I recently received an email from United Airlines about upgrading my Apple iPhone to the iPhone X with my United Airline miles. I've never used my United miles for anything besides an award flight, but I wouldn't mind upgrading my Apple iPhone. But just because I can redeem my United miles for an Apple iPhone, should I use my United Airlines miles for an iPhone?
Why Using United Airline Miles for an Apple iPhone is a Bad Idea
In addition to other Apple products you can redeem your United miles to buy these iPhone models:
- Apple iPhone SE
- Apple iPhone 6S
- Apple iPhone 7
- Apple iPhone 8
- Apple iPhone X
But, you need at least 46,600 United miles to buy a 32gb Apple iPhone SE.
If you want to buy the Apple iPhone X with United Airline miles, you will need to fork over the following quantity:
- iPhone X 64gb: 133,200 miles
- iPhone X 256gb: 153,200 miles
The cash value of either model is $999 and $1,149, respectively. Each United MileagePlus mile is worth 0.75 cents each when redeemed at the United MileagePlus Apple Store.
So the question comes down to if the 133,200 miles worth $999.
In many cases, the answer is no because your United miles aren't even worth one cent each. If these were hotel points, this would be a competitive exchange rate, but not for frequent flyer airline miles.
Your United miles are going to be worth more for award flights.
The Best Ways to Use United Airlines Miles for Award Flights
With award flights starting at 10,000 miles for a domestic economy flight 700 miles or less, you can get 15 one-way flights instead of spending 153,000 miles on an iPhone X. If each of those flights cost $100 cash value, you'll also come out $350.
While these award flights are more valuable, you can save even more money with these economy and first-class routes.
Fly Economy to Europe for 60,000 Miles
A roundtrip economy flight to Europe costs 60,000 miles each plus fees and taxes.
An economy flight from Chicago O'Hare(ORD) to Paris De Gaulle (CDG) can cost $5,985 for 60,000 United miles making each United Airlines mile worth 10 cents each! Even flying business class on this route makes your 120,000 points worth 6.8 cents each.
If you can book a Lufthansa first class partner flight, you can fly 110,000 miles roundtrip and stretch your points even further!
On select business class flights, you can also enjoy the ultra-comfortable Polaris business class that starts at 60,000 miles each way plus taxes and fees.
Continental U.S. to Hawaii for 45,000 Miles Economy
A roundtrip, non-stop United flight from the continental U.S. to Hawaii costs 45,000 miles economy ($1,001 cash value) and 100,000 miles first class ($2,204 cash value). In either class, each point is worth 2.2 cents each.
While these aren't the best award flights to Hawaii, your points are still worth triple the value compared to getting an Apple iPhone and you get a free trip to this tropical paradise. Because award economy flights only cost 45,000 miles round trip per person, you can get two tickets for the cost of a single iPhone X.
Fly First Class ANA to Tokyo for 220,000 Miles Roundtrip
A first-class flight can cost up to 180,000 United Miles when you fly from the U.S. to Japan. If you don't get the Saver Award rate and have to settle for the United Everyday Reward, you'll pay 400,000 miles roundtrip.
Instead, look to book a partner flight on ANA. A roundtrip flight costs 220,000 miles. The cash value for these flights can cost upwards of $20,000! That's an impressive 9 cents per mile when booking an ANA first-class partner flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo.
Fly U.S. to Northern South America
If you've ever tried booking a cash flight to South America, you know how expensive they can be. United award flights to South America are broken into two different categories: Northern South America and Southern South America.
Flying to Northern South America is a good deal as one-way economy costs 20,000 miles and first class costs 35,000 miles. Once in South America, you can fly a local airline like Copa or Avianca for a discount if you wish to visit a country in Southern South America.
United Airlines considers the following countries as Northern South America:
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Peru
- Suriname
- Venezuela
United Excursionist Perk
When you're planning a stopover along the way to your final destination, you might save some United airlines miles with the United Excursionist Perk and get more flights.
Here's how it works when you book a multi-city itinerary:
- Book three or more one-way award flights
- The consecutive award flight must take place outside the original departure zone
- Your itinerary must end in the same zone you began
This is an example of how the Excursionist Perk works. Fly from Newark to London for your first flight. On your second flight, you fly from London to Barcelona. Your third flight flies from Barcelona to Chicago.
Even though you began and finished your itinerary in two different cities, they were both in the continental U.S. which is the same MileagePlus zone. So, you award flight from London to Barcelona is free and saves you 8,000 miles if you get a one-way saver award.
The Excursionist Perk can come in handy for these destinations:
- The Caribbean
- Europe
- Oceania
You can easily visit several islands or cities and save some United miles in the process. Even though these might be short haul flights, any savings is worth it.
Summary on Using United Airline Miles for Apple iPhones
No matter how you use your United Airlines miles, any award flight will be a better option than buying an Apple iPhone unless you have a crazy amount of United miles, and don't like to fly.
