Exchange your unwanted gift cards for United miles

Editor’s Note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

Got a gift card for the holidays that you’re not excited about?

We have some good news: You can turn those unwanted gift cards into United MileagePlus United’s last mile Redeem MileagePlus gift card. Here is how it works.

above MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange Landing Page, United notes that “over 100” types of merchant gift cards are accepted. At the bottom of that page, there’s a link to a list of merchants whose gift cards the program will take, including Best Buy, Sears, Starbucks, and Walmart.

Note, however, that some of the merchants on its listing are not actually available for exchange on the site, such as Home Depot and Southwest Airlines. And there are many sellers available for exchange that are not on the list, including North Face and HP.

There’s even an airline option. If your family doesn’t know you’re loyal to United and gives you an American Airlines gift card, you can exchange the gift card for United miles. However, redeeming a MileagePlus gift card does not purchase gift cards from Alaska, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, or Sun Country.

Related: 30 ways to earn miles with United MileagePlus

It’s worth it?

United has a chart that lists “minimum bonus miles awarded,” which would make you think that some options offer more miles than this. However, I’ve checked dozens of different agents and the mileage offers at each are the same.

Regardless of the chart, you’re not limited to $25, $50, and $100 gift cards. You can redeem any gift card with a minimum balance of $15. From the evidence we’ve gathered, the calculation is the gift card value multiplied by 26.6, rounded up to the nearest 10 miles. This rate implies a value per United mile in the range of 3.70-3.76 cents per mile, depending on the amount you are dealing with. Eg:

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• $15 gift card = 400 miles (3.75 cents per mile).
• $20 gift card = 540 miles (3.7 cents per mile).
• $25 gift card = 670 miles (3.73 cents per mile).
• $30 gift card = 800 miles (3.75 cents per mile).
• $40 gift card = 1,070 miles (3.74 cents per mile).
• $50 gift card = 1,330 miles (3.76 cents per mile).
• $100 gift card = 2,660 miles (3.76 cents per mile).

This ratio is much higher than TPG’s valuation is 1.13 cents per mile, which means you’re not getting good value from your gift card. However, if you want more miles than gift cards, it might be worth taking advantage of this offloading.

Other than that, at least United are being consistent. When United don’t run buy promotional milesyou can buy United miles at the rate of $35 per 1,000 miles. After taxes and fees, the rate is also actually 3.76 cents per mile.

Related: The best credit cards to buy points and miles

Limitations to keep in mind

To sell gift cards through the MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange, your MileagePlus account must be open for at least 90 days. In addition, the terms and conditions of the program note that your account must have a “positive account balance”.

While United will provide you with a quote for the $10 gift card, the terms and conditions state: “Accepted gift cards must have a minimum balance of $15 on the card and may apply maximum use.” It looks like the exchange will only accept gift cards up to $100.

If you decide to sell gift cards through the MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange, the mileage will arrive in your United account within five business days.

Related: Redeem your unwanted gift cards for Hotels.com gift cards and more

While you won’t get stellar rates from trading unwanted gift cards, it’s nice to have the option to liquidate these gift cards for something you might actually want. That said, it might be worth checking online for another gift card exchange program (such as CardCash) may give you a better rate.

The only argument for using MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange is if you need United miles to redeem your upcoming points, tap Chase the ultimate bonus points and are holding an eligible gift card. If your only other option is to buy United miles, you can also liquidate a gift card — especially if it’s a card you won’t be using any time soon.

Additional reporting by Emily Thompson.