10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
United Airlines is one of the Big 3 airlines in the United States and a founding member of Star Alliance. It has hubs in seven major cities, including Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington D.C. Dulles (IAD), plus a Pacific hub in Guam (GUM). From these hubs, United Airlines operates thousands of flights per day within the U.S. and internationally. So, if you plan on flying out of one of these hubs in the future, there’s a good chance your flight will be on United Airlines.
On long-haul international flights and certain transcontinental domestic flights, United’s premium-economy product, United Premium Plus, includes improved amenities over economy-class service. These added amenities include priority services at the airport, bigger and wider seats, an amenity kit, complimentary beverages, a gourmet in-flight meal and more.
Of course, United premium-economy seats have much higher cash prices than economy seats. So, if you want to fly in United Premium Plus without spending a lot, you can book these premium-economy tickets with points and miles.
In this article, we’ll explore the best ways to book United Premium Plus award flights with points and miles. Plus, we’ll briefly explain what to expect when flying in United’s premium-economy cabin.
What to Expect in United Airlines Premium-Economy Class
United Airlines generally only offers United Premium Plus service on long-haul international and transcontinental North American flights, which are only operated using select aircraft types. The following table includes the aircraft that offer United Premium Plus service as well as some specifications about the premium-economy cabin on each one:
| Aircraft type | Number of United Premium Plus seats | Seat configuration | Seat pitch | Seat recline | Seat width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 767-300ER (Version 1) | 22 | 2-2-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 18.5 inches |
| Boeing 767-300ER (Version 2) | 24 | 2-2-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
| Boeing 767-400ER | 24 | 2-2-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
| Boeing 777-200 (Version 1 only) | 24 | 2-4-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 18.5 inches |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 24 | 2-4-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 18.5 inches |
| Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner | 21 | 2-3-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
| Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Version 1) | 21 | 2-3-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
| Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Version 2) | 35 | 2-3-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
| Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner | 21 | 2-3-2 | 38 inches | 6 inches | 19 inches |
Regardless of the aircraft type, all United Premium Plus seats have at least a 13-inch in-flight entertainment system, giving you access to United Private Screening, a collection of movies and TV shows from United’s entertainment partners. There’s also a selection of audio entertainment available, including podcasts and music.
Each seat is also equipped with a USB port and a power outlet, so you can ensure that your devices remain charged throughout your flight. United Wi-Fi is available on most flights for an additional charge.
All passengers flying in United Premium Plus will receive an amenity kit upon boarding their flight with hand cream, lip balm, earplugs, an eye mark, tissues, a pen and more.
In addition to the amenity kits, premium-economy passengers on all United flights will receive a blanket and noise-reducing headphones to use throughout the duration of the flight.
Of course, one of the best things about flying in United Premium Plus class is access to complimentary food and beverages. Passengers in United’s premium-economy cabin will receive a complimentary meal consisting of bread, salad, a main course and dessert. Plus, you’ll also have complimentary access to house beer and wine, spirits and liqueurs, soft drinks, juices, tea, freshly brewed illy Dark Roast coffee and illy Cold Brew Classico. You’ll also receive a free prearrival meal before you land.
Passengers ticketed in United Premium Plus will also receive priority services at the airport, including a dedicated priority check-in desk, priority boarding, an exclusive security lane and priority baggage handling.
Finally, United Premium Plus passengers are allowed two checked bags (up to 50 pounds each) as well as a carry-on bag and a personal item.
Best Programs for Booking United Airlines Premium-Economy Class
United Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, which means you can often book United-operated award flights through Star Alliance partner frequent flyer programs such as Avianca LifeMiles or Air Canada Aeroplan. However, while you can book United economy- and business-class awards through these programs, United Airlines doesn’t release premium-economy award space to partner programs.
So, if you want to book a United Airlines premium-economy award flight, the only way to do so is through United’s own MileagePlus program or through a credit card travel booking portal. Unfortunately, neither of these redemption methods offers very good value per point.
United MileagePlus
Of course, United Premium Plus awards can be booked through United’s own MileagePlus program. However, since the MileagePlus program uses a dynamic pricing model to price United-operated award flights, it’s very hard to find United-operated awards through this program that offer much more than 1 cent per mile.
For example, we found a round-trip United premium-economy award between Newark (EWR) and Barcelona (BCN) for 190,000 miles and about $48 in taxes and fees.
If you were to book these same award flights with cash instead of miles through the United Airlines website, they would cost you about $2,187.
So, accounting for the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 1.1 cents per mile, which isn’t very impressive. However, this is still more value than you’d most likely get if you booked these same flights with points through a credit card travel booking portal.
The United MileagePlus program is a 1:1 transfer of two major U.S. credit card rewards programs: Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. If you have a credit card from either of these issuers, it’s fairly easy to earn MileagePlus miles.
Another effective way to earn MileagePlus miles is by signing up for one of United’s co-branded credit cards, such as the United Club℠ Infinite Card or United℠ Explorer Card, which is an option worth looking into if you fly on United often.
Earn up to 60,000
bonus miles
after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual Fee: $0 for your first year, then $150.
Credit Card Travel Portals
Aside from booking through the United MileagePlus program, the only other way to book United Airlines premium-economy awards with points is through credit card travel booking portals. If you have a Bilt or Chase credit card, you can typically get slightly more value per point by transferring your points to United MileagePlus and then making your redemption through that program.
However, if you have a credit card from a different issuer, then your only option for redeeming those points for United premium-economy flights is through your credit card travel booking portal.
For example, we used Capital One’s travel booking site and found a round-trip United Premium Plus itinerary between Newark (EWR) and Delhi (DEL) for 296,169 Capital One miles.
As you can see, you could also book this same flight itinerary with cash for $2,962, which means that this redemption would give you a value of 1 cent per mile. This is the same value you’ll get on every award flight redemption through Capital One’s travel booking site.
It’s worth noting that you can get considerably more value out of your Capital One miles (as well as all other types of credit card points) by redeeming them through transfer partners. So, in most cases, we recommend saving your credit card points for high-value redemptions through transfer partners instead of using them to book travel through your credit card‘s travel booking portal.
Nonetheless, if you’re set on booking a United premium-economy award with points or miles and you don’t have a credit card from Bilt or Chase, your only option for doing so is through your credit card’s travel booking portal.
The Bottom Line
United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world, known for its extensive route network and high level of customer service. United’s route network includes many long-haul routes to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. On these long-haul routes, it may be worth booking United Premium Plus, United’s premium-economy product.
United Airlines was ranked as the 18th-best premium-economy airline in the world, according to a 2025 Skytrax ranking. When flying in United Premium Plus, you’ll enjoy premium amenities such as complimentary in-flight dining and beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), an amenity kit containing self-care products, a 13-inch or 16-inch in-flight entertainment system, priority services at the airport and more.
Since United doesn’t offer premium-economy award space through partner frequent flyer programs, the only ways to book United Premium Plus awards with points and miles are through United MileagePlus (which is a 1:1 transfer partner of Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards) and through your credit card’s travel booking portal.
Neither of these booking methods offers much more than 1 cent per point. So, generally, using your points or miles for United premium-economy awards isn’t a great idea.
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after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
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Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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