United Reveals the Power of the “Booking Boost” to Lift Your Mood

New research shows 73% of Americans say booking a plane ticket to a new destination brings them happiness*.

On National Plan for Vacation Day, Dr. Laurie Santos, cognitive scientist and renowned Ivy League professor, explains why planning and taking a trip creates lasting brain health and physical well-being.

Current or new United MileagePlus members who book travel today can earn bonus miles on trips to one of the airline’s unique international destinations.

United Airlines is celebrating National Plan for Vacation Day with a way to remedy the seasonal blues by teaming up with cognitive scientist Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast and Ivy League professor, to analyze new research that examines the link between happiness and booking a vacation. According to a new survey* by United, 70% of Americans say booking a plane ticket for a vacation brings them happiness and a majority of people say experiences make them feel happier than material goods.

“Planning a vacation can give you an unexpected happiness bump because experiences matter for our well-being more than we expect,” said Dr. Santos. “When you book a vacation, you experience the reward of anticipating a positive experience. The happiness boost we get from travel can last long after you book your ticket – from the moments you happily anticipate your getaway, to taking the fun trip itself, to the times you recall trip high points with friends once you get back home.”

Customers can receive bonus miles and get their booking boost today if they book a trip from the U.S. to one of 25 international destinations where United is the only U.S. airline providing service. As the world’s largest airline, United connects travelers to more than 360 destinations worldwide.

“Booking Boost” Research

United’s survey* shows that 68% of people say January is a month where they need something to look forward to, while more than half of Americans report experiencing the winter blues. United’s findings also reveal the power of the positive mood-boost that occurs when a flight for vacation is booked, showing people are almost as happy planning their itinerary (73%) and just as happy sharing memories of the trip with others (83%) as they are experiencing the trip (82%).

As a mood elevator, travel is surprisingly more effective than buying material objects. According to research** reviewed by Dr. Santos, the happiness boost from a travel purchase has been shown to be over twice as large as the happiness effect from buying clothing, jewelry or home goods and more than four times as large as buying electronic goods.

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“A vacation gives you a bigger and more lasting happiness bump because as humans, we are delighted by the novelty of the unknown. The thrill of a new handbag wears off quickly since you get used to them through a trick our mind does called ‘hedonic adaptation,’ but travel brings new experiences each day that delight and engage us,” said Dr. Santos. “And then we build on that through social connections by traveling with other people and talking about our trip with them later.”

United’s survey* data also shows that 73% of Americans said they would feel happier booking a flight to a new destination rather than a destination they have already been to. With United’s expansive network, including the most international destinations of all U.S. airlines, travelers can experience a new destination starting with a mood boost as soon as they book their flight.

United’s Network: Unmatched Travel Destinations

As the world’s largest airline, United connects travelers to more than 360 destinations worldwide, and flies to more international destinations than any other U.S. carrier. Next summer, United will offer 800 daily flights to and from 147 international destinations, giving passengers the opportunity to travel to places they’ve never been all around the globe.

Last fall, United announced its largest-ever international expansion and will soon inaugurate flights to eight new and highly anticipated destinations including, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Bilbao, Spain; Madeira Island and Faro, Portugal and Dakar, Senegal.*** The new destinations build on United’s position as the largest Transatlantic and Transpacific carrier, with United now serving more destinations in Africa than any other U.S. airline.

In addition, United recently made its new direct flights from Tokyo-Narita to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Kaohsiung – destinations no other U.S. airline serves – available for booking, helping to seamlessly connect United’s five hub locations in the continental U.S. and transpacific services to Tokyo for unlimited adventure.

United MileagePlus: Booking Boost, Amplified

With so many incredible destinations, United travelers can earn miles through the airline’s award-winning MileagePlus loyalty program, including through of United’s Chase credit cards.

As an extra booking boost on National Plan for Vacation Day, United is offering bonus miles for trips booked today from the U.S. to one of 25 international destinations that no other U.S. airline serves. The offer is available for many of the airline’s most unique and off-the-beaten path destinations like Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Faro, Portugal and Bilbao, Spain.*** For example, a MileagePlus member flying round trip from Newark to Palermo in June could earn 13,000 miles, and one flying from Chicago to Faro in June could earn 10,000 miles.**** And, MileagePlus Premier members can earn even more. A full list of destinations eligible and terms and conditions for this offer can be found here.

“This research illustrates yet another reason why MileagePlus has such an engaged and loyal and happy member base – United connects travelers to unique, memorable experiences that deliver a proven, positive impact. And when they travel, MileagePlus members enjoy a booking boost – not only do they get the in-the-moment joy of their current trip, but they’re earning miles to make booking that next happiness inducing adventure even easier,” said Richard Nunn, CEO of United MileagePlus.

MileagePlus was recently rated the world’s best airline loyalty program and offers customers benefits including:

Free to join for all customers

• Miles never expire
• No blackout dates – if there’s a seat open you can buy it with miles or a combination of miles and cash. Plus, it’s free to change your flight on award tickets – and if you cancel your flight, you can have your award miles put back into your account with no fee
• Just about anything you can pay for with cash at United, you can also buy with miles (seats, Wi-Fi, snacks, etc.)
• And United became the first major U.S. airline to allow members of its loyalty program to pool their miles with family and friends into a joint account

*Online survey of 1,323 nationally representative Americans fielded by YouGov on behalf of United Airlines. The survey was fielded from January 8-9, 2025, and the margin of error is +/-3%. 

**Kumar, A., Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilovich, T. (2020). Spending on doing promotes more moment-to-moment happiness than spending on having. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88, 103971.

***Subject to government approvals.

****Actual amount of miles earned will vary depending on the ticket fare paid.