United Airlines, Get 5X Miles When You Add TravelBank Funds

United Airlines has launched a new promotion that can earn you extra MileagePlus miles for adding funds to your United TravelBank. Adding TravelBank funds is like paying now and locking your money in for future flights on United. Let’s see the offer and whether it makes sense to take advantage of it.

Offer

Plan your next trip with TravelBank. Earn 5 miles per dollar on the money you add to your account through September 23, 2020. You can use TravelBank cash alone or combine it with select forms of payment when booking your flight.

Promo Page

Offer Terms

• Members can choose from six purchase amount options and once purchased the value remains valid for five years from the date it is deposited in your TravelBank account.
• Purchases made between September 17, 2020, at 12:01am CT and September 23, 2020, at 11:59pm CT, are eligible for a deposit of MileagePlus miles equal to five miles for every dollar of TravelBank cash purchased.
• Purchases are not refundable and are limited to $1,000 per promotion per MileagePlus account. This offer is also subject to all of the TravelBank terms and conditions.

Analysis

Depositing money now for future travel is never a good idea. But with the right bonus it could make sense. This promotion is obviously best for those who fly United often and actually plan to travel during these times. Funds expire after 5 years of inactivity.

What you can get from this promotion is 5X miles for every dollar you add to your United TravelBank, plus the purchases should count as travel. Additionally, this could be a good way to use up your travel credit from cards like Amex Hilton Aspire or Amex Platinum. There’s several data points of this working, but as always it is not guaranteed.

You can even partially pay with TravelBank cash and a credit card to take advantage of any travel insurance that your card could offer.

Guru’s Wrap-up

This is not a great promotion, but it could be useful for those who fly United often. Extra miles, credit card rewards and possible travel credits, can make this United promotion useful.

HT: DoC