RetireJapan

I plan to buy 100,000 United MileagePlus Miles. United.com charges 7.5% above whatever the miles cost. None of the flights I intend to take will arrive, depart or touch USA but I still must pay this Tax recovery fee when buying miles.

Is there any way to get a refund of this 7.5%? I am not a US person by the way.

Another question, when buying through United.com, I am not given an option to pay using USD, only JPY. Does anyone know how to pay using USD?

Thanks in advance.

Perhaps a VPN to pay in USD.

But the tax is probably based on the point of sale on the US side, so I doubt it will make a difference.