Nov 1, 2013, 4:08 am
Last edit by: aacharya
Moderator Note: Please keep the wiki post limited to just the facts.
New UA Award/Upgrade Chart (vs. Current Chart)
Changes took effect for travel booked starting February 3, 2014. See UA Insider's post linked here for more info about the date change. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22263212-post2366.html
Awards with *A partners now cost more than similar awards flown only on UA metal.
See below for the round-trip increases on partner metal :
Changes to upgrade policy for intra-Asia and northern South America flights
Questions and Answers
Q: If I book an award in January 2014 and then make changes in February or beyond (in routing, airline, origin, destination, etc), will it be repriced according to new mileage requirements, or will I keep the old pricing on that ticket?
Additional details on changing tickets booked prior to 2/3/14 per UA Insider:
Full details are in post #2588 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22283437-post2588.html
Q: Do these rates apply for tickets purchased after Feb 3 or for travel after Feb 3? That is,if one purchases a ticket now, to fly on Mar 15, will that be new or old pricing?
Q: How will award pricing apply to mixed-carrier Saver Awards?
(reverted to J.Edward's rev)
New UA Award/Upgrade Chart (vs. Current Chart)
Changes took effect for travel booked starting February 3, 2014. See UA Insider's post linked here for more info about the date change. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22263212-post2366.html
Awards with *A partners now cost more than similar awards flown only on UA metal.
- F awards on partners went up 40-80%
- J awards on partners went up 20-40%
- F and J awards on UA metal (or mixed carriers where UA metal is in premium cabin followed by partner segment in lower class) as well some Y awards increased by 5-20% (US to Europe in F up 19%, US to Middle East in F up 20% for example)
See below for the round-trip increases on partner metal :
US ✈ Southern South America: +10,000 J, +5,000 F
US ✈ Europe: +40,000 J, +85,000 F
US ✈ Northern/Central/Southern Africa: +40,000 J, +110,000 F
US ✈ Middle East: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +130,000 F
US ✈ Central Asia/India: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F
US ✈ South Asia: +15,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F
US ✈ North Asia: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +100,000 F
US ✈ Japan: +5,000 Y, +30,000 J, +85,000 F
US ✈ Oceania: +30,000 J, +70,000 F
US ✈ Australia/New Zealand: +25,000 J, +100,000 F
RTW: +20,000 Y, +90,000 J, +100,000 F
US ✈ Europe: +40,000 J, +85,000 F
US ✈ Northern/Central/Southern Africa: +40,000 J, +110,000 F
US ✈ Middle East: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +130,000 F
US ✈ Central Asia/India: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F
US ✈ South Asia: +15,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F
US ✈ North Asia: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +100,000 F
US ✈ Japan: +5,000 Y, +30,000 J, +85,000 F
US ✈ Oceania: +30,000 J, +70,000 F
US ✈ Australia/New Zealand: +25,000 J, +100,000 F
RTW: +20,000 Y, +90,000 J, +100,000 F
Changes to upgrade policy for intra-Asia and northern South America flights
- Complimentary Premier Upgrades and instant upgrades are not applicable
- Regional Premier Upgrades (for any fare class) and Global Premier Upgrades (for flights booked in fare class Z, P, S, T, L, K, G or N) can no longer be requested on or after November 1, 2013
- There is no co-pay exemption for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards requested on or after November 1, 2013
- The above changes do not apply to Copa-operated flights.
Questions and Answers
Q: If I book an award in January 2014 and then make changes in February or beyond (in routing, airline, origin, destination, etc), will it be repriced according to new mileage requirements, or will I keep the old pricing on that ticket?
Our existing change process will apply. Changes to awards that require a change in date do not result in a change to the award price. Any other change will require an add/collect in miles and fees for changes or cancellations will still apply as per our existing policies.
Changes that will not trigger a re-price for itineraries ticketed before February 3, 2014 include:
- Date/time (cabin, region, and award type can't change)
- Carrier on one or more segments (cabin, region, and award type can’t change)
- Origin/Destination within the same regions (carrier and cabin can’t change)
Q: Do these rates apply for tickets purchased after Feb 3 or for travel after Feb 3? That is,if one purchases a ticket now, to fly on Mar 15, will that be new or old pricing?
Updated handling for mixed UA-Partner United/partner award itineraries: As we shared with the initial announcement, the Star Alliance/Partner partner award pricing will apply to Business or First awards for itineraries that include at least one flight segment operated by a MileagePlus partner carrier in Business or First.
However, as a customer benefit we have made an exception for most itineraries which require connecting onto a MileagePlus/Star partner in First or Business for a short distance. Specifically, if a United/Copa award itinerary contains a connecting segment on a MileagePlus/Star partner that is wholly within one MileagePlus award region, then the United award price will apply.
However, as a customer benefit we have made an exception for most itineraries which require connecting onto a MileagePlus/Star partner in First or Business for a short distance. Specifically, if a United/Copa award itinerary contains a connecting segment on a MileagePlus/Star partner that is wholly within one MileagePlus award region, then the United award price will apply.
- For example: IAD-FRA in United BusinessFirst connecting to FRA-FCO in Lufthansa Business, will be priced at the United mileage award amount.
- Note that this exception will not apply to a few specific regions and routings, such as intra-Africa connecting segments and certain fifth-freedom routes (e.g. BKK-KUL operated by Lufthansa)
Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014
Nov 2, 2013, 12:47 am
#901
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Posts: 211
I haven't been in the travel game very long, but between this and the Hilton devaluation earlier this year, I sometimes wonder if it is worth bothering with.
United, I have 4-5 RT business flights from NYC-HKG coming up the next few months (I am writing this in HKG airport). Time to switch to American/Cathay Pacific. I am kissing *A goodbye. I was willing to sacrifice comfort for the benefits of the Mileageplus program, but now I have no reason NOT to fly Cathay Pacific back and forth.
My 140,000 mile redemption earlier this year would now be 260,000. Ridiculous.
United, I have 4-5 RT business flights from NYC-HKG coming up the next few months (I am writing this in HKG airport). Time to switch to American/Cathay Pacific. I am kissing *A goodbye. I was willing to sacrifice comfort for the benefits of the Mileageplus program, but now I have no reason NOT to fly Cathay Pacific back and forth.
My 140,000 mile redemption earlier this year would now be 260,000. Ridiculous.
Nov 2, 2013, 1:02 am
#902
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: BA, AA, SQ, UA, AC, WS, MR TIT
Posts: 8,658
and the mileage devaluation it is trash right now.
Nov 2, 2013, 1:24 am
#903
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: New York City
Programs: UA 1K, CX Dia, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Dia
Posts: 385
I am in the same boat and always flew UA for the miles, now bye bye UA and hello CX where you can credit AS which at least for now has very reasonable redemption levels. Also the service and seat on CX blows UA out of the water and the food is marginally better too (oh and the lounges are no contest). Sometimes the cost might be higher on CX but my company pays and I now have zero reason to give UA about $7500 worth of business every 6 weeks.
Nov 2, 2013, 1:25 am
#904
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: FLL
Programs: UA: 1K MM, Marriott Ambassador, Platinum IHG. Diamond: Hilton. Silver: Delta & Hyatt
Posts: 1,366
What a clueless CEO
Aaron:
Can you tell Jeff how embarrassing this is for you guys with all your advertising about being friendly! Time for him to go back to the court room & get a CEO who actually knows how to run an airline. M+ was the reason to stay with United but now it's time to go elsewhere! The letters are coming!
-UFFA
Can you tell Jeff how embarrassing this is for you guys with all your advertising about being friendly! Time for him to go back to the court room & get a CEO who actually knows how to run an airline. M+ was the reason to stay with United but now it's time to go elsewhere! The letters are coming!
-UFFA
Nov 2, 2013, 1:33 am
#905
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Sun & beach destinations
Programs: UA-lifetime Platinum (2MM), IHG-Amb, HH-Diamond, Hertz-PC, Marriott-Gold, CX-AM
Posts: 1,427
Now my only fear finally comes true!!!
Nov 2, 2013, 1:36 am
#906
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Posts: 211
.
Nov 2, 2013, 1:53 am
#907
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: Mileage Plus: Platinum; Enterprise Plus: Silver
Posts: 106
What strikes me is how hypocritical UA management is. The 1st February was not chosen at random. They want people to redeem their miles, as much as possible. This is a very low season between Christmas and Memorial Day with small demand and a lot of distressed inventory. Between now and Feb 1, many people will find awards for C and A cabins. The announcement (November 1) and the new rules (February 1) days were chosen very carefully. Thus, when Jeff was talking about "Friendly United" one month ago, he was well aware of the MP miles devaluation plan.
Nov 2, 2013, 2:03 am
#908
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: MEL
Programs: VAG
Posts: 1,865
Oh man, I'm so glad I stopped flying United and just finished burning all my United miles (on SQ, TK and LH, natch).
(A good question: why the hell do I still spend so much time on the United boards? I dunno, because the Virgin Australia board is a ghost town... )
(A good question: why the hell do I still spend so much time on the United boards? I dunno, because the Virgin Australia board is a ghost town...
)
Nov 2, 2013, 2:26 am
#909
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: HKG/MEX
Programs: DL/PM/2MM TK*G
Posts: 199
Anyone leaving United for other airlines, put ^ to show UA what they get at the end by doing this unbelievable changes!
Good bye United!
I miss the friendly sky
^
Good bye United!
I miss the friendly sky
^
Nov 2, 2013, 2:29 am
#910
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: BA, AA, SQ, UA, AC, WS, MR TIT
Posts: 8,658
Luckily, I am not leaving the boat while it is starting to sink. I have done that since last year and I am happy right now with the combo of AA/BA ^
Last edited by NA-Flyer; Nov 2, 2013 at 3:14 am
Nov 2, 2013, 2:31 am
#911
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,688
Burn baby burn...Disco inferno those united miles. Goodbye United. It was nice doing business with you and your partners. My Check list: 1. Burn united miles 2. Cancel United credit cards. 3. Pay cash and ask for cash discount everywhere I makes purchases.
Nov 2, 2013, 2:39 am
#912
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,664
But originally miles weren't worth a fixed amount of cash, and weren't even tied to cash. They were earned by flying 1 mile with a specific airline. If miles could ONLY be earned by flying, then they would be worth something related to what it costs to fly a mile (and as fuel prices go up, and ticket prices go up, so do the value of the miles).
Nov 2, 2013, 3:10 am
#913
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: SYD; Central Coast, NSW
Programs: UA, 1K 2MM
Posts: 947
Jorgen, as a fellow Aussie UA flyer, which airline have you moved to? As a UA flyer since 1984 I am stuck as to which airline to move to as I feel UA, despite all the devaluations since CO took over, still has the best FF program. These changes stink but on the whole we Aussie flyers have not been hit as hard as our US colleagues. However, day by day I am realizing that the UA I knew and treated me as a valued Elite no longer exists.
Nov 2, 2013, 3:28 am
#914
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: QR/AC Gold, VA Silver, IHG Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,581
Nov 2, 2013, 3:37 am
#915
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: ZRH
Programs: UA Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 258
many of the one-world programms have also different spending ratios if you redeem on foreign metal
As little as I like the changes - it is not UA making the trend but purely following the rest of FF programs
As little as I like the changes - it is not UA making the trend but purely following the rest of FF programs