Your ultimate guide to United Airlines partners

Many of the world's major airlines have partnerships with other airlines, hotel groups and rental car companies. These partnerships open up more flight destinations and give loyalty program members more ways to earn and redeem their airline miles.

Chances are, your airline of choice may have more partners than you think. In the case of United Airlines, you can earn and redeem your MileagePlus miles on many different airlines and transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards. Plus, the United MileagePlus program has special partnerships with several companies that offer increased mileage earning.

In this article, I'll give you an overview of all of United's partners you should know about if you're a United loyalist. Review these partners closely — you never know where you might be leaving points on the table.

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United's Star Alliance airline partners

United is a founding member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world. United frequent flyers can earn and redeem miles on all of these partners, opening them up to a huge route network that spans all inhabited continents and nearly all major cities across the globe.

Here's a list of all of United's Star Alliance partners:

Star Alliance:

• Aegean Airlines.
• Air Canada.
• Air China.
• Air India.
• Air New Zealand.
• ANA.
• Asiana.
• Austrian.
• Avianca.
• Brussels Airlines.
• Copa Airlines.
• Croatia Airlines.
• EgyptAir.
• Ethiopian Airlines.
• EVA Airways.
• LOT Polish Airlines.
• Lufthansa.
• SAS.
• Shenzhen Airlines.
• Singapore Airlines.
• South African Airways.
• SWISS.
• TAP Portugal.
• THAI.
• Turkish Airlines.

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Related: 5 mistakes to avoid when flying Star Alliance partners

United's non-alliance airline partners

United also maintains a handful of non-alliance partnerships with various airlines. These partnerships let United customers gain access to even more cities around the world. You can earn and redeem miles with these partners in most cases, though some may have restrictions.

For example, you can only earn and redeem United miles on intra-island Hawaiian Airlines flights. Hawaiian Airlines flights from the mainland U.S. are not eligible to earn United miles and cannot be booked with United miles. But, when you book United flights from the continental U.S. to Hawaii on miles, an inter-island flight on Hawaiian Airlines could be "free" thanks to United's excursionist perk.

Here's a look at all of United's non-alliance airline partners:

• Aer Lingus.
• AeroMar.
• Air Dolomiti.
• Airlink.
• Azul.
• Boutique Air.
• Cape Air.
• Edelweiss.
• Eurowings.
• Eurowings Discover.
• Hawaiian Airlines.
• Olympic Air.
• Silver Airways.
• Vistara.

Earning United miles with partners

From airlines to car rental companies, United has a ton of different partners that you can earn and redeem miles with. Here's a quick overview:

Earning miles with United airline partners

You can earn United miles when you add your MileagePlus number to flights operated by any one of United's various partners. You'll earn miles based on how much you spend if United issues your ticket (booked through United.com) and distance flown if a partner tickets your flight.

The number of miles you'll earn on partner tickets depends on the airline you're flying, the fare class you're booked in and your United Premier status level. For example, a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Frankfurt (FRA) booked in N fare premium economy would earn 5,806 miles as N fares earn 100% mileage flown. This is because the flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) is 5,806 miles.

Each United Premier status level gets its own mileage bonus on partner flights. Silver, Gold, Platinum and 1K elites earn 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% bonus miles on partner tickets, respectively. So if you're a Premier 1K member, you'd earn 11,612 United miles on the LAX-FRA ticket mentioned earlier.

You can also earn Premier qualifying points (PQPs) and Premier qualifying flights (PQFs) from United's partners. However, note that some fare classes may be ineligible for mileage credit. Furthermore, United has limited the PQPs you can earn on a given flight.

You can view the earning rates for all of United's airline partners on United's website. Review these pages closely — sometimes, airlines restrict mileage earning to specific routes and fare classes.

Related: How to get maximum value from the United MileagePlus program

Hotel partnerships

United has partnerships with most major hotel chains. Some earn a set number of United miles per stay, while others earn miles based on how much you spend at a given hotel. Many hotel loyalty programs also let you transfer your hotel points to United, though that usually isn't the best use of points.

Here's a high-level look at all of United's hotel partnerships:

Hotel partners:

Hotel booking websites:

Rental car partners

Rental cars are an important part of many trips, especially if you plan on traveling outside of big cities. You can earn United miles as follows when you rent with Avis and Budget:

• MileagePlus members earn 500 United miles on every rental.
• MileagePlus credit cardholders earn 750 United miles on every rental.
• Premier Silver and Premier Gold members earn 1,000 United miles on every rental.
• Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members earn 1,250 United miles on every rental.

To earn miles, provide your MileagePlus membership number when you rent. However, know that you may need to pay a frequent traveler program surcharge if you decide to earn United miles on your rental.

United flyers can also take advantage of discounts up to 35% with Avis and Budget using their respective discount numbers. However, our tests only found 5-8% discounts when using these codes.

Earning miles with United credit cards

United Airlines has an exclusive partnership with Chase to issue credit cards in the U.S. Each of these cards offers various perks, points earning rates and sign-up bonuses. Plus, you can use these cards to earn United miles on everyday purchases.

Here's an overview of the currently available United personal cards and their bonuses:

• United Gateway Card: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
• United Explorer Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
• United Quest Card: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
• United Club Infinite Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Of these cards, the United Explorer Card is one of the most popular. This card has a relatively low annual fee of $95 (waived for the first year) and earns 2 United miles per dollar on hotel stays when booked with the hotel, United purchases and dining. It includes two one-time United Club passes per year, a free first checked bag and priority boarding on United flights.

More frequent United flyers may opt for the higher-end United Club Infinite Card. This card has a higher $525 annual fee but includes a full United Club membership and Premier Access on all United flights. Even better, you'll earn 4 miles per dollar spent on United purchases, 2 miles per dollar spent on all other travel and dining and 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else.

The United Gateway Card, on the other hand, earns 2 miles per dollar spent on United purchases, gas stations, local transit and commuting and 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else. The card has no annual fee, so it can be a good option for infrequent travelers.

United also has two business credit cards:

• United Business Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. Plus, $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99.
• United Club Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

The information for the United Club Business has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The United Business Card lets you earn United miles on all your business spending, making it a great option for business owners who are also United loyalists. This card earns 2 miles per dollar spent on United purchases, dining, gas stations, office supply stores, local transit and commuting. The United Club Business Card's finest feature is that it provides United Club membership at an annual fee of $450 per year.

Related: Best business credit cards

Transferring miles from Chase Ultimate Rewards

One of our favorite ways to earn United miles is through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to United at a 1:1 ratio, meaning that 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points are equal to 10,000 United miles.

In many cases, earning United miles through Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards is more lucrative than spending on one of the United cards we mentioned earlier. While you don't get airline-specific benefits like checked bags, you can earn more miles on everyday purchases. And you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to other airlines if you find a better mileage deal.

Related: How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points

Chase has a suite of Ultimate Rewards earning credit cards — here's a look at our favorites:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase, 3 points per dollar spent on dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services, 2 points per dollar spent on other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn 10 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 10 points per dollar spent on Chase Dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5 points per dollar spent on flights when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3 points per dollar spent on other travel and dining and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
• Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening. Plus, earn 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on select business purchases (up to $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year) and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.

Shopping and everyday partners

United has a suite of other mileage earning partners that you can use to earn United miles on your daily purchases. Here's a quick overview of United's various everyday partners:

Related: The beginner's guide to airline shopping portals

Redeeming miles on partner flights

United recently switched to dynamic award pricing for all partner award tickets. The price of most partner awards went up by at least 10% in early 2020, making United miles significantly less valuable for partner awards. Regardless, it's good to have the option to redeem miles on these flights if you have miles available to you.

That said, United generally prices award space on its planes lower than flights operated by partners. Unfortunately, United charges additional miles if you connect from a United flight to a partner flight.

For example, you could book a flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Oslo, Norway (OSL) via Zurich (ZRH) for 33,000 United miles one-way in economy class. In this example itinerary, United operates the SFO to ZRH segment and Swiss operates the ZRH to OSL segment. United would charge 30,000 miles for just the SFO to ZRH flight, so you are paying an extra 3,000 miles for the inter-Europe flight.

Still, this means that you can leverage United's partner flight network to fly to destinations not served by United for not too many additional miles. Essentially, you can fly to just about anywhere in the world using your United miles.

You can find award space for virtually all United partners on the United website. This includes non-alliance partners like Aer Lingus and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as all of the carrier's Star Alliance partners. United's website is often considered the best Star Alliance search tool.

Related: TPG beginner's guide: Everything you need to know about points, miles, airlines and credit cards

Reciprocal elite status benefits

All United Premier elites get reciprocal benefits on all Star Alliance carriers. United Premier Silver members are eligible for Star Alliance Silver status, while United Premier Gold and above are eligible for the more lucrative Star Alliance Gold status. These benefits can make your flight experience easier when flying on partner carriers.

To take advantage of your Star Alliance benefits when flying partners, just add your United MileagePlus number to a partner booking. Here's a look at both Star Alliance Silver and Star Alliance Gold benefits:

Star Alliance Silver

Star Alliance Silver status is pretty bare bones. It includes very minimal benefits that, while helpful, won't drastically change your airport experience.

These benefits include:

• Priority wait-listing: If your desired class of service isn't available at the time of booking, your status gives you higher priority on the waitlist. This does not apply to award tickets.
• Priority airport standby: Your status gives you higher priority on the standby list for your preferred flight, except when you are traveling on an award ticket. This can be helpful if you want to fly on an earlier flight.

Star Alliance Gold

Things get more interesting with Star Alliance Gold status. These members are eligible for more tangible benefits like lounge access and priority security.

Here's a look at the full suite of Star Alliance Gold benefits:

• Gold Track security: You can use dedicated Gold Track security lanes before Star Alliance flights.
• Extra baggage allowance: You can take an extra 44 pounds of checked baggage on partner flights. Plus, most Star Alliance airlines let you check an additional piece of baggage for free. Note that select Basic Economy fares are exempt from this benefit.
• Priority boarding: You'll board before other travelers on all Star Alliance flights, even when flying in economy class.
• Priority baggage handling: Your checked baggage will be among the first off the plane when you land.
• Airport lounge access: You can access Star Alliance partner lounges when flying any Star Alliance partner. Note that United elites cannot access United Clubs unless flying on an international flight.
• Priority airport check-in: You can use priority check-in desks when flying Star Alliance partner carriers.

Related: How do I earn elite status with an airline alliance?

Bottom line

United has a slew of different partners, making it one of the easiest airlines with which to earn miles. We highly recommend starting with a Chase Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card if you're just beginning your mileage journey. After all, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United (and other programs).

When it comes to redeeming miles, you'll get the best deals by redeeming United miles for flights operated by United. However, you can still leverage the airline's vast partner network to redeem miles if United doesn't serve your destination of choice.

Additional reporting by Kyle Olsen.