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United Airlines no longer publishes an award chart, which means mileage prices can vary widely depending on demand. Even when you do find saver-level pricing, those awards might still cost more than booking the same flight through one of United’s airline partners.
Because United is a member of the massive Star Alliance network and also has partnerships with other airlines, travelers may be able to book the same United-operated flights through another carrier’s loyalty program potentially for fewer miles.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to find United saver awards and check partner airline programs for better pricing. We’ll also highlight a few sweet spots that can help you save a significant number of miles.
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How to find United saver awards
Before you can book a United flight through a partner airline, you’ll need to confirm that saver award space exists. The easiest way to do that is by searching United’s website. Here’s how to do it.
1. Log in to your United MileagePlus account
Head to United.com, enter your trip details and select “Find flights.” You’ll then be prompted to log in to your MileagePlus account. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll need to create one, since United only displays award availability once you’re logged in.
2. Review available flights and award prices
After you log in, United will display available flights across different cabins for your search. You’ll also see prices for nearby dates across the top of the page.
For this flight search from Newark to London, the lowest business class award ticket costs 80,000 MileagePlus miles. You might notice that United offers lower award prices to MileagePlus members who hold a United credit card or have Premier elite status. For example, if you hold an eligible credit card like the United℠ Explorer Card, you’d be able to purchase any of these flights for 80,000 miles.
If economy saver awards are available, you’ll see “Saver Award” displayed next to the price. For other cabins, United won't give you that information, so you’ll need to sort business class awards from low to high to identify the lowest pricing.
Another way to look for saver-level pricing is to pull up United’s 30-day award calendar by clicking the “30-day calendar” option.
This view shows a calendar with the lowest award price available for each day. Dates with the cheapest awards are highlighted in green, making it easier to spot potential saver availability.
Once you identify a low-priced award on United’s website, you can look for the same flight on partner airline websites to see if the ticket can be booked for fewer miles.
» Learn more: United Airlines partners: what to know
Search the same flight through partner programs
United is a member of the Star Alliance network and partners with several other airlines. Because of these relationships, you may be able to book a United-operated flight for fewer miles through another airline’s loyalty program. Here are a few examples where doing so could make sense.
Business class flights to Europe
Business class flights between the U.S. and Europe often start around 80,000 MileagePlus miles one-way. But there are a few airlines that let you book flights between those regions for fewer miles.
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
ANA has a region-based award chart for partner airlines, and all flights between North America and Europe cost 50,000 miles one way.
Using the example above, the Newark-to-London business class flight can be booked through ANA Mileage Club for 50,000 miles one-way, compared with 80,000 miles through United.
If you’re looking to earn ANA miles, you could apply for the ANA Card U.S.A Plus or transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards.
Air Canada
Air Canada is another Star Alliance carrier that may offer cheaper business class awards depending on your origin and destination. The airline has a distance-based award chart, and the price charged for partner award tickets varies depending on how far you’re flying.
Flights between North America and the Atlantic zone (including Europe) that are under 4,000 miles cost 60,000 points in business class and flights from 4,000 to 6,000 miles cost 70,000 points. If your trip is under 6,000 miles, you may be able to take advantage of this sweet spot.
Here’s an example of a flight from New York to Zurich that costs 60,000 Aeroplan points plus $58 in taxes. The distance between New York to Zurich is 3,936 miles, so it falls within the range of flights under 4,000 miles.
The same flight on United cost 88,000 miles, so if you have Air Canada points, you could save 28,000 miles thanks to this sweet spot.
Once your flight distance exceeds 6,000 miles, you’ll need at least 90,000 Air Canada miles to book the award ticket, which would be more expensive than booking on United. You’ll need to determine based on your origin and destination if booking an award flight on Air Canada makes more sense.
Air Canada offers the Aeroplan® Credit Card for the U.S. market. It’s a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, Capital One and Bilt, providing plenty of opportunities for earning Aeroplan points.
» Learn more: A comprehensive guide to airline award charts
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines offers solid business class redemption opportunities if you’re traveling to Turkey or don’t mind connecting through it. The carrier has a region-based award chart for partner airlines and a flight from North America to Turkey costs only 65,000 miles in business class.
Here’s an example of an award ticket from Atlanta to Istanbul for 65,000 miles. Considering it's nearly an 11-hour flight, this is a great use of miles.
The same flight on United costs 88,000 miles so booking through Turkish would save you a significant number of miles.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind for Turkish Airlines. First, flights always connect through Istanbul, so if your final destination is Greece or in Eastern Europe, booking with Turkish could make sense. However, if you’re traveling to western Europe, flying to Turkey is out of the way.
Turkish Airlines also divides Europe into two regions, with flights from North America costing 85,000-90,000 miles depending on the destination. Because of this, booking an award ticket with Turkish might not actually save you anything compared to United. The best way to use Turkish miles would be to book the 65,000 award ticket to Istanbul and then book a separate flight with cash (or points) to reach your final destination.
If you’re looking to earn Turkish Airlines miles, the carrier offers the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature and is a transfer partner of Citi, Capital One, Bilt and Rove.
» Learn more: Turkish Airlines business class: What you need to know
Flights to Hawaii
Flying to Hawaii is another situation where it can make sense to book United awards through a partner airline. United uses dynamic pricing for these routes, which means mileage costs can vary depending on demand. However, even when saver-level pricing is available, partner programs may sometimes offer slightly lower pricing.
For example, a flight from Denver to Kona may cost around 25,000 MileagePlus miles in economy when saver availability exists.
You may be able to book the same United-operated flight through Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program for fewer miles.
Although it's not a meaningful discount, you can book United saver awards to Hawaii for 20,500 Krisflyer miles. Singapore is a transfer partner of AmEx, Chase, Citi and Capital One, offering plenty of opportunities to earn KrisFlyer miles.
» Learn more: Credit card transfer partners, programs: What to know
Tips for booking United saver awards through partners
Here are a few tips that can help you in your search for award flights on United’s partner airlines.
Avoid mixed cabin
When searching for premium cabin awards, United’s results may include "mixed cabin" awards. That's where only part of the itinerary is in a premium cabin and other legs are in economy. However, you'll still be charged the business class award price for the whole trip.
A mixed cabin award might be worth it if the economy leg is a short flight and the long-haul flight is in business class. Regardless, check the details to make sure you're happy with the option.
If you want to avoid mixed cabin flights altogether, you can exclude them from your results by unselecting this option from the search bar at the top.
Use award search tools
Another way to find United saver availability is to use award search tools. These tools simplify the search process by showing award availability across multiple airlines and dates. One of the most popular award search tools is Seats.aero because it’s easy to use and has many ways for searching for award availability.
» Learn more: The best award travel search tool for 2026
The bottom line
Although United no longer publishes an award chart, saver award space still exists, and finding it can unlock better redemption opportunities. By identifying lower-priced awards on United’s website and then checking partner airline programs, you may be able to book the same flight for fewer miles. It may take a little extra searching, but the savings can make the effort worthwhile.
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