Stumbling onto the United MileagePlus X app last year was a game changer for me. Without spending any more money than I normally would, the MPX app allows me to earn United miles in addition to credit card points. Even though the app has been around for a few years, there are still lots of people who are unaware of its existence. It’s unique to United, as no other airlines or hotel programs have a similar tool that helps you rack up miles like this app does.

Introduction

So how does it work?

The MPX app allows you to earn extra miles on in-store and online purchases, on top of any miles, rewards or cash back you may earn with the credit card you use to make the purchases. It’s basically a giant gift card store that allows you to earn United miles when you make purchases.

The way it works is pretty simple:

1. Purchase an eGift card through the app – Before you pay at your favorite brick-and-mortar store or online retailer, log into the app and buy an eGift card to cover as little or as much of the purchase you’d like.
2. Pay with that eGift card – Hand your phone to the cashier, read the gift card details aloud or ask the merchant to scan the barcode on the eGift card; online, you type the card details as you do with any gift card.
3. Earn United miles – For each dollar you spend on the app, you generally can get up to five miles; a few times a year certain retailers will run promotions for up to ten miles per dollar spent.

Here’s a video from United which summarizes the above in an under a minute:

How do I find retailers that accept MPX?

There are different ways to look for participating merchants in the app.

• Nearby: The app will display participating merchants based on proximity to your location. You can browse by name or on an interactive map.
• Online: This section will display a list of online retailers that accept the eGift cards purchased in the app.
• Catalog: Here you can browse participating merchants based on category, including Electronics, Entertainment, Food and Office Supplies.

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How do I make a purchase?

When you’re ready to make a purchase, just select the retailer, the amount you want to charge, and process the payment. Once it goes through, the app will display an eGift card for you to hand to the cashier or use online.

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You can also see a list of all current eGift cards and their remaining balances under Purchases.

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So that doesn’t seem very hard but you may be asking “Why should I bother with this?” So let’s get into the details. I’ll show you how to get started with the app, when miles earned get credited to your account, and how much you can earn. Finally, I’ll share some real life examples on how to earn extra miles using the app.

How do I get started?

• Download the app through the iOS App Store or Google Play Store.
• Create an account, linking it to your MileagePlus frequent flyer number.
• Add at least one form of payment; it’s a good idea to add a few credit cards so you can earn extra bonuses on different spending categories.

Pro Tip: If you own a Chase United Airlines credit card, you also receive a 25% bonus on every purchase made through the app. Even better, you don’t even have to use the card to make the purchase – you just need to have the card linked in the app as a form of payment.

When do I get the miles?

Miles earned through the MPX app are credited to your United MileagePlus account immediately.

How much can you earn?

There is no limit to the amount of miles you can earn through the app, although most merchants have an max limit of $500 per transaction. Note, that the app may have a $500 daily transaction limit, but I’ve yet to test that.

The participating retailers offer different mileage earning rates. Here are a few popular merchants and their rates:

• Panera – 5 miles per $1
• AMC – 5 miles per $1
• Jiffy Lube – 5 miles per $1
• Domino’s Pizza – 5 miles per $1
• DSW – 4 miles per $1
• The Container Store – 4 miles per $1
• Starbucks – 1 mile per $1
• The Home Depot – 1 mile per $1

Earning Examples and the Triple Dip

The easiest way to show how great the app can be is to walk through an example. First we’ll look at the double dip and then the coveted triple dip.

The Double Dip

Let’s say I’m taking my family out to Panera for dinner and the bill comes to $50. I could pay for it with a credit card that earns bonus points on dining (like 2x points on my Chase Sapphire Preferred). If I paid this way, I’d earn 100 Chase UR points.

However, instead I could open the MPX app, find Panera, and use the app to purchase a $50 eGift card to pay for the meal. In this scenario, I’d earn 312 United miles (250 miles + 25% since I own the United℠ Explorer card) for using the app AND 100 Chase UR points by paying with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card. I still earn 2x Chase UR points on the gift card purchase as if I used it directly at the restaurant.

This is the power of the app! Without spending anything extra, I double dipped my earnings. In this scenario I would earn:

• 312 United miles for using the United MileagePlus X app
• 100 Chase UR points for using a credit card that earns double points on dining purchases

That’s a total of 412 points/miles earned for the same $50 purchase!

The Triple Dip

The double dip is nice, but you can also use the app to triple dip your points and miles. Instead of buying an eGift card and using it at a brick-and-mortar store, you can use it for online purchases via shopping portals. In this scenario, you would earn:

• United miles for using the app
• Points earned for using your credit card
• Miles or points earned via the shopping portal

Here’s an example of a triple dip. Let’s say I need to buy some household products from The Container Store and the total purchase amount is $100. I don’t own a credit card that gets any bonus points in this category. So no matter what card I use, I’d earn 100 points or miles. For this example, I’ll use my Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Instead I could open the MPX app, find The Container Store, and use the app to purchase a $100 eGift card. In this scenario, I’d earn 500 United miles (400 miles + 25% bonus) for using the app AND 100 Chase UR points by paying with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Then I can shop online at The Container Store’s website, starting first at Chase’s shopping portal, which is currently giving 3 points per dollar spent.

 In this scenario I would earn:

• 500 United miles for using the United MileagePlus X app
• 100 Chase UR points for using my Chase Sapphire Preferred card
• 300 Chase UR points for purchases made at www.containerstore.com via Chase’s shopping portal

That’s a total of 900 points/miles earned for the same $100 purchase! That’s 9x more earnings then if I had just walked into The Container Store and purchased $100 worth of goods on my credit card.

MPX App Limitations

• Returns in the form of a Gift Card – If you decide to return the items you purchased using the MPX app, you will get a refund in the form of a gift card.
• Lack of Purchase Protection – Since you are purchasing gift cards, you will lose any credit card purchase protection you might have like extended warranties. That’s because those purchase protections only cover items you purchase directly with your credit card. Since you are using your credit card to purchase a gift card and not the actual items, you will not have those purchase protections.
• Spending Limits – Each merchant has their own limits as to how much you can put on the eGift card. Most I’ve seen go to $500, but a few are as low as $100.
• Variable Earning Rates – Not all merchants give you 5 miles per dollar spent. Chipotle, for example, only gives 0.5 miles per dollar. So check first to see if it’s worth it.

Bottom Line

I love the United MileagePlus X app. Since I started using the app in late 2018, I’ve earned over 3,000 miles for making purchases I already was going to make. To me, it’s absolutely worth the extra few seconds at the register to earn the extra miles.

Do you use the MPX app? What do you think about it?