Can I transfer United miles?

Transferring your United Airlines miles to another person is quick and comfortable, but there are a few gimmicks. Transfer fees can be expensive, and you can only transfer miles to another MileagePlus member. Use your miles to book a flight for the recipient who doesn’t have MileagePlus membership to avoid the transfer fees. If you want to transfer your miles to points with partner programs, sign up for a program with a good conversion ratio. Converting partnered points and miles is a great way to score deals on vacation packages and earn extra rewards.

Ways to transfer United Miles:

• Transferring Miles to another person

Visit the “MileagePlus” website and login to your account. Click on “Buy or transfer miles” and select “Transfer miles to another person” as the next option. Select the number of miles you want to transfer and provide the recipient’s details like name, MileagePlus number, and email address. Verify the fees you will pay and click “Continue” to proceed with your transfer.

            Here’s how much it costs to transfer United miles:

• Transaction Fee: $30 per transfer.
• Mileage Fee: $7.50 per 500 miles (1.5 cents each)
• Mile Value: Around 1.4 cents each. So it will cost you more to transfer miles than the miles are worth. 
• Miles Expiration: 18 months from the last transaction on your MileagePlus account. You must earn, redeem or transfer United miles to reset the clock.

             Other rules for transferring United miles:

• You can transfer up to 100,000 miles per calendar year from one account
• Transfers may take up to 48 hours to complete and payments done are not refundable

• Booking a Flight for Someone Else

You can book a flight for the recipient who doesn’t have MileagePlus membership to avoid the transfer fees using your United miles. You need to login to your “MileagePlus” account and select “Search for award travel” when you look for flights that will list the flights in miles instead of dollars. Provide the necessary details of the recipient which should match the recipient’s passport. Book the flight and send the person their itinerary.

• Converting Miles to Reward Points

Sign up for a rewards program with a United Airline partner like Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, and other hotels. In addition to earning extra miles by staying at a partner hotel, you can exchange hotel points and miles at varying ratios. You can't convert points and miles through the MileagePlus website. In order to make transfers between points and miles, log into your account with the rewards program that partners with United. After that, membership links your account with both programs where you can transfer miles to points and convert points to miles. Choose the desired option you want and enter the amount you want to transfer and click “Submit”.

Takeaway:

Ultimately, when determining the best way to transfer United miles, there are few options, which are discussed above. Pick the one that is most valuable and suitable for you.