Can You Transfer Amex Points to United Miles? No, but 4 Routes Work in 2026

By Joseph Hellman-Benjamin, Founder and CEO of The Points King. Last updated: October 12, 2026. Editorial Policy

Can you transfer Amex points to United miles? No. United MileagePlus is not an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner, and the two currencies cannot be converted in either direction. You can still fly United on Amex points in two ways: move the points to a Star Alliance program that books United seats, or pay for the ticket with points through Amex Travel. And if what you want is United miles in a United account, Chase and Bilt points transfer at 1:1.

I am Joseph Hellman-Benjamin, and I have run The Points King since 2017. My company buys both Membership Rewards points and United miles, so I see what each is worth to the people who hold them. There are no affiliate links on this site. This page covers the four transfer routes, what they cost in October 2026, and how the two currencies compare.

Contents hide
1 Four Ways to Book United Flights With Amex Points
1.1 Which route to use
2 How to Do It Without Stranding Your Points
2.1 Paying with points, and the Business Platinum exception
3 What Changed in 2025 and 2026
4 What Does Transfer to United
5 Amex Points vs. United Miles
5.1 What changed for United miles in 2026
6 Which Should You Earn?
7 If You Have Points or Miles You Will Not Use
8 Frequently Asked Questions
8.1 Can you transfer Amex points to United miles?
8.2 Can you transfer United miles to Amex?
8.3 Can I use Amex points to fly United?
8.4 What is the cheapest way to book a United flight with Amex points?
8.5 Was United ever an Amex transfer partner?
8.6 Are Amex points worth more than United miles?
8.7 Do United miles or Amex points expire?
9 Sources

Four Ways to Book United Flights With Amex Points

Route Ratio from Amex United one way in economy within the US Transfer time
Air Canada Aeroplan 1:1 From 10,000 points for short flights; about 15,000 for most longer ones; prices move Instant
Avianca LifeMiles 1:1 Roughly 7,500 to 15,000 miles, higher on some routes since April 2026 Instant
ANA Mileage Club 1:1 15,000 miles, or 30,000 round trip About 2 days
Singapore KrisFlyer 1:1 15,000 miles; 29,000 in business or domestic first Up to a day
Amex Travel, paying with points 1 cent per point The cash fare, at 100 points per dollar No transfer

Prices and sources: The Points Guy for Aeroplan, AwardWallet for LifeMiles, ANA’s partner award chart, and AwardWallet for KrisFlyer. Transfer times are from AwardWallet’s tracker, updated October 9, 2026. United flights carry no fuel surcharges in Aeroplan, LifeMiles or KrisFlyer, and none of the four carries the Amex transfer fee, which applies only to Delta and JetBlue.

What an Amex point and a United mile are worthOctober 2026 values in cents, from the comparison table on this page and the Amex redemption options.
Amex pointUnited mile
Transferred to partnersThe Points Guy
2.0 cents
Transferred to partnersNerdWallet
1.3 cents
United mileBoth sites
1.2 cents
Flights through Amex Travel
1.0 cent
Statement credit
0.6 cents
00.61.21.82.4 cents

Amex points do not expire while a Membership Rewards card is open, and a United mile never expires. A United mile has no cash value through the program, while Amex points can be used as a statement credit at 0.6 cents.

Which route to use

  • Short flights: Aeroplan or LifeMiles, when the price is at the low end.
  • Cross-country and Hawaii: ANA or KrisFlyer, because their prices are fixed. Aeroplan charged 25,000 points for a flight of more than 2,750 miles in The Points Guy’s checks.
  • Business class: ANA charges 27,500 miles one way within North America, against 29,000 at KrisFlyer.
  • No award seats: Amex Travel. You pay the cash fare in points at 1 cent each, the ticket earns United miles, and seat availability is whatever United is selling.

All four airline routes depend on United releasing the seat to its partners. United says about a third of its saver award flights have seats reserved for its own cardholders and Premier members, in United’s own announcement; a seat you can see on united.com may not exist for Aeroplan or ANA.

How to Do It Without Stranding Your Points

  1. Search for the United flight on the partner’s own site first: Air Canada, LifeMiles, ANA or Singapore Airlines. Confirm the seat and the price there.
  2. Open a free account with that program if you do not have one, and link it to your Membership Rewards account.
  3. Transfer only what the ticket needs. The minimum is 1,000 points, and the transfer cannot be reversed.
  4. Book as soon as the miles arrive. With ANA and KrisFlyer the wait is hours or days, and the seat can go in the meantime.

That last step is the real risk. Points sitting in LifeMiles or Aeroplan are no longer Amex points, and both programs raised their United prices in the past two years. The full list of where Amex points can go is in my guide to Amex transfer partners.

Paying with points, and the Business Platinum exception

Through Amex Travel a Membership Rewards point is worth 1 cent toward a flight, per The Points Guy. That is half of what the same point can be worth when transferred well, so I would treat it as a fallback. One card changes the sum. The Business Platinum Card returns 35% of the points you spend on flights with one airline you select, and United is on the list, Upgraded Points explains. That works out to about 1.54 cents a point. Since September 18, 2025 the rebate covers only your selected airline, up to 1 million points back a year.

What Changed in 2025 and 2026

  • Aeroplan, March 25, 2025: United awards moved to dynamic pricing. The shortest flights went from 6,000 to 10,000 points and mid-range flights from 10,000 or 12,500 to 15,000.
  • LifeMiles, February 2025 and April 2026: two increases with no notice. The second added about 21% on Star Alliance partners: a short United flight went from 10,000 to 12,100 miles and business class to Europe from 80,000 to 92,400, AwardWallet reported.
  • ANA, June 24, 2025: one-way partner awards became available. Before that ANA sold round trips only.
  • KrisFlyer, November 1, 2025: a new Star Alliance chart raised most prices.
  • United, April 2, 2026: members with no United card earn fewer miles and cardholders get a discount on awards. Details are below.
  • Amex in 2026: Cathay Pacific transfers fell to 5:4 on March 1, Etihad left the partner list on June 30, and The Leading Hotels of the World joined on July 28. No Star Alliance route changed.

What Does Transfer to United

  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: 1:1 and immediate, from the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business Preferred. See Chase transfer partners.
  • Bilt Rewards: 1:1.
  • Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1, with 10,000 bonus miles when you move 60,000 points at once, so 60,000 points become 30,000 miles.

Those are the routes AwardWallet lists; no other major bank program transfers to United. Amex once did, in a sense. Continental Airlines was a Membership Rewards partner until September 30, 2011, when the link ended as Continental merged into United, whose bank partner is Chase, View from the Wing reported at the time.

Amex Points vs. United Miles

Amex Membership Rewards points United MileagePlus miles
Value, The Points Guy, October 2026 2.0 cents 1.2 cents
Value, NerdWallet, October 2026 1.3 cents 1.2 cents
Where they can go 16 airline and 4 hotel programs United and its partners, booked through United
Award pricing Set by each partner program Dynamic, with no published chart
Fuel surcharges on awards Depend on the partner None
Expiry None while a Membership Rewards card is open Never
Cash value through the program 0.6 cents as a statement credit None; miles are for travel

The two valuations differ because they measure different things. The Points Guy estimates what a point is worth when transferred well. NerdWallet measures ordinary economy bookings. American Express states its own values: 1 cent a point for flights through Amex Travel and 0.6 cents as a statement credit. Dollar figures for common balances are in what Amex points are worth and United miles to dollars.

What changed for United miles in 2026

United now ties much of the program’s value to holding one of its cards. For tickets bought from April 2, 2026:

  • Cardholders get at least 10% off United award flights, and at least 15% if they also hold Premier status, per United. My United Quest Card review covers one of those cards.
  • A member with no card and no status earns 3 miles per dollar on United flights, down from 5, and nothing on basic economy, NerdWallet reported. Cardholders earn 6.

United charges nothing to change or cancel an award and adds no fuel surcharges, per Frequent Miler. Missing a flight without cancelling costs $125 to get the miles back.

Which Should You Earn?

  • You fly United most of the time and hold a United card: United miles. The award discount and the extra saver seats are only open to you.
  • You fly several airlines, or want premium cabins abroad: Amex points. They reach 16 airline programs, including four that can book United.
  • You want a cash fallback: neither is strong. Amex pays 0.6 cents a point as a statement credit, and United miles are built for flights.

If You Have Points or Miles You Will Not Use

Brokers, including The Points King, buy both for cash. Selling Membership Rewards points is against the program’s terms, which say you can’t sell your points and let American Express take points away or cancel your card account. Selling United miles is against United’s MileagePlus rules, and United can forfeit the miles and close the account. Read the risks of selling miles and points first, then see the pages on selling Amex points and selling United miles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you transfer Amex points to United miles?

No. United is not an American Express transfer partner. Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards transfer to United at 1:1.

Can you transfer United miles to Amex?

No. Airline miles cannot be converted into Membership Rewards points, and Amex transfers to airlines cannot be reversed.

Can I use Amex points to fly United?

Yes. Transfer the points to Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, ANA Mileage Club or Singapore KrisFlyer and book the United flight as a partner award, or pay with points through Amex Travel at 1 cent each.

What is the cheapest way to book a United flight with Amex points?

For a short flight, Aeroplan or LifeMiles from about 7,500 to 10,000 points one way. For longer domestic flights, ANA or KrisFlyer at 15,000. Check the price on the partner site before you transfer.

Was United ever an Amex transfer partner?

Continental Airlines was, until September 30, 2011. The partnership ended with the United merger. Chase is the bank that transfers to United today.

Are Amex points worth more than United miles?

By most estimates, yes. The Points Guy values Amex points at 2.0 cents and United miles at 1.2 cents for October 2026. NerdWallet puts them at 1.3 and 1.2 cents.

Do United miles or Amex points expire?

United miles do not expire. Amex points do not expire while you keep a card enrolled in Membership Rewards; cancel the last one and unused points are lost.

Short US flights on United with Amex pointsMiles for a one-way US economy flight at each route that works, from the table on this page.
Air Canada AeroplanInstant
10,000 to 15,000
Avianca LifeMilesInstant
7,500 to 15,000
ANA Mileage ClubAbout 2 days
15,000
Singapore KrisFlyerUp to a day
15,000
05,00010,00015,000

From the table on this page. Aeroplan runs from 10,000 points for short flights to about 15,000 for most longer ones; LifeMiles is higher on some routes since April 2026; KrisFlyer is 15,000 in economy and 29,000 in business or domestic first. Transfers are instant at Aeroplan and LifeMiles, about 2 days at ANA and up to a day at KrisFlyer.

Sources

The Points King
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