United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - Claiming Miles After the Flight (and no Mileage Plus account)

I just dropped a girl off at IAH to fly to Europe and I learned that she doesn't have a frequent flier account, even though she's flown to Europe several times in the past few years. My jaw dropped.

I told her about frequent flier accounts and she almost flipped out....she really had no idea.

My question is: what's the statute of limitations on claiming miles after the flights have been over? Is it 6 months? A year or 2? What sort of information do you need for it (confirmation numbers? She's kept all the boarding passes for memory's sake) and where do you go to claim them? Online at united.bomb or do you have to call someone in customer service?

Thanks in advance! I know it's a bunch of questions, but I'd really appreciate it!

^

The rules are right here:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/Contact/mileageplus/MileageCredit.aspx

If the account was open at the time of flight, you can request up to 12 months in the past.

New MileagePlus® members may request mileage credit for flights completed on United, United Express, Continental and COPA up to 31 days prior to their enrollment date. For a $25 USD fee, new members may request mileage credit for flights beyond 31 days and up to six months prior to their enrollment date. Contact the MileagePlus Service Center to process this request.

I'm not sure *A partner flights are allowed prior to the enrollment date.

just had this situation when i helped a friend request mileage by creating a mileage plus account well after the flight was flown. here's the customer service response:


MileagePlus members may receive mileage credit for flights operated by
United, United Express, Copa, and Copa Colombia taken up to 30 days
prior to enrollment date free of charge.

For United and United Express-operated flights, you may request this
mileage by completing the Mileage Credit Request form using the
following link: www.united.com/retrocredit

For Copa and Copa Colombia-operated flights, please email a copy of all
ticket receipts and boarding passes to mileageplus@united.com or mail
the documents to the address below.

In addition, you may receive mileage credit for flight activity on
United, United Express, Copa, and Copa Colombia between 31 days and six
months prior to enrollment in the MileagePlus program for a $25 USD
service fee.

For United-operated flights, please contact the MileagePlus Service
Center to process your request.*
For Copa and Copa Colombia-operated flights, please mail a copy of all
ticket receipts and boarding passes to:
MileagePlus Service Center
PO Box 6120
Rapid City, SD 57709-6120

If the flights were more than 30 days prior to enrollment, please be
sure to include the MileagePlus account number and a telephone number
along with a credit card number and expiration date. Payment may also be
made by check or money order. Please make the check payable to United
Airlines and include the information from one form of identification
(Driver's License Number, Passport Number or Military I.D. Number). This
information should be placed on the top left hand corner of the check.
As a reminder, all missing mileage requests must be submitted within 12
months of flight date. In addition, other partner flights taken prior to
enrollment in the MileagePlus program are not eligible for mileage
accrual due to contractual agreements with our partners.

*The MileagePlus Service Center is open 7 a.m. - midnight (CT), 7 days a
week. If calling from the U.S. or Canada, please call 800-421-4655. To
reach us from outside the U.S. and Canada, please call 605-348-0011 or
contact your local United reservations office.

Thanks very much, y'all! I think I'll make an account for her & make sure she gets the # so she could enter it in.

A friend of mine flew to HNL in Mid May. He did not open a mileage plus account because he does not fly that much. The route he took was JFK- LAX Then Lax - HNL. I am not sure if it's too late or not, but he does not care anout earning award miles and told me I can have them. Is it too late for him to get the miles posted to his account? My goal is to have him transfer them to me since he does not need them.

He is willing to give me all his information and I will call United on his behalf since he's not computer savy. If I have to have him call due to security reasons he will. I just need to know if it's too late and if it's not what informaton will we need?

Thanks

from Alex
Alex: There is no cost to receive credit for United flights taken up to 30 days prior to your MileagePlus enrollment date. You can receive credit for United flights taken 31 days to six months prior to enrollment for a fee. See this Web page for more information.

It looks like you're viewing important information so I'm waiting to take you to the page that covers your question. When you are ready to view this information, follow the link below. New Member Mileage Credit (https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/help/myaccount.aspx?camp=virtual_expert_user#CanIreceiv ecreditfortripstakenbeforeIhadaOnePassaccount)
Can I receive credit for trips taken before I had a MileagePlus account?

You may receive mileage credit for United-operated flights taken up to 30 days prior to your enrollment date free of charge. No mileage credit will be given for partner flights. You may also receive mileage credit for United-operated flights taken between 31 days and six months prior to enrollment for a $25 USD service fee. Please contact the MileagePlus Service Center or mail a copy of all ticket receipts and the original boarding passes from your United flight(s) to: MileagePlus Service Center, P.O. Box 6120, Rapid City, SD 57709-6120.

If the flights taken were more than 30 days prior to your enrollment, please be sure to include your MileagePlus account number and a telephone number along with a credit card number and expiration date. You may also pay by check or money order. Please make your check payable to United Airlines and include the information from one form of identification (driver’s license number, passport number, or military ID number). This information should be placed on the top left hand corner of the check. All missing mileage requests must be submitted within six months of flight date.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileageplus-consolidated/1372226-claiming-miles-after-flight.html

My goal is to have him transfer them to me since he does not need them.

Keep in mind that United charges $15 per 1,000 miles to transfer between accounts.

Presuming this was a return flight, that's just over 10,000 miles, which will cost you $150 to get ($175 by the time you pay the $25 service fee to get them credited to him in the first place)

Depending on what you plan to do with them, that may or may not actually be worth the cost.

I purchases some tickets for my mother using my mileage / credits. She does not have a MileagePlus number.

1) I am wondering whether I can create a MileagePlus account on her behalf and claim those miles she traveled.

2) Can I transfer her miles to my account afterwards?

Thanks a lot for your input!

I purchases some tickets for my mother using my mileage / credits. She does not have a MileagePlus number.

1) I am wondering whether I can create a MileagePlus account on her behalf and claim those miles she traveled.

2) Can I transfer her miles to my account afterwards?

Thanks a lot for your input!

Thanks for moving my post. But I think my situation is a little different. Can we still claim miles that were redeemed before? I didn't pay a dime for my mother's international air ticket. Can we still claim those miles?

I purchases some tickets for my mother using my mileage / credits.You do not get miles for award travel.

You do not get miles for award travel.

Thanks a lot!
I should have searched for "redeem miles for award travel" or something like that. Thanks!