How to redeem a gift card for United MileagePlus miles
‘Tis the season for giving—and that includes gift cards. Unfortunately, you may have already received some gift card for those holidays you’re not so excited about. If so, we have some good news: You can turn those unwanted gift cards into United MileagePlus miles through United’s MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange. Here’s how it works.
Related: Which credit card should you use to buy gift cards?
Which gift cards qualify for United miles?
above Landing page MileagePlus Gift Card ExchangeThere will be a link to the “Gift Card Retailer List” below. The list currently includes more than 30 retailers, such as Best Buy, Sears, Starbucks and Walmart.
Note, however, that some of the sellers on this list may not actually be willing to trade on the site. There are also a number of merchants available for exchange that are not on the list, including The North Face and HP.
Related: Flights, credit cards and more: How to earn miles with the United MileagePlus program
Is it worth redeeming a gift card?
United has a chart that lists “Minimum Award Miles Awarded,” which would make you think that some options offer more miles than this price. But we tested dozens of different sellers, and the mileage offer was the same for each one.
Despite the chart, you’re not limited to $25, $50, and $100 gift cards. According to the homepage, you can redeem gift cards with a minimum balance of at least $15. However, there are higher minimum balances for some merchants, such as $50 at The North Face. If your balance is too low, a red box with the minimum balance will pop up when you click “Get Mileage Offer”.
From what we can gather, the miles provided are the gift card value multiplied by 26.6, rounded to the nearest 10 miles. This ranges from 3.70 to 3.76 cents per mile, depending on how much you’re trading. For example:
- $15 gift card equals 400 miles (3.75 cents per mile)
- $20 gift card equals 540 miles (3.70 cents per mile)
- $25 gift card equals 670 miles (3.73 cents per mile)
- $30 gift card equals 800 miles (3.75 cents per mile)
- $40 gift card equals 1,070 miles (3.74 cents per mile)
- $50 gift card equals 1,330 miles (3.76 cents per mile)
- $100 gift card equals 2,660 miles (3.76 cents per mile)
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This rate is much higher than TPG’s December 2024 valuation is 1.35 cents per United mile, meaning you’re not getting good value from your gift card. However, if you want miles more than gift cards, this can be a useful way to reduce them.
Other than that, at least United are looking consistent. When United is not operating Buy promotional milesYou can purchase United miles for $35 per 1,000 United miles. After taxes and fees, this comes to 3.76 cents per mile.
Related: Best credit cards for buying points and miles
Restrictions on gift card exchanges
To sell gift cards through MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange, your MileagePlus account must be open at least 90 days and have a positive account balance. This means you cannot redeem a gift card for miles if there are no miles in your account.
But if your account is empty, don’t worry: There are some easy ways to earn United miles without flying, such as through MileagePlus shopping portal or MileagePlus dining program.
While the site can give you a quote for a $10 gift card at some merchants, the terms and conditions state that “accepted gift cards must have a minimum balance of $15 on the card and maximums may apply”. It appears that the exchange will only accept gift cards up to $100.
If you decide to sell gift cards through MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange, the miles will arrive in your United account within five business days.
Related: How to use points and miles to give gifts without paying for them yourself
Bottom line
While you won’t get the best value from redeeming a gift card for United miles, it’s nice to have the option to exchange unwanted gift cards for something more useful. The MileagePlus Gift Card exchange can be helpful if you need United miles for an upcoming reward, dig it out Bilt Rewards Point and Chasing the ultimate reward points and are in possession of a qualifying gift card. If your only other option is to buy United miles, you can also liquidate a gift card — especially if it’s a card you won’t be using anytime soon.
On the other hand, if you don’t intend to redeem for United, you should check out another gift card exchange program online (such as CardCash) can bring you a better price.
