold onto your CSP or have some other UR participating card so that you can convert your points to UR. I'd keep an eye on the bonus with this card--if you see it go up, consider jumping on it then.

An illustration of a good shopping portal deal right now is the magazines.com bonus through the United MileagePlus shopping mall. 35 miles per dollar. Get a two-year subscription to Sports Illustrated for $78 and earn about 2700 United miles.

Signup bonuses for credit cards are the highest single method of earning miles in any program, but I figure anything that can get you 500-1000 at a pop for free or 2-3K for spending a minimal amount of money is worth taking a look at. Of course, if you're just trying to extend the life of your miles, then almost anything that earns or burns miles is worth it.

Might also be able to product change an existing Chase card to the Freedom as well.

mpoints etc

Thanks everyone...these are all helpful tips!

Can you explain this? Don't all Chase cards earn points through UR? Or does the Freedom earn its own points, so then you'd transfer them to a UR Chase card?

Thanks.

The Freedom card earns points that can be turned into cash back or if you have a Chase card that otherwise earns UR (the CSP is one), you can transfer the points earned through Freedom to UR. Without a UR card, the points earned through a Freedom card stand as their own currency, cannot be transferred to UR, and end up as cash back. Next time you see an ad for the Freedom, note that there is no mention of UR--only the quarterly cash back bonuses. Chase doesn't advertise the UR option, but it's there.

As a no-fee card and with the quarterly 5X bonuses, the Freedom is a really good card for boosting earnings to UR, and in your case, eventually to UA.