Register now for United’s latest Mile Play promotion

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

United has launched a new round of Mile Play promotions, which award bonus miles to targeted members after they complete specific tasks. Now’s a good time to check to see if you are eligible and then register — even if you aren’t sure about your upcoming travel plans.

Several TPG staff members have received targeted offers. Their offers are for trips booked and flown from when they register for their Mile Play offer through March 10. Unless otherwise noted in your offer’s terms, only paid flights marketed and operated by United and United Express will count toward Mile Play offers.

To see if you’re eligible and to register, click here and enter your MileagePlus number.

Examples of offers

As is normal with these promotions, the offers range widely from one member to another. And United may not have targeted some members for this promotion. We checked around the TPG team; here’s a look at some of the offers we found.

I’m currently a Premier 1K elite member and received an offer for 5,000 bonus award miles after I book and take two trips in a premium seat. The minimum fare for each trip to be eligible is $200. Based on TPG’s current valuations, 5,000 MileagePlus miles are worth about $60.

TPG’s Katie Genter received an offer for 11,000 miles after booking and taking three trips, each with a fare of at least $150. Based on TPG’s valuations, 11,000 United miles are worth about $133. For reference, Katie holds United Premier Silver status through United’s RewardsPlus partnership with Marriott.

TPG’s Melissa Klurman got an offer for 4,500 bonus award miles if she books and takes two trips during this promotion. To be eligible, she must purchase and fly two fares costing at least $100 each.

TPG’s Matt Moffitt got an offer for 3,000 bonus award miles if he books and takes just one trip with United during this promotion. The minimum fare for his trip to qualify is $100, making this a pretty nice offer for Matt.

TPG’s Scott Mayerowitz — who has United Premier Silver status through United’s RewardsPlus partnership with Marriott and flew five premium cabin segments on United last year — got an offer for 5,000 bonus award miles if he books and takes one trip in a premium seat with a fare of at least $550.

As a newly minted United Premium Silver member, TPG’s Erica Silverstein got an offer for 12,000 bonus award miles after booking and taking two trips. Each fare must be at least $200 to qualify for her Mile Play offer. But, 12,000 United miles are worth about $145 according to TPG’s latest valuations.

Finally, TPG’s Brian Kelly — who has United Premier 1K elite status — got an offer for 5,700 bonus award miles if he books and takes three trips with fares of at least $100 each during this promotion.

In addition to the offers above, other TPG staffers and their loved ones received the following offers:

6,600 bonus miles after you book and take two trips, each with a $275 or more fare.
5,400 bonus miles after you book and take two trips, each with a $150 or more fare.
4,500 bonus miles after you book and take two trips, each with a $100 or more fare.
5,900 bonus miles after you book and take three trips, each with a $275 or more fare.
5,000 bonus miles after you book and take three trips, each with a $300 or more fare.
11,000 bonus miles after you book and take four trips, each with a $175 or more fare.

Best cards to use for United flights

Whether you were targeted for this promotion or not, you can earn a ton of bonus United miles by opening a new United credit card. Currently, there are several sweet offers:

United Explorer Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
United Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
United Quest Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
United Club Infinite Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. The annual fee on this card is $525, but the United Club membership with this card may provide enough value to justify this annual fee.

Although United credit cards can help you stock up on United miles, you may earn more rewards when you book with one of the best cards for airfare purchases. For example, The Platinum Card® from American Express earns 5 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year).

Bottom line

Even if you don’t have any upcoming travel planned with United, it’s worth registering and then considering whether it’s time to plan a trip. If you have any flights booked that are fully refundable — with United or other airlines — you should consider whether your Mile Play offer is compelling enough for you to cancel and rebook with United.

Additional reporting by Benji Stawski and Katie Genter.