October 30, 2024: If you want to earn MileagePlus miles for your spending, often the best card to use isn’t a United credit card. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be transferred to United, often you’ll earn more rewards using an Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card and transferring your points to United.
If you want to earn the most possible United MileagePlus miles for your credit card spending, follow our recommendations below.
Here’s our guide to earning the most MileagePlus miles with your credit card spending.
In this article…
Chase Ultimate Rewards: The key to earning more MileagePlus miles
The key to earning the most United MileagePlus miles on all of your purchases is considering how many points you could earn with both United credit cards and cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is the rewards program on many Chase credit cards. It is a transferrable points currency that can be redeemed for cash back, used to book travel, or transferred to an airline partner like United.
In order to transfer your Chase points to United, you’ll need a premium Ultimate Rewards® credit card. This means holding either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Having any one of these cards will enable you to transfer your points earned on any Ultimate Rewards card to United.
If your objective is to earn United Mileage Plus miles, you’ll earn many more points if you are invested in the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem.
Best cards to use to earn United Miles in every spending category
Here’s our list of the best cards to use if your objective is to earn United Miles across every bonus category.
United Airlines flights: Earn the most when booking through Chase Travel℠
You’ll earn the most points on your United Airlines tickets if you book through Chase Travel℠ using these cards for premium travel protection and 5x Ultimate Rewards:
5x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Freedom Flex® | Ultimate Rewards |
However, booking through Chase Travel℠ means you’ll need to go through them if things go wrong. If you prefer to book directly on United.com, use one of the following cards:
4x | United Club℠ Infinite Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
3x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | United Quest℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | Any other United Airlines credit card | MileagePlus Miles |
Dining: Earn 3x with personal Ultimate Rewards® cards
By far, the most lucrative rewards on dining will be with using the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and its 10x total points on Chase Dining purchases with Ultimate Rewards®. But for dining at restaurants, here’s what each card earns:
3x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | Chase Freedom Flex® | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x* | Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards |
*Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.
Hotel stays: Up to 10x if booking through Chase
Bookings through Chase Travel℠. If your objective is to earn the must Chase and United points, booking a hotel through Chase Travel℠ with the right card is the way to go. However, if you book your hotel stay this way, you’ll usually give up any points and benefits associated with the hotel’s loyalty program. If you’re booking through Chase Travel, here are the cards to use:
10x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Ultimate Rewards | |
5x | Chase Freedom Flex® | Ultimate Rewards |
Booking and paying at the hotel: If you’re booking a directly or through another online travel agency and paying at the hotel, here are the best cards to use to earn Ultimate Rewards and MileagePlus miles.
3x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x* | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | United℠ Explorer Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | United Quest℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | United Club℠ Infinite Card | MileagePlus Miles |
*Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on shipping; advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines; internet, cable, and phone services; and travel.
Other travel: Up to 3x on most other travel purchases
Chase’s travel category includes a wide range of sub-categories including airlines, accommodations, travel agencies, transit and more. Here are the best cards to earn Ultimate Rewards® and MileagePlus miles on general travel purchases:
3x | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x* | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | United Quest℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | United Club℠ Infinite Card | MileagePlus Miles |
*Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on shipping; advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines; internet, cable, and phone services; and travel.
Gas stations: Use the Ink Business Cash® for 2x Ultimate Rewards
The most you’ll earn on gas is 2x, so it might be worth choosing a better card for gas, but if you want points that can become MileagePlus miles, here are the best options:
2x* | Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | United℠ Business Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | United Gateway℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles |
*On the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.
Office supply stores: Up to 5x with the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
If you are purchasing from office supply stores, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card will earn you the most of your purchases. No other card comes close.
5x* | Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | United℠ Business Card | MileagePlus Miles |
*On the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
Local transit and commuting: A subset of travel with 3x rewards
Chase’s local transit and commuting category is a subset of its travel category, but it adds rideshare. We’ve included both cards that offer rewards specifically on local transit and commuting and general travel below.
3x* | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x* | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x* | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
2x | United Gateway℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x | United℠ Business Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x* | United Club℠ Infinite Card | MileagePlus Miles | |
2x* | United Quest℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles |
*Does not include general rideshare purchases in this category
Select streaming services: Earn up to 3x miles or points
Chase’s list of select streaming services includes the most popular streaming services in the U.S. Two cards earn better than base rewards for streaming. We’d recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card because of its flexibility.
3x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards | |
3x | United Quest℠ Card | MileagePlus Miles |
Online grocery: 3x with Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If you shop for groceries online, you can earn 3x points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. No other Ultimate Rewards® or United MileagePlus card offers this category.
3x | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Ultimate Rewards |
Other purchases: Earn 1.5x Ultimate Rewards® points with Unlimited cards
For all of your other purchases, you’ll want to earn Ultimate Rewards and transfer them to United MileagePlus.
1.5x | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Ultimate Rewards | |
1.5x | Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card | Ultimate Rewards |
Bottom line: Ultimate Rewards® cards can often get you more miles
Airline credit cards are rarely the best credit cards to use for general spending—other cards earn more, even if your objective is to earn airline miles. If you want to earn MileagePlus miles, your best bet is to also have several cards in the Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem and learn how to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to United.