Buy/Transfer Miles

Here at Do It for the Points we have always encouraged people to have a goal in mind when they are building up their miles and points bonuses. Why are you getting those items, why are you trying to reach a minimum spend...the end result should always be a trip that you have in mind or a goal of booking a certain hotel or flight. As we've seen in the past few weeks the quick devaluation of both hotel and airline points is on the horizon. It may not happen all at once, but it certainly doesn't bode well for those that hold onto their points for a rainy day.

But if you find yourself short of the requisite number of points you need or the same can be said for your traveling partner you can always consider buying or sharing miles to get you to the level you need to be. United offers you the ability to buy miles in 1,000 mile increments starting at 2,000 miles. The cost is $35.00 per 1,000 miles so that equals about 3.5 cents per mile. You can also transfer miles  from account to account at a rate of $15 per 1,000 miles and a transaction fee of $30.00 per transfer. Other airlines, famously US Airways, regularly have promotions that will boost the amount of miles you buy by up to 100 percent. I don't recall United doing a promotion like this recently, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Just keep your eyes out.

This method is not cheap and is not always the best way to go about gaining miles. But if you find yourself just short of an award ticket and you see the availability and don't want to miss out on the flight, it's something to consider. If you weigh the costs and see that the opportunity cost of buying, for example, a business class ticket, versus purchasing the miles to get a business class award ticket on the same flights, you might consider buying the miles to make sure you can secure that award ticket.

Now some people might be saying...why would I buy miles...the goal of this hobby is to travel for free. But that's where I say you are off track, travel is never free, there is always an opportunity cost you are paying into the hobby to get to that minimum spend or other tricks of the trade that do cost money. The end goal is to bring down the price of a business class or first class ticket to the levels that the average person could afford. If you are stuck to get more miles and need to figure out a way to get some into your account fast, it's not always a bad idea to see if buying or sharing them is in your best interest. But I would explore every other avenue first.



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