(EXPIRED) United award sale: Fly economy to Australia & New Zealand for 35,000 miles each way (Cardholders only?)

United has launched a one day award sale to Australia and New Zealand, giving 35% off flights booked with MileagePlus miles. The catch? It’s only valid on flights in economy, so you’ll need to be OK with a long flight Down Under.

The other catch? It looks like you need to be a United cardholder to be eligible for this award sale.

The other other catch? The lower pricing might only be valid on flights to Australia and New Zealand, not back again.

The Deal

• Book flights to New Zealand and Australia for 35,000 United MileagePlus miles.
• Direct link to offer.

Key Terms

• Pricing will vary by eligibility. Members must login using MileagePlus number to book award. No limit to the number of award tickets booked. The promotion applies to new award bookings and not to award tickets already booked.
• Promotion valid for travel between the mainland U.S. and Australia and New Zealand (SYD, BNE, MEL, AKL, CHC).
• Tickets: Tickets must be purchased on December 13, 2023. Roundtrip purchase is not required.
• Travel Period: Travel beginning on or after January 22, 2024 and travel complete by April 30, 2024.
• Blackout dates: None
• Award Validity: Awards shown are valid for travel Sunday through Saturday. Awards are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin on United/United Express carriers. Some flights may be operated by the following airlines, doing business as United Express: Air Wisconsin, CommuteAir, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways, or SkyWest Airlines; or may be operated pursuant to a codeshare agreement, such as Silver Airways.

Quick Thoughts

Flying to Australia or New Zealand is a long way to go in economy, although it is something I did almost 10 years ago and I lived to tell the tale. In fact, Benadryl plus a couple of drinks meant I slept better sitting upright on that flight than I’ve ever done in a lie-flat seat in business class.

This award sale requires that you book today (December 13), so you’ll need to find flights ASAP if you’re interested and are a United cardholder. The good thing is that there seems to be plenty of availability, such as mid-February from LA to Sydney on United’s nonstop flight in case you’d like to head Down Under for Valentine’s Day.

In fact, award availability – at least for cardholders – appears to be wide open. For example, you could book 9 people on that same route throughout February and March.

One of the nice things about this award sale is that while the eligible travel dates are in the winter/spring here in the US, it’ll be summer/early fall in Australia and New Zealand which is a lovely time to visit.

However, I mentioned a third catch at the start of the post. While 35,000 mile pricing is plentiful on the way to Australia and New Zealand, I haven’t been able to find any pricing like that for the return journey. Instead, everything from Down Under back to the US appears to be at standard pricing, so that could limit the appeal of this award sale.

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