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United MileagePlus Miles can be relatively tricky to get hold of in the UK, which is a shame, as there are some great redemption options available.

One way to boost your United MileagePlus balance is to use the MileagePlus Shopping Portal. As you would expect, it’s very much US-focused, but there are still ways to take advantage of the deals on there. In particular, booking hotels or other travel via the portal can work very well.

Until 18th August 2019, the United MileagePlus portal is offering a range of bonuses based on cumulative spend:

As you can see, if you spend $600+ you can earn 2,500 bonus miles.

There is also a separate offer for 500 bonus miles when you spend $150+ within 2 weeks of signing up:

I already have an account, so haven’t been able to test whether the 2 offers stack, but I think they should. If they do, that’s a total of 3,000 bonus miles for spending $600+ before 18th August. Remember that the bonus miles are on top of the standard miles you can earn!

Note that when you click on the sign-up link above, you’ll probably first be asked whether you are a resident of the UK/EU/etc. Click NO – otherwise you’ll get a message saying you aren’t eligible to use the portal.

As regards what to spend $600 on, there are plenty of options, but my personal tip would be hotel stays with either Marriott or Booking (dotcom).

Conclusion

As always, do check the cashback rates being offered by sites like TopCashback and Quidco to ensure that you really are getting a good deal. When there’s a decent bonus on though, the United MileagePlus portal can be a useful way to help build up a United balance.