United MileagePlus is now the highest-ranked US airline loyalty programme in point.me's annual ranking of airline rewards programmes. It placed second worldwide with a score of 85.0 out of 100, behind Air France-KLM Flying Blue on 88.8, which took first place for the third year running1. United was fifth in the 2025 edition1. Time Out reported the result on 11 November2. The ranking was published on 29 October by point.me, a US company that sells an award search tool and a concierge booking service for points and miles1.

What the ranking measures

point.me scored 33 programmes on eight categories, with the weights set for the everyday US traveller1. What the points are worth counts for 60 percent: ease of earning, redemption rates and partner opportunities. How easy they are to use counts for 25 percent: award availability, the online redemption experience and award holds. What happens when plans change counts for 15 percent: customer service and change fees1. The company says it drew on more than 250 million award fares, rated each category on a four-star scale, assessed the rules as of 1 August 2026 and did not consider elite status benefits1.

Two caveats come from point.me itself. The 2025 ranking covered 59 programmes and the 2026 field was narrowed to 33, so the company says year-on-year moves should be read alongside the category ratings1. And United's score leaves out the discount of at least 10 percent on United-operated awards that it gave its cardholders in April1. This is one company's assessment from the perspective of a US member, not an industry or regulatory measure.

The positions

The top ten were Flying Blue, United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Atmos Rewards of Alaska and Hawaiian, American AAdvantage, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, JetBlue TrueBlue, The British Airways Club, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles1. American dropped from second to fifth and Virgin Atlantic from fourth to ninth1. Delta SkyMiles and Southwest Rapid Rewards shared 22nd place on 63.11. Of the European programmes outside the top ten, Iberia Club shared 19th place, Lufthansa Group's Miles & More was 27th and TAP Miles&Go 28th1.

United won three of the eight categories outright: redemption experience, customer service and change fees. It was runner-up for award availability1. point.me credits the rule that any seat United sells for cash can be booked with miles, free online changes and cancellations, and rebooking onto other United flights when an award trip is disrupted1. Its weak points in the same report: only Chase and Bilt points transfer in, there are no free award holds, and the best prices and miles on basic economy tickets now require a United credit card1.

Why airlines care about the programme

For an airline the loyalty programme is a business of its own, and the biggest customer is often a bank. United sells MileagePlus miles to JPMorgan Chase, which awards them to holders of the co-branded credit card6. In 2025 United recognised $3.2 billion in other operating revenue from its partner agreements, against $2.9 billion in 20246. That covers the marketing and related parts of those deals. The value of the miles themselves is deferred until members redeem them6. Over the first nine months of 2026 the figure rose to $2.7 billion from $2.4 billion a year earlier, and United again named credit card spending with Chase as the main driver of growth in other operating revenue7. At 30 September 2026 United carried $7.97 billion of frequent flyer deferred revenue on its balance sheet, miles sold or awarded but not yet used7.

The pandemic showed what such a programme is worth to lenders. In June 2020, with flying collapsed, United told investors that MileagePlus had more than 100 million members, brought in about $5.3 billion in cash from sales in 2019 and produced $1.8 billion of EBITDA, about 26 percent of the group's adjusted EBITDAR4. Multiplying that EBITDA by twelve, United put the value of the programme at about $21.9 billion, its own estimate rather than an independent valuation3. On 2 July 2020 the MileagePlus entities raised $6.8 billion in senior secured notes and a term loan, secured by substantially all of the programme's assets5. That debt has since gone. United says that after prepaying the term loan in July 2024 and redeeming the last $1.52 billion of notes on 7 July 2025, no debt is secured by MileagePlus assets any more6.

Ranking and revenue are not the same thing

The ranking says little about which programme earns the most. Delta SkyMiles shared 22nd place in point.me's table1, yet Delta reported that American Express paid it $8.2 billion in 2025, up 11 percent8. The two airlines do not report these figures on the same basis, so they cannot be compared directly. point.me itself notes that the best award prices and seats are increasingly reserved for members who carry an airline's credit card, and cites the Delta figure to show how much a card portfolio can earn1. United's own filings name changes to credit card regulation that would reshape co-brand card benefits as a risk to its profitability and competitive position6.

What it means for pilots looking at United

For pilots the more direct signal from United is hiring. The airline said on 20 August that it had hired 700 pilots so far in 2026, with plans to hire hundreds more this year, and more than 9,500 since it launched its United Next growth plan in 20219. Its Denver Flight Training Center, the sole training base for its nearly 18,000 active pilots and all new hires, now has 86 CAE devices including 52 full-motion simulators9. The United Airlines selection process is set out stage by stage on PilotinQ, and our United Airlines pilot salary page lists the published pay scales. For the route from the military, see how military pilots move to Delta, United or American. Current openings are on the United Airlines airline page.