Exchange your unwanted gift cards for United miles

The post is updated with new information on a regular basis.

Did you get a gift card for the holidays that you didn't like?

The good news is that you can turn gift cards into mileage through the gift card exchange. The way it works is explained here.

Which gift cards are eligible?

There are over 100 types of merchant gift cards that are accepted. There is a link at the bottom of the page to a list of merchants that the program will accept gift cards from.

Home Depot and Southwest Airlines aren't currently available for exchange on the website. North Face and HP are not on the list.

An airline option is also available. You could swap your American Airlines gift card for United miles if you didn't know you were loyal to United. The Mileage Plus gift card exchange doesn't buy gift cards from Alaska, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Sun Country.

There are many ways to earn miles with the United Mileage Plus program.

Is it worth it?

The chart on United's website shows the minimum award miles awarded, which makes you think that some options have more miles than these rates. The mileage offer was the same for many merchants.

You can still get $25, $50 and $100 gift cards. You can exchange gift cards with a minimum balance of at least fifteen dollars. The gift card value is rounded up to the nearest 10 miles. Depending on how much you trade in, the United miles of between 3.70-3.76 cents per mile are imputed. It's for example:

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• $15 gift cards = 400 United miles (3.75 cents per mile).
• $20 gift cards = 540 United miles (3.70 cents per mile).
• $25 gift cards = 670 United miles (3.73 cents per mile).
• $30 gift cards = 800 United miles (3.75 cents per mile).
• $40 gift cards = 1,070 United miles (3.74 cents per mile).
• $50 gift cards = 1,330 United miles (3.76 cents per mile).
• $100 gift cards = 2,660 United miles (3.76 cents per mile).

If you prefer the miles over the gift card, you may be able to take advantage of this.

At least United is sticking to its guns. You can buy United miles at a rate of $35 per 1,000 United miles when United isn't running a buy miles promotion. This rate is 3.66 cents per mile after taxes and fees.

Credit cards that buy points and miles.

Limitations to keep in mind

The MileagePlus account must have been open for at least 90 days to sell gift cards through the gift card exchange. The program requires you to have a positive account balance.

Although United will give you a quote for $10 gift cards, the terms and conditions state that they must have a minimum balance of fifteen dollars. Gifts up to $100 will only be accepted at the exchange.

The miles will arrive in your United account within five business days if you sell a gift card through the Mileage Plus Gift Card Exchange.

Hotels.com gift cards can be exchanged for unwanted gift cards.

Bottom line

It's nice to have the option to liquidate gift cards for something that you actually want, even though you're not going to get an excellent rate. You can check online for another gift card exchange program that may give you a better rate.

If you need United miles for an upcoming redemption, you should use the MileagePlus Gift Card Exchange if you have tapped out your Chase Ultimate rewards points. If you only have one other option, you should liquidate the gift card.

Emily Thompson reports additional reporting.