[Expired] Easier point alchemy via Choice (buy United miles for 1.1 to 1.3 cents each)

This morning I posted a convoluted way to buy United miles for 1.15 cents each.  In the comments of that post, reader T suggested a much easier approach to buy United miles for 1.1 to 1.3 cents each (depending on which offer you are targeted for).  Here are the details:

Through November 12, Choice Privileges is offering a mystery bonus on purchased points.  You may get a 30%, 40%, or 50% bonus.  Click here to view your offer.

The usual price for 10,000 points is $110 (1.1 cents per point).  We can then derive the cost per point with each bonus:

• 30% bonus: $55 / 6,500 points = 0.85 cents per point
• 40% bonus: $55 / 7,000 points = 0.79 cents per point
• 50% bonus: $55 / 7,500 points = 0.73 cents per point

Let’s now tack on the current United Airlines hotel to miles transfer bonus promo (details here).  With that promo (don’t forget to register!), you can transfer 5,000 Choice points into 3,250 United miles.  2,500 of these miles are a temporary new rate (usually you only get 1,000 miles) and the rest are from the United 30% transfer bonus.  The 30% transfer bonus is limited to 25,000 miles, so unless you are doing other transfers during this promo, you can transfer up to 165,000 Choice points at this favorable ratio.

The Choice promo combined with the United promo lead to the following opportunities to buy United miles indirectly via Choice:

• 30% bonus: $550 for 65,000 Choice points -> convert to 42,250 United miles = 1.3 cents per mile
• 40% bonus: $550 for 70,000 Choice points -> convert to 45,500 United miles = 1.2 cents per mile
• 50% bonus: $550 for 75,000 Choice points -> convert to 48,750 United miles = 1.1 cents per mile

Step by Step

Here’s how to buy United miles for 1.1 to 1.3 cents per mile:

1. Register for the United transfer bonus

Click here to register.

2. Buy Choice Points at a discount by November 12th

Click here to view your bonus offer and to buy points.  Note: You may be able to earn 2.5% cash back by buying at Points.com through TopCashBack.

3. Convert Choice Points by November 23rd

Here’s the Choice Privileges landing page for converting points to miles.  Choice’s FAQ states that transfers can take “up to 5 business days for your transactions to process.”  Since the United 30% transfer bonus ends on November 30th, I recommend transferring Choice points by November 23rd in order to be certain that your transfer will qualify for the extra bonus.

For ideas of how to use those miles, see my earlier post: Point alchemy: Turn pennies into United miles (Buy miles for 1.15 cents each).

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