Intern – Kinective: Mileageplus, Partnerships, Data/analytics, Marketing And Cobrand (summer 2026)

Internship Opportunities

Achieving our goals starts with supporting yours. Grow your career, access top-tier health and wellness benefits, build lasting connections with your team and our customers, and travel the world using our extensive route network. Come join us to create what's next. Let's define tomorrow, together.

At United, we offer internships, co-ops, and full-time opportunities for early career professionals. In any role, you're a key member of our team, contributing to real projects that help move the business forward while gaining hands-on experience, growing your professional skill set, and connecting with industry leaders. You'll also have a chance to build community through our employee-run Business Resource Groups, participate in industry conferences, and enjoy unlimited standby travel anywhere we fly.

United's MileagePlus business unit is a multi-discipline organization responsible for our global loyalty program and other emerging businesses. As the premier leader in the airline industry, MileagePlus communicates and rewards our millions of members and non-member customers alike while driving revenue growth for United.

Loyalty is responsible for the strategic planning, development and execution of our MileagePlus program and customer loyalty experience, along with the associated partnership development and marketing. This group designs the program structure and member benefits and focuses on expanding our award offerings and creating partnerships with valuable entities to extend the value of the program beyond the customer journey and into consumers' daily activity.

The Partnerships team manages the growth and expansion of the existing non-air partner portfolio and is also responsible for sourcing new business opportunities that fit into the broader MileagePlus offering. Strategic non-air partnerships allow members to earn and redeem miles across their travel journey, enhancing their overall experience, while also providing an opportunity for members to engage with MileagePlus when they aren't flying. This group serves as the nucleus of our non-air partnerships, tracking performance and coordinating marketing, legal, operations, tech, and any other areas that touch the partnership across the enterprise.

The Existing Cardmember co-brand team is part of the broader MileagePlus loyalty program and is responsible for managing the strategy, performance, and day-to-day operations for the entire suite of United credit cards. The team develops and executes marketing strategies to keep existing cardmembers engaged throughout their lifecycle by executing ongoing omni-channel campaigns to educate, retain and drive card usage.

Data and Analytics partners with MileagePlus and Kinective to define long-term goals, evaluate opportunities, and guide strategic decisions with data-driven insights. This group designs and enables comprehensive measurement strategies by analyzing relevant customer, loyalty, and operational data, and translates complex data into compelling, actionable recommendations that help us deliver on organizational goals.

At Kinective Media, we believe in creating meaningful connections between travelers and brands through utilizing our award-winning loyalty program, MileagePlus. By leveraging insights from travel behaviors of our customers Kinective Media connects customers to personalized, real-time advertising, content, experiences and offers from leading brands.

The Kinective Marketing team has the following focus areas: loyalty, media, events and experiences.

We work closely with the business groups for Program (MileagePlus), Co-brand Cards, Partners and Media (Kinective Media) to translate business strategies into marketing strategies, and then collaborate with other marketing and advertising teams to execute tactics to drive measurable impact.

The Kinective team develops innovative new products and services for our customers and ensures that our global brand is connecting people and uniting the world.

Job overview and responsibilities:

The Kinective department has several exciting intern opportunities for summer 2026. Interns will have the opportunity to work with the following business functions:

MileagePlus

Data & Analytics

Kinective Media

Partnerships

Co-Brand

Kinective Marketing

Loyalty Program and Member Benefits

Data Science

Sales

Travel Partnerships

Acquisition & Retention

MileagePlus Program Marketing

Air Redemption

Marketing and Loyalty Analytics

Non-Travel Partnerships

Ops & Performance

MileagePlus Partner Marketing

Member Lifecycle Management

Digital Marketing Analytics

New Business

Media

MileagePlus Exclusives Program

Loyalty Operations

Customer data & Identity

Cards and Payments Marketing

Kinective Media Marketing & Go-to-Market Strategy

Events Supporting MileagePlus and Kinective Media

Direct Conversion Path: This internship may be eligible for full-time conversion based on performance in role, position availability and overall operational need, potentially offering a direct pathway to a career with us.

Qualifications

Applicant must be a current undergraduate student graduating in Winter 2026 or Spring/Summer 2027

Pursuing a bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Engineering, Economics, or a related field; or other relevant experience

Highly organized and self-motivated, with excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to manage multiple, competing priorities and ensure attention to detail

Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills; must be comfortable talking to and collaborating with a variety of stakeholders

Confident performing data analysis to arrive at insights and develop recommendations

Proven proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Preferred Qualifications:

SQL, Python, or other programming capabilities for the Data & Analytics team

Other Qualifications:

Position is based in Chicago, IL - must be able to relocate for internship duration

Start dates in May or June 2026

Passion to work for the airline industry and curiosity for loyalty programs

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship now and in the future

Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualifications

Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

The starting rate for this role is $20.00. The base salary range/hourly rate listed is dependent on job-related, non-discriminatory factors such as experience, education and skills. This position may also be eligible for bonus and/or long-term incentive compensation awards. You may be eligible for the following competitive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, accident & disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, paid time off, 401(k) and flight privileges.

United Airlines is an equal opportunity employer. United Airlines recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, veteran status and other protected status as required by applicable law. Equal Opportunity Employer - Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled/LGBT. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions. Please contact JobAccommodations@united.com to request accommodation.