As of October 1, 2026, United's MileagePlus Shopping portal is paying 500 bonus miles when you spend $150 or more through it by October 5, 2026. Purchases made online through the portal and through its in-store card-linked offers both count, and the $150 is cumulative, so it doesn't have to be one order. If you have $150 of shopping to do this week anyway, start it from the portal.
Deal Details
- The bonus: a one-time 500 MileagePlus bonus miles.
- The spend: $150 or more in qualifying purchases, added up across the whole promotion.
- The window: September 28, 2026, through October 5, 2026, at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern.
- What counts: purchases through the MileagePlus Shopping mall online, and purchases made through MileagePlus Shopping in-store offers.
- What doesn't: returns, cancellations, shipping and handling, taxes, gift cards and other cash equivalents, and products that aren't eligible for bonus miles.
- When it posts: United says to allow up to 10 weeks after the promotion ends for the bonus miles to post.
The 500 is a one-time bonus. United's portal lists its regular earning rates store by store, and the home page this week shows stores earning 1 mile per dollar alongside boosted offers of 2 and 3 miles per dollar.
How to Take Advantage
- Sign in to MileagePlus Shopping before you shop.
- For online purchases, click through to the store from the portal and check out as you normally would.
- For in-store purchases, link the store's offer to your card in the portal, then pay with that linked card at the register.
- Keep a running total. You need $150 in qualifying purchases, and taxes and shipping don't count toward it, by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern on October 5.
- Watch for the bonus over the following weeks, and keep your receipts until it posts.
Why This Deal Matters
On its own, 500 miles is a small bonus. What makes it worth a minute is the low bar. Say you were already planning a $160 order, before tax and shipping, at a store that pays 1 mile per dollar through the portal: routing it through United clears the $150 bar for the 500-mile bonus with a purchase you were making anyway.
The in-store option is easy to overlook. Linking an offer and paying with that card at a physical store counts toward the same $150, so a weekend errand can finish the job if your online cart comes up short.
Two things to check. The bonus is based on qualifying purchases only, so a $150 cart can fall below the line once tax and shipping are taken out. And give yourself margin on timing: don't leave your last purchase for the final hour of October 5. Our complete guide to shopping portals covers how portals track and pay, and our United MileagePlus guide covers where the miles go furthest. The portal miles land in the same MileagePlus account as miles from a card like the United Explorer.
Who Should Shop
This is for MileagePlus members with at least $150 of shopping they'd do this week anyway, online or at a store with a linked offer. Don't buy things you don't need to hit the number. Start every purchase from the portal and finish by October 5, 2026.
