Redeem Your Wacky Gift Cards for United Airlines Miles
Got another $ 50 for a cheesecake factory this holiday season? Here’s how to trade it for something you can actually use. As part of the MileagePlus Gift Card redemption program, United Airlines offers to buy you unwanted gift cards and redeem them for valid award miles through the airline.
Yes, this is a real program. United will buy gift cards from many of the big retailers like Best Buy, Starbucks, and Walmart, and those you’ll probably never spend at places like Hot Topic, Cracker Barrel, and Yankee Candle – basically any of these gift cards sold in grocery stores. store aisles for people who had no idea what to get you. United will even accept any gift cards for other airlines like American or Southwest.
Redeeming your crappy gift cards for United is pretty easy. If you have not already done so, you will also need to create a MileagePlus account with the airline and fill out an online form with your contact details. Once approved, the account must be active for at least 90 days in order for you to redeem your gift cards, which means you have to sit and wait before claiming your miles. If you already have an account, the process will only take a few minutes.
Then, find the retailer for your gift card on the United website to make sure they actually accept it. Assuming they do so, enter the value of your gift card on United’s website and United then converts that amount into award miles. (Don’t worry – you can preview this number before accepting it, in case you decide to revise.)
Of course, before accepting an offer, you need to understand that conversion rates may not work in your favor. As JT Genter of the Points Guy recently pointed out , at exchange rates, gift cards are typically 26.6 times your balance. In other words, a $ 50 gift card can earn you roughly 1,330 miles. (You will likely need several thousand miles to cover the cost of a one-way ticket.)
However, as Genter writes, if you have a gift card that you might never use or are too embarrassed to give back, you can also use it to earn a few miles. And if you don’t feel like cutting down on your flight costs isn’t worth it, here’s our guide to making the most of your holiday gift cards when you don’t have options.