Get a 12,000 United MileagePlus miles bonus with their free UK credit card

The United Airlines MileagePlus Amex credit cards (issued by MBNA) have the unique distinction of offering NO sign-up bonus for much of the year.

Then, once or twice a year, they run a promotion. This is one of those times.  Via the MBNA website, you can now earn 12,000 bonus United miles when you take out their cards.

The cards are free and you only need to spend £1500 within 90 days to trigger the bonus. This can be achieved across either or both cards.

The offer ends on November 15th.

The representative APR is 18.9% variable.  The cards have no annual fee.

As is the model with MBNA cards (Lufthansa, American, Etihad, Emirates etc) it comes as a double-pack with an American Express and a Visa.

Here are the core facts:

Generous (for a free credit card) sign-up bonus of 12,000 United MileagePlus miles

No annual fee

Very good earning rate (for a free card) of 1.25 miles per £1 on the American Express and 0.625 miles on the Visa

United is a Star Alliance member so you can redeem across all 20+ Star airlines – from the UK, this will often involve Lufthansa or Swiss via a connection

It is worth noting that United is the only airline to enforce a particularly poor exchange rate with Starwood Preferred Guest. It does this in order to protect its own credit card. Whilst almost all other airlines transfer at 1:1 from Starwood, United transfers at an amazingly poor 2:1. This means that these MBNA cards are the only realistic way in the UK to earn United miles on credit card spend.

United is not an American Express Membership Rewards partner so you cannot top up your balance that way.

A one-way business class award to the Middle East from the UK is 45,000 miles so the credit card bonus would leave you well short.  This is cheaper than an Avios redemption on a peak date.  If you’re heading to the US, a one-way Saver-level award in business to New York would be 57,500 miles – roughly the same as the Avios requirement on a peak date (60,000 Avios).

Please note United’s nasty fees for changes or cancellation, or indeed booking less than 21 days before departure.

In the main, because you now can’t get very far on United unless you have a very large miles balance, the main beneficiaries of this deal will be people who already have some MileagePlus miles they want to build up. I would not recommend jumping in if you do not already have a MileagePlus account.

You can sign up via the MBNA website.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.