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(Reposting as March 9th is the last day to buy and/or enter)

United runs a huge operation out of Newark, and I’m always price checking their flights against those at LaGuardia and JFK, because honestly, it’s not THAT hard to get to, especially when you take the train. I’ve used United for flights to Burlington, VT and Manchester, NH most recently, and while the planes aren’t huge (I think my wingspan and that of a Commutair Q200 are roughly the same 😉 ), it’s a fast way to get home when the train won’t do.

a plane taking off from the ground

A United Express Q200 landing at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Image courtesy of Jay Bowie.

(READ MORE: The cheapest and best way to get from Manhattan to Newark Airport)

Forgive the long introduction, as I wanted to set the stage for United’s newest MileagePlus promotion, where they are offering up to 75% extra points when you purchase pointsInvalid request error occurred.. Let’s take a look at what that means in terms of purchase cost.

a screenshot of a travel ad

You can take advantage of this offer through March 9, 2018, and can access the promotion here. If you buy points between now and then, you’ll also be entered into United’s sweepstakes for a chance to win 1,000,000 miles. That’s not a reason to buy points, but if you won, it would be a nice perk!

In order to get the maximum number of bonus points, I would need to purchase 85,000 United miles at minimum, netting me 148,750 miles for ~$3,198. That’s like spending 2.1 cents per point, not a superb deal. Unless I needed to top off my account, I would not speculatively buy points at this level. As a reminder, United lets you buy 150,000 points a year (inclusive of bonus points), so be careful with this promotion if you’ve already purchased points this year.

My recommendation would be to avoid this opportunity unless you need to top up your balance in order to make a redemption. If you do need to get those few extra points, it makes sense to buy at least 5,000 points, as that’s when the bonus point earning kicks in. If you do plan to take advantage of this offer, the link can be found here.

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