Jul 1, 2013, 7:10 am
Last edit by: wannabe_plat
If you want to keep all your existing miles, and thus want some new miles to post quickly and reliably, here are some ways, from cheapest to most expensive:
- Take a survey at opinionmilesclub.com - not sure how long this takes to post.
- If you have a United credit card, downgrade it to the no fee version that gives 1 mile/$2 and use it every so often. Will help with aging as well which is good for your credit score.
- Buy a $5 giftcard (to Amazon or a local store) using the MileagePlusX app - miles post within seconds of making payment.
- Dining option still works (as of May 22, 2014). Posted to United in about 3 weeks after activity. I think it is one of the easiest options. No need to even take survey if you dont want extra survey points. I didn't do it.
- Buy a gift card and trade it to United for miles. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21020349-post702.html for an example that cost $15, and resulted in miles posting in under 24 hours. If you are not a U.S. resident, then buy an acceptable gift card on eBay and ask seller to email you the gift card number and pin. The gift card can be purchased with anyone's credit card (or cash) and applied to anyone's M+ number (name on credit card and M+ account need not match). It is not known if e-gift cards work. Physical gift cards known to work are:
- Buy miles directly from United. http://www.ualmiles.com/PersonalMile...Personal+Miles. The minimum purchase is about $75.
- Buy a ticket on united.com, and once it tickets, purchase award maximizer. Look for a flight with a short distance, such as COS/DEN to keep the award maximizer cost low. Miles will post in under 24 hours. Cancel ticket within 24 hours to get a full refund.
2013 Update: Ref, Ref
This seems to be the simplest way to do it for low cost, without much running around or waiting or donating miles.
- Bought an IAH > Austin ticket for 69/79 $.
- Went back in to change/ modify ticket reservation and then Award Acc was offered - 500 miles for 17$. Bought it.
- Miles posted in few hours. Cancelled the ticket. Refund to Visa card pending.
Note: Buy any low cost short distance ticket, go back in and buy award accelerator and then cancel in 24 hr after award miles post.
- Magazine subscriptions
- Charitable giving
- Mileage Purchases -- generally a poor use of miles
- Reinstatement Miles for a fee -- if the expiration is as recent as 18 months ago, for roughly 0.2 to 0.3cpm
- Find a recent (last 12 months typically) hotel stay or rental car credit that has not yet been posted. If the date was prior to expiration that should reinstate the expired miles.
Consolidated "How to Keep/Refresh Expiring Miles" Thread [ARCHIVE]
Dec 4, 2007, 7:40 am
#76
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 737
Hi I'm a refugee from other boards far afield here on FT. Thanks for this thread, I've had this nagging feeling that I needed to do something by 12/31 to prevent my tiny (sub 5k) UA balance from disappearing. I know it's not much but I hate losing miles.
I also learned here that my UA flight number on a USair metal flight last month which I thought would save me didn't do anything for me. Moral: read FT **first** and then make travel plans. Especially when you're a program-newbie.
Anyways, thanks. And in hopes of giving back to the thread I signed up for one of the cheaper hartwick and grove wine of the month clubs for a 2500 mile bonus and 25 miles per dollar. That wine store is kind of poor - very run of the mill CA wines with no french wines at all - and I normally wouldn't shop with them (I order wine online often) but that bonus is sweet enought that it's actually close to a good deal if you need a few miles.
Didn't see that 2500 mile bonus posted in the thread, worth looking into. If the selections are good I'll keep it, if not I'll just cancel when the first batch posts.
I also learned here that my UA flight number on a USair metal flight last month which I thought would save me didn't do anything for me. Moral: read FT **first** and then make travel plans. Especially when you're a program-newbie.
Anyways, thanks. And in hopes of giving back to the thread I signed up for one of the cheaper hartwick and grove wine of the month clubs for a 2500 mile bonus and 25 miles per dollar. That wine store is kind of poor - very run of the mill CA wines with no french wines at all - and I normally wouldn't shop with them (I order wine online often) but that bonus is sweet enought that it's actually close to a good deal if you need a few miles.
Didn't see that 2500 mile bonus posted in the thread, worth looking into. If the selections are good I'll keep it, if not I'll just cancel when the first batch posts.
Dec 10, 2007, 4:39 pm
#77
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 252
How long to post for Hilton or Mileage Plus Mall?
1) How many days typically does it take miles to post to a UA account after a Hilton stay ?
2) How many days typically does it take miles to post to a UA account after a Mileage Plus Mall purchase ?
2) How many days typically does it take miles to post to a UA account after a Mileage Plus Mall purchase ?
Dec 13, 2007, 12:10 am
#78
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AA,DL,BA,UA,SPG, and any other free trip!
Posts: 1,803
Heres an Idea
I have 127K miles that expire on Dec 31st 2007. Any ideas on how to keep them alive. I do not have any UA credit cards. I have thought about buying 1,000 miles from their website but if there is a cheaper way I would prefer not to have to spend $60 for 1,000 miles. Any ideas?
Im in the same boat as you friend. Heres what I did....I called MP and got some Indian operator (not surprised)...and he told me to call after I have made my purchase from the MP Mall to have the miles reinstated since i made my purchase for miles BEFORE the expiration date of 12/31/07. We will see how it goes.
I made a purchase at Nordstroms.com thru the Mileage PLUS Mall to keep the miles alive ( I will return the item once the miles posted)
Dec 13, 2007, 7:21 am
#79
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, etc.
Posts: 4,210
I have purchased several items through mileage Plus mall over the last 3 weeks. No miles have posted for any of these purchases. If my miles are currently set to expire Dec. 31, do I lose them if the mall purchase miles don't post by then? Or does United have some way of accounting for that there has been some activity on my account even though the miles have not been credited yet?
And what type of purchases, redemptions (small increments, say less than 2000 miles) are known to post quickly (within a few days) consistently?
And what type of purchases, redemptions (small increments, say less than 2000 miles) are known to post quickly (within a few days) consistently?
Dec 16, 2007, 8:46 am
#80
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,210
Apologies for hijacking this thread - I find myself perilously close to losing a not insignificant balance of my mileage account on 31st December. I assume the lifetime miles I hold will still be safe though.
As a precautionary measure, I flew on a paid ticket with LH on 1 December adding my MP account number into the reservation. However, this activity has not shown up in account yet and as the days are ticking forward I feel a further measure on my part is called for to rescue the miles from oblivion, accepting the cold fact that a manual mileage credit can take up to two months to post.
The advice I received today from my local MP call centre (UK) is that I should expect to see my miles expire at the end of the month but these should be retroactively added to my account in the new year once the LH flight activity posts. As marvelous as this sounds, I hold doubts that it will happen quite so effortlessly as the agent suggested.
My preference is to live as easy a life as possible so if pushed, I have no aversion to purchasing a nominal amount of miles and chucking some cash in UAL's direction to tide the account over for a further 18 months. Of course, the LH flights alone should have sufficiently done the trick but there we go, we do not live in a perfect world.
So, what do our experts here think? Wait it out or top up now?
As a precautionary measure, I flew on a paid ticket with LH on 1 December adding my MP account number into the reservation. However, this activity has not shown up in account yet and as the days are ticking forward I feel a further measure on my part is called for to rescue the miles from oblivion, accepting the cold fact that a manual mileage credit can take up to two months to post.
The advice I received today from my local MP call centre (UK) is that I should expect to see my miles expire at the end of the month but these should be retroactively added to my account in the new year once the LH flight activity posts. As marvelous as this sounds, I hold doubts that it will happen quite so effortlessly as the agent suggested.
My preference is to live as easy a life as possible so if pushed, I have no aversion to purchasing a nominal amount of miles and chucking some cash in UAL's direction to tide the account over for a further 18 months. Of course, the LH flights alone should have sufficiently done the trick but there we go, we do not live in a perfect world.
So, what do our experts here think? Wait it out or top up now?
Dec 16, 2007, 3:12 pm
#81
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, etc.
Posts: 4,210
Apologies for hijacking this thread - I find myself perilously close to losing a not insignificant balance of my mileage account on 31st December. I assume the lifetime miles I hold will still be safe though.
As a precautionary measure, I flew on a paid ticket with LH on 1 December adding my MP account number into the reservation. However, this activity has not shown up in account yet and as the days are ticking forward I feel a further measure on my part is called for to rescue the miles from oblivion, accepting the cold fact that a manual mileage credit can take up to two months to post.
The advice I received today from my local MP call centre (UK) is that I should expect to see my miles expire at the end of the month but these should be retroactively added to my account in the new year once the LH flight activity posts. As marvelous as this sounds, I hold doubts that it will happen quite so effortlessly as the agent suggested.
My preference is to live as easy a life as possible so if pushed, I have no aversion to purchasing a nominal amount of miles and chucking some cash in UAL's direction to tide the account over for a further 18 months. Of course, the LH flights alone should have sufficiently done the trick but there we go, we do not live in a perfect world.
So, what do our experts here think? Wait it out or top up now?
As a precautionary measure, I flew on a paid ticket with LH on 1 December adding my MP account number into the reservation. However, this activity has not shown up in account yet and as the days are ticking forward I feel a further measure on my part is called for to rescue the miles from oblivion, accepting the cold fact that a manual mileage credit can take up to two months to post.
The advice I received today from my local MP call centre (UK) is that I should expect to see my miles expire at the end of the month but these should be retroactively added to my account in the new year once the LH flight activity posts. As marvelous as this sounds, I hold doubts that it will happen quite so effortlessly as the agent suggested.
My preference is to live as easy a life as possible so if pushed, I have no aversion to purchasing a nominal amount of miles and chucking some cash in UAL's direction to tide the account over for a further 18 months. Of course, the LH flights alone should have sufficiently done the trick but there we go, we do not live in a perfect world.
So, what do our experts here think? Wait it out or top up now?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=767885
Dec 17, 2007, 10:58 pm
#82
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: MEXICO
Programs: CO GOLD
Posts: 187
IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH? Or will my miles expire before the activity posts to my account?
Dec 18, 2007, 4:56 pm
#83
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: MEXICO
Programs: CO GOLD
Posts: 187
Partially answering my own question: 250 miles for signing up for the frequent dining program posted in less than a week. My miles now exire June 30, 2009! WHEW!!!
Dec 18, 2007, 5:29 pm
#84
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Chicago Illinois
Programs: 1MM UA
Posts: 1,753
Was it round trip? Was the mileage plus number on the boarding pass?
Just check you didn't get some other miles, like LH miles.
Dec 19, 2007, 8:07 am
#85
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: British Airways Executive Club, United Mileage Plus & bmi Diamond Club
Posts: 1,427
Hi, my family has 5 accounts each with 12278 miles which all start to expire in Feb 08 thank to the new 18months policy. We live in the UK, & would welcome a saver award trip to Seattle or Moline (50,000 miles saver award). But paying to transfer miles costs almost as much as a return flight anyway. AND...our prefered award dates have already become unavailable. What do I do??!
Dec 19, 2007, 1:50 pm
#86
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,210
It was a round trip with my MP account number logged into the booking. I still have the BP's (conveniently bookmarking some Jeremy Clarkson paperback i'm reading at the mo), both display the LH ticket number and noted UAP in the tear off portion.
Dec 26, 2007, 5:13 am
#87
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 3
Mileage Plus Miles conversion
After South African Airways joined Star, I never used my MP account again for Star Alliance flight mileage - South African Airways Voyager being my primary FF account. I also no longer fly UA, due to their "less than stellar" overall inflight product and service levels.
There is a fair amount of miles in the account, which I would not want to go to waste. Are there any websites out there where one can actually convert United miles to other airline FF plans or hotel reward schemes? If not, I suppose I could donate the miles to charity...
Thanks
There is a fair amount of miles in the account, which I would not want to go to waste. Are there any websites out there where one can actually convert United miles to other airline FF plans or hotel reward schemes? If not, I suppose I could donate the miles to charity...
Thanks
Dec 26, 2007, 6:04 am
#88
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Imperial, CA, USA
Posts: 275
You can use the miles to get a free ticket on SAA.
Dec 26, 2007, 7:02 am
#89
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,630
Also, I am curious how many is a fair amount (roughly)?
Dec 26, 2007, 10:36 am
#90
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 3
Unfortunately, MP is kind of a "dead end" program, TONS of ways to earn and transfer IN, but not out. I (vaguely) remember there was one or two ways to convert them out, but the amount of miles lost were an obnoxious amount.
Also, I am curious how many is a fair amount (roughly)?
Also, I am curious how many is a fair amount (roughly)?
