United Vacations

• Accommodations
• Tools & Resources
• Rewards Program

Accommodations

As part of United Airlines, United Vacations works to provide the best value vacation at the lowest cost (at least for the actual flight portion of the trip). In addition to booking a flight with United, United Vacations allows individual or parties to book hotels, rental cars, and other vacation activities all on one platform. These accommodations can be bundled for additional savings as well. Travelers can use United Vacations for domestic or international traveling purposes and save with their booking strategy. The platform is designed to provide a one-stop service for users conducting travel research.

Tools & Resources

While United Vacations may specialize on the flights side of booking travel, they also offer a number of tools and resources to prospective travelers to provide the best possible booking experience. These tools and resources include:

• MileagePlus - this is the loyalty program affiliated with United Airlines which offers exclusive ways to earn bonus award miles
• Vacation Protection - travelers can cancel for any reason prior to departure. This comes with price protection and during-travel insurance including travel assistance, baggage protection, trip interruption/delay reimbursement, medical coverage, etc.
• Groups Your Way Feature - offers flexible options for those planning on traveling in groups. This feature will allow travelers to book the entire vacation together.

Rewards Program

One of the more financially-based benefits of using United Vacations is their unique reward/bonus system. Whether it is for leisure or business, the MileagePlus program allows travelers to rake up bonus rewards and save on future expeditions. Exclusives associated with the MileagePlus program for those that book through the platform include:

• Add Up The Miles - Earn up to 2,000 miles when booking with United First or United Business (on any international or Hawaii vacation package)
• Domestic and Canadian Destinations - travelers can earn 500 miles booking to these destinations
• Promotional Offers - book promotional offers to earn additional miles

All of the rewards programs/credit cards are not necessarily equal in terms or earning or redeeming points. Furthermore, travelers who decide to enroll and use the MileagePlus Explorer card can also expound on the original rewards system for additional bonuses. These include:

• Earnings - United MileagePlus Explorer cardmembers earn 2 miles for each $1 spent on United Vacation purchases
• Baggage Bonuses - cardmembers and one companion will receive the first standard checked bag free

Customers who are incentivized based on rewards programs may want to look further into the United Vacations platform. The United Vacations rewards program through MileagePlus offers one of the most complete and comprehensive rewards programs available through a travel agency. Those who find themselves on United flights often could benefit from utilizing the United Vacations rewards program for additional discounts and mileage bonuses.

• No Comparison Feature
• Restrictions
• Exceptions & Exclusions

No Comparison Feature

Since United Vacations is a branch of the United Airlines service, their goal is to ensure travelers use their airline when traveling. There is no comparison feature that allows users to look at other airlines to see if there are better rates to their desired location. So while a user may get the best deal on United, they are not necessarily guaranteed the best rate available.

Restrictions

Restrictions associated with destinations is something international travelers should take note of. Compared to other online travel booking sites, United Vacations is somewhat limited in terms of the destinations available for booking. While there are a number of countries and regions travelers available, there are some limitations and steep prices associated with a number of those international destinations. Even the most comprehensive rewards programs have downfalls.

Exceptions & Exclusions

Whether booking for leisure or business purposes, there will be some exceptions and exclusions. While United Vacations boasts of their "specialty vacation" packages, they do not allow travelers to book cruises. The specialty vacations United Vacations does book include:

• Family
• Honeymoon
• Luxury
• Escorted Tours
• Ski and Dive
• Group Travel
• Disney Vacations
• Sustainable Travel

All of these options make up a solid vacation platform, but they are missing the ever-popular cruise option which a number of travelers using a travel agency are interested in. It is important to note that the speciality vacations option does allow for a payment plan, requiring travelers to put $200 down and then pay for the rest of the vacation at a later time.