A few months ago, MommyPoints posted about a new way to earn miles via a mobile app. It was still in a beta stage so I was not able to test it out but it looks like it might be available to everyone now.
The jist of this program is that you download the MileagePlusX app (available for Apple and Android), purchase an electronic gift card to a merchant that you will be doing business at, earn United miles on top of your regular credit card miles, and use this electronic gift card to make your purchase. Here is also a video that United has explaining the process.
Here are some screenshots I took of the process:
When you open up the app, you are given a list of merchants that are nearby or you can do a search if you don’t see it on the list. You can see how many miles per dollar you will earn with each merchant. When you find the merchant you want, hit pay now to be taken to the next screen.
Shows nearby merchants or you can do a search
Next you can enter in the amount you want. Each merchant will have a min and max amount to enter. Next where you see the box above “select your form of payment”, click this to select the credit card you want to pay with. This seems to have credit cards loaded of ones you have added via the United website. After you do that, select “pay now” to be taken to another screen.
This screen you can make your final decision of whether you want to make your final gift card purchase.
Her you can make your final decision to pay
After your payment, you will see how many United miles your purchase will earn you. If you are a MileagePlus credit card holder, you will get a 25% bonus.
The next screen will be taken to your gift card number where you can show your merchant to pay for your purchase. If you aren’t using your card right away or if you didn’t use the full amount, the remainder balance will be stored on the app. You can see this by going to the drop down menu on the top left hand side and selecting “Unused Balances”.
MileagePlusX drop down menu
Here you can see my electronic gift card I just purchased. You will also receive a confirmation email of your purchase.
MileagePlusX unused balances
MommyPoints wasn’t kidding when she said your miles posted immediately. I checked within a few minutes and there they were!
I can see this being a very easy way to earn additional miles on purchases I would be making anyways. I usually try to buy physical giftcards for various merchants at OfficeDepot/Max to earn 5x per dollar but sometimes I can’t predict where I am shopping or eating at and sometimes they just aren’t available. Now will these purchases earn a category bonus on your credit card if you made a gift card purchase for a restaurant? Well the purchase showed up as MPX*PAPA JOHN’S so I am not sure if this would trigger it or not but will update when I find out.
So next time you are shopping or eating out and want to earn additional United miles for purchases, check out the app to see if the merchant is there. Those lil points do add up!