The United Flight Simulator Auction: What 600,000+ MileagePlus Miles Actually Get You
United MileagePlus runs a recurring auction that almost no one in the points community talks about publicly: full-motion flight simulator time at the United Flight Training Center in Denver. You get hands-on time in the flight deck of a full-motion Boeing and Airbus simulator — the same equipment United's line pilots train on — flying real scenarios from takeoff to landing.
It is also getting expensive fast. We track every MileagePlus Exclusives listing on PointAuctions.com, and the two 2026 editions closed at a verified 885,000 miles (April, for a June session — just 6 bids) and 625,000 miles after 68 bids (May, for a July session). Whether that's worth it depends on a calculation most bidders never run honestly. Here's what actually matters.
What the simulator auction delivers
Here's what's actually in it:
A package for two — you and a guest
Time in both a Boeing and an Airbus full-motion simulator — about an hour of flying plus an hour observing in each
• Roundtrip airfare for two to Denver (First Class on at least one recent edition, Economy on another)
• One night's hotel in Denver, with shuttle to the training center
• A facility tour, an emergency-procedures tour, and a meet-and-greet with the Flight Training Center team
• Access to the Denver training center campus, the same facility where United's line pilots train
The package does *not* include a pilot license, a type rating, or any FAA credential. This is an experiential session, not a training qualification. You fly the simulator the way an airline pilot flies one, but nobody is grading you against an ATP standard.
Why it's genuinely unique
American and Delta have both put simulator time up for miles, but only as one-offs. American ran a 787 full-motion sim auction at its Fort Worth Skyview campus in May 2025, open only to AAdvantage Mastercard cardholders via Mastercard's Priceless platform, and has run sim lots only as one-offs rather than a standing program. Delta auctioned A220 simulator time back in 2018 and has bundled sim access into Delta Days packages. Neither runs a standing program.
United is the only US carrier that keeps relisting simulator sessions, with multiple editions in 2026 alone. What also sets the United version apart:
• Full-motion simulator, not a fixed-base or desktop trainer — you physically feel the aircraft attitude, the vibration, the landing
Current airline-fleet types — you fly both a Boeing and an Airbus sim, the kind of equipment you might ride on next week
• An operational scenario, not a tour — a real flight profile with weather and instrument procedures
Consumer flight-sim experiences on non-motion rigs typically run a few hundred dollars an hour. Full-motion time at an airline training facility generally isn't available to civilians at any price outside auctions like this one.
What bidding looks like now
This is where our own tracking earns its keep, because the publicly cited numbers are stale. The often-quoted figure for this auction is around 350,000 miles, from earlier editions tracked on FlyerTalk — the 2019 edition was sitting around 100,000 miles when it first hit the thread, and winners through 2025 generally landed in the 200,000–350,000 range per the FlyerTalk megathread. Those earlier figures come from FlyerTalk, not our own tracking — we've only captured the two 2026 editions directly.
The 2026 editions left that range behind:
• April 2026 edition (June session): verified winning bid of 885,000 miles (just 6 bids)
• May 2026 edition (July session): verified winning bid of 625,000 miles after 68 bids
These are the verified winning bids — we capture United's final results after each auction closes, not just the last bid we happened to see. The market has roughly doubled in a year, and budgeting "around 350k" for the next edition would be planning for a price that no longer exists.
Running the miles math
MileagePlus miles are worth approximately 1.2 to 1.4 cents each on strong flight redemptions. At 1.3 cents, the 2026 verified range of 625,000 to 885,000 miles equals $8,100 to $11,500 in award-flight value. That's two or three business-class seats to Europe.
Is roughly four hours across a Boeing and an Airbus simulator worth that to you?
For an aviation enthusiast who will never otherwise touch commercial equipment, possibly yes. The experience is fundamentally unrepeatable, and people who've done it consistently say it exceeds expectations.
For a casual flyer who's curious, almost certainly not. The alternative redemption is simply too good.
For a licensed private pilot eyeing jet experience, there's genuine training value layered on top, which is often the best value case at these prices.
Our cents per point guide has the full framework if you want to pressure-test your own answer.
How to catch the next edition
The simulator auction doesn't run on a published calendar, but it no longer takes 18 months to come back either. With two editions already in 2026, the practical playbook:
1. Check MileagePlus Exclusives monthly — editions appear at `exclusives.mileageplus.com` two to three months before the session date
2. Watch the FlyerTalk megathread — the simulator auction thread has tracked this since 2019
3. Have the miles ready — auctions have closed within two to three weeks of listing; you can't accumulate 600,000+ miles reactively
4. Set an alert on PointAuctions.com — we list every Exclusives drop, so watch United MileagePlus listings and you'll see the next edition the day it appears
The bottom line
United's flight simulator auction is one of the most distinctive recurring redemptions in US airline loyalty, and the 2026 bidding shows the market has figured that out. At 625,000 to 885,000 miles, the math only works for someone who values the experience above two business-class trips to Europe. Know which camp you're in before the next edition lists, because you won't have long to decide once it does.