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United Airlines Holdings · UAL (Nasdaq) · FY2025

United MileagePlus by the numbers

MileagePlus is the first of the big US programs to have paid off its pandemic loan: the US$6.8 billion borrowed against it in 2020 was fully repaid by the end of 2025, freeing the program's cash flows for the airline.

Written and reviewed by the Points Plug team. Last reviewed .

What United Airlines Holdings reports

Loyalty revenue
US$6.6 billion
2025: US$3.2bn of partner-agreement revenue recognised in other operating revenue (marketing, advertising, non-travel awards) plus US$3,414m of travel miles redeemed. Loyalty revenue grew 9%.
Cash from card and other partners
US$3.2 billion
Recognised in other operating revenue from Chase and other partner agreements in 2025 (US$2.9bn in 2024); US$1.8bn in the first half of 2026. Total cash received is not disclosed separately.
Deferred revenue for unredeemed miles
US$7.8 billion
Frequent flyer deferred revenue at 31 December 2025 (US$3,721m current, US$4,056m non-current), up from US$7,441m; US$7,971m at 30 June 2026.
Members
10.9 million flight awards
United does not disclose members; about 10.9 million flight awards (10.3% of revenue passenger miles) and 4.3 million non-flight awards in 2025.

Card partners and deals

  • JPMorgan Chase, which gets "permission to market to the Company's customer database" as part of the agreement. The term is not disclosed; partner agreements run one to five years.

Financing: The 2020 US$6.8 billion MileagePlus financing has been repaid in full: the MileagePlus senior secured notes fell from US$1,900m at the end of 2024 to zero at the end of 2025, after redemption of US$1,520m of 6.50% notes.

How the miles are accounted for

  • "The Company's estimated selling price of miles is based on an equivalent ticket value, which incorporates the expected redemption of miles."
  • "The Company's mileage breakage model is based on the assumption that the likelihood that an account will redeem its miles can be estimated based on a consideration of the account's historical behavior."
  • In 2025 members earned US$3,883m of miles and redeemed US$3,414m for travel and US$133m for other awards; United expects most miles to be redeemed within two years.

What it means

United recognised US$6.6 billion from the program in 2025, around 11% of US$59.1 billion of revenue, in a year of US$3.4 billion net income. The US$3.2 billion booked straight from partner agreements is pure margin: it pays for marketing to the member base and for perks, not for seats.

The liability grew by US$336 million in 2025 to US$7.8 billion because United issued US$3.9 billion of miles and members redeemed US$3.5 billion. United is unusual in disclosing its breakage method in the filing: it models each account's past behaviour to decide how many miles will never be used, and books that revenue without a flight.

With no secured debt left and miles that never expire, MileagePlus has the cleanest position of the US big three. The question for members is price: United has had no published award chart since 2019, and dynamic pricing is how the airline keeps the cost of the US$7.8 billion it owes under control.

What it means for your United MileagePlus balance

A program that earns more from selling miles to banks than from flights has an incentive to keep issuing them, and the deferred revenue line is the airline's own estimate of what an average outstanding mile will cost it to honour. Compare that with published valuations and with what Points Plug pays to see where your balance stands.

United MileagePlus finances: FAQ

How much does United earn from MileagePlus?
About US$6.6 billion recognised in 2025: US$3.2 billion from partner agreements booked as other revenue and US$3.4 billion of travel miles redeemed.
Has United repaid the MileagePlus loan?
Yes. The 2020 US$6.8 billion MileagePlus financing was repaid in full by the end of 2025.
How does United account for miles that are never used?
With a breakage model based on each account's past redemption behaviour; the miles it expects to go unused are recognised as revenue without a flight.

Sources

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