UA closed my account.
 

UA closed my account on 08/14/12. I called customer service and they did not know anything. They will send my request to UA head-quarter and asked me to call back after 72 hours.

Basically I used my UA credit card a lot, did a lot on UA online shopping and had accumulated a lot miles (about 500,000 a year). Also I used a lot for business class reward tickets for myself, relatives and friends.

What should I do? Please advise. I have a booked business class ticket for next Friday 08/24/12.

I did some research by google. It seems that UA will cancel the booked ticket at the last minute when you check in and charge you the full price. This is unfair!!!

If they want to close your account, at least they have to tell you ahead of time. I never think that a big company such as UA has no credit like this.

Any chance they thought you were selling miles? That could have set off some flags.

Welcome to FlyerTalk :)

My guess is that the closure has little to do with your earning and a lot to do with your redemptions.

Welcome to FT
I would call again and ask again.
Tell them you really don't want to wait 72 hours (for a call you will most likely not get).
Ask to speak with the MileagePlus desk or the website desk.
Also ask to speak with a supervisor.
I assume you did not save any screenshots and have no other documentation of your miles?
I know it is not their problem but I would also call the credit card company and tell them about this problem. If you use the credit card so much, they may want to help you in order to keep you as a client.
Good luck and please tell us what happened.

Maybe. I am an export business owner. Most of redemption for friends are for the related business partners.

Is it possible to argue? I can provide my business related documents. If not, I will move on. I do not want to waste my time.

I do want to sue UA or BBB UA. This is so unfair!

PS. I googled and found this forum. So glad to be here. Hope I can get some help.

All it takes is one wrong word by the passenger using the miles to set off flags. I recall a thread here in years past where an award ticket flyer told the counter agent what a great deal they got on the ticket (money had exchanged hands), and in a second case a person going to Australia for a wedding, on an award ticket redeemed by her brother's coworker, whose name and account info she did not have, was denied boarding. If something like this happened to the OP it's not going to be resolved with a Mileage Plus or reservations supervisor on the weekend.

Lots of redemptions for a lot of different people raised a red flag in the system. If you aren't selling the miles, you have done nothing wrong and it will get worked out.

If you are using award tickets for business partners and they are reimbursing you or paying you for the flights, then UA has the right to and will close your account.

You have 500,000 miles and you're ready to move on? Something doesn't sound right here.

It all comes down to what information UA has in their possession. If they find out you're selling tickets, good luck getting the account opened. If you've been giving them away for free, by all means argue your case and provide them with any supporting documentation they might ask for.

This is why I am very selective on who uses my miles as well as my SO when it comes to using buddy passes. One wrong thing said, "incident" etc...and there goes your flying benefits as MP redeemer or your employee flying privileges...

They will not reimburse me since their expenses are on my company.

what I meant is I accumulate 500,000 miles per year in average. The current balance in my account is only about 40,000 miles.

Which department at WHQ sent you the letter?

This happened to an acquaintance of mine. His letter was from "Fraud Prevention". They gave him an 800 number at WHQ, where he called to find out what was going on. They told him that he had been selling upgrade instruments on social media sites and that they were closing his account for violating the TOS. UA basically told him that they no longer wanted him as a customer and that he should take his business elsewhere. When he threatened legal action, they told him that they could no longer communicate directly with him but could only communicate through their lawyers.

He fought for about a year, filing complaints with every government agency he could think of, to no avail. He consulted a lawyer who advised him to save his money since the legal fees would exceed the value of the million plus miles that he lost, and that his chances of winning were low.

He was essentially banned for life from the FF program. While he can still buy tickets and fly on UA, he cannot earn miles.

You need to find out why they banned you, and if they have any evidence that might indicate that you were selling or trading your miles and/or upgrade instruments.

Good Luck.

Was UA correct in this case?

Thanks for your info. I did not get any letter yet. I found it out since I can not log into my UA account.

I will keep you guys updated.

Well, yes.

He was selling upgrades. But, he thought he was careful enough and that his anonymity was protected. He thinks that maybe UA provided documentation to ebay that selling upgrades/miles is against their TOS and that ebay "ratted him out". But, UA wouldn't confirm how they knew, only that they had "proof". It could also have been a comment from a lackadaisical sponsoree, since UA does often ask questions of flyers on free biz class tickets/upgrades.