When traveling inter-regionally, it's a good idea to check and see if the United Excursionist Perk can be applied. It can be complicated to implement and hack, but can save a ton of money by getting amazing deals on otherwise costly routes. ## The Official Rules United's Excursionist Perk presents itself as a set of rules where if you are flying to a different region, one intra-regional flight in that region is free as long as the booked itinerary returns to the original region. A typically understood example of this would be: 1. Flight from New York (Mainland U.S., Alaska, & Canada) to London (Europe) 2. Flight from London (Europe) to Paris (Europe) 3. Flight from Paris (Europe) to New York (Mainland U.S., Alaska, & Canada) However, the only rules are: - The flights must be bought with MileagePlus points - The first flight must be from Region A - The second (free) flight must be from Region B to Region B - The third flight must be to Region A The hidden implication here is that there can be a third or fourth region in the mix that isn't Region A or B. A possible itinerary that falls within the rules: 1. Flight from Region A to Region C 2. Flight from Region B to Region B (the free flight) 3. Flight from Region D to Region A Getting to regions B and D in the above itinerary can be completely separate flights apart from the trip, and the Excursionist Perk flights can be spread as far apart through time as you can stretch it on their booking engine. Keep in mind that you don't have to leave Region A on steps 1 and 3, so you can theoretically book like this: 1. Flight from Region A to Region A 2. Flight from Region B to Region B (free) 3. Flight from Region A to Region A It's rare that you may want to do this or be able to get value from this kind of itinerary though. It may be usefule, however, if you are planning far, far in advance, multple trips at once (e.g., visiting family in the US, then planning an intra-regional African trip, then visiting family again months later). ## Regions [United Regions](https://www.united.com/en/us/region-list) Maps credit to [Greg the Frequent Miler](https://frequentmiler.com/author/frequentmiler/). [Page with Maps](https://frequentmiler.com/united-excursionist-perk-maps-visualize-regions-to-optimize-awards/) ### Americas & More Map <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1_GyZOxvjvf1xsn5UOnuqE2RXgxG39nBx&ehbc=2E312F" width="640" height="480"></iframe> ### Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Map <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1eD9b33Ws-b1ZYUiClmYoS8a_g4CLX47p&ehbc=2E312F" width="640" height="480"></iframe> ## Possible Real-Life Itinerary This allows for more creative itineraries than what initially comes to mind. A potential itinerary would be: 1. Flight from New York (Mainland U.S., Alaska, & Canada) to Buenos Aires (Southern South America) 2. Flight from Dakar (Central & Southern Africa) to Antananrivo (Central & Southern Africa) 3. Flight from Tokyo (Japan) to Los Angeles (Mainland U.S., Alaska, & Canada) The itinerary doesn't make much sense, but it follows the rules of the Excursionist Perk, where the itinerary begins and ends in Region A (Mainland U.S., Alaska, & Canada), and the excursion begins and ends within the same region (Central & Southern Africa). --- https://thepointsguy.com/guide/maximize-united-excursionist-perk/ https://frequentmiler.com/united-excursionist-perk-maps-visualize-regions-to-optimize-awards/