Home improvement — necessary and usually more money than you thought it would be — but you can take the sting out of it by earning miles. United Mileage Plus recently reminded its members that the program offers several ways for members to earn up to five miles per dollar spent on home improvement projects. When you order products online from merchants such as LightingDirect, FaucetDirect, MoreHome, HandleSets, VentingDirect, iTankless, PullsDirect, VentingPipe.com and ToolsDirect, you can add to your Mileage Plus balance and take that award trip you’ve been planning — and who wants to be around the house anyway, with all the dust and noise from the remodeling.