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, 3:44 am
#916
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: UK
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite, UA 1K
Posts: 822
It could have been much, much worse
I've intentionally "cooled off" overnight to think about this
I see the mileage redemption rates as
1) adjusting for "inflation" - ie putting rates up because they can
2) fixing some of the "too good to be true" rates (SFO > Europe > NRT = 70k)
3) *A partners wanting to be "paid more"
How could it have been worse?
Because of the US miles policy, LH F can no longer be redeemed
UA are the last MAJOR carrier within *A that does NOT charge YQ
Finally, for those taking issue with UA differentiating between UA metal & *A partners
USA > EUROPE (new rates)
UA GF - 80,000 miles
LH F - 110,000 miles
37.5% difference is a "bargain" when you compare the two products & is a no brainier when you include a 3/4 hour stopover at the FRA FCT
Like many here, I'd rather the rates had stayed the same, but for me it's c'est la vie
I see the mileage redemption rates as
1) adjusting for "inflation" - ie putting rates up because they can
2) fixing some of the "too good to be true" rates (SFO > Europe > NRT = 70k)
3) *A partners wanting to be "paid more"
How could it have been worse?
Because of the US miles policy, LH F can no longer be redeemed
UA are the last MAJOR carrier within *A that does NOT charge YQ
Finally, for those taking issue with UA differentiating between UA metal & *A partners
USA > EUROPE (new rates)
UA GF - 80,000 miles
LH F - 110,000 miles
37.5% difference is a "bargain" when you compare the two products & is a no brainier when you include a 3/4 hour stopover at the FRA FCT
Like many here, I'd rather the rates had stayed the same, but for me it's c'est la vie
Nov 2, 2013, 4:03 am
#917
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Asia
Programs: RVT 1K
Posts: 883
I've intentionally "cooled off" overnight to think about this
I see the mileage redemption rates as
1) adjusting for "inflation" - ie putting rates up because they can
2) fixing some of the "too good to be true" rates (SFO > Europe > NRT = 70k)
3) *A partners wanting to be "paid more"
How could it have been worse?
Because of the US miles policy, LH F can no longer be redeemed
I see the mileage redemption rates as
1) adjusting for "inflation" - ie putting rates up because they can
2) fixing some of the "too good to be true" rates (SFO > Europe > NRT = 70k)
3) *A partners wanting to be "paid more"
How could it have been worse?
Because of the US miles policy, LH F can no longer be redeemed
Nov 2, 2013, 4:49 am
#918
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SIN
Programs: United, SQ
Posts: 164
I have SIN-CHC next year in biz, can't wait to change the dates on Feb 1 and get back 30k miles...
Nov 2, 2013, 5:11 am
#919
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Dubai / NYC
Programs: EK-IO, UA-1K2MM, ETIHAD-GOLD, SPG-PLAT LIFETIME, JUMEIRAH SERIUS GOLD
Posts: 5,220
Are there any *A partners that give "at least" 100% credit for ALL UA flights regardless of fare basis?? Does LH or SQ give 100pct credit for UA flights poked in S or T class on domestic flights or V,W on international. If YES, thats where my business should go
Nov 2, 2013, 5:13 am
#920
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,893
I got the following confusing non-response from an e-mail to 1KVoice:
The response (to their credit, within about 6 hours!)
We’re always glad to hear from Premier 1K members like you. Thanks for writing.
Since your question is related to future award travel, please contact United Reservations at 1-800-756-1000. From outside the U.S., visit www.united.com/worldwidecontacts for a list of country-specific contact numbers.
We would be happy to help with questions regarding the MileagePlus® program or your MileagePlus account. Simply reply to this email if there’s anything we can do to assist you with these types of issues. Unfortunately, we can’t assist you with other travel-related questions.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact us.
Regards,
(person's name)
MileagePlus
Hi folks,
I have sort of a complicated question related to the upcoming devaluation of United award tickets.
Right now, I can book a one-way first-class award from IAD to BKK on Star Alliance partners for 70,000 miles in each direction. Suppose I book a round trip for travel in June 2014 on flights IAD-FRA-BKK // BKK-FRA-IAD, with segments in United first class, Thai first class, Thai first class, and Lufthansa business class respectively.
If, after I have flown the outbound segments, I see that Lufthansa has made first-class award inventory available on my LH J segment, can I call UA reservations and ask to switch from J to F on that flight (since I have already paid for a first-class trip and it was unavailable on this one segment)? In particular — will this call trigger a re-price (will I be asked for another 60k miles)? Or will a change which is made after travel has begun be priced using the fares that were in effect at the time of ticketing?
Hope the question makes sense; please let me know if it's unclear.
I'd appreciate hearing this information from a reservations expert who understands the plan. This will help us plan our travel & spending for 2014.
I have sort of a complicated question related to the upcoming devaluation of United award tickets.
Right now, I can book a one-way first-class award from IAD to BKK on Star Alliance partners for 70,000 miles in each direction. Suppose I book a round trip for travel in June 2014 on flights IAD-FRA-BKK // BKK-FRA-IAD, with segments in United first class, Thai first class, Thai first class, and Lufthansa business class respectively.
If, after I have flown the outbound segments, I see that Lufthansa has made first-class award inventory available on my LH J segment, can I call UA reservations and ask to switch from J to F on that flight (since I have already paid for a first-class trip and it was unavailable on this one segment)? In particular — will this call trigger a re-price (will I be asked for another 60k miles)? Or will a change which is made after travel has begun be priced using the fares that were in effect at the time of ticketing?
Hope the question makes sense; please let me know if it's unclear.
I'd appreciate hearing this information from a reservations expert who understands the plan. This will help us plan our travel & spending for 2014.
We’re always glad to hear from Premier 1K members like you. Thanks for writing.
Since your question is related to future award travel, please contact United Reservations at 1-800-756-1000. From outside the U.S., visit www.united.com/worldwidecontacts for a list of country-specific contact numbers.
We would be happy to help with questions regarding the MileagePlus® program or your MileagePlus account. Simply reply to this email if there’s anything we can do to assist you with these types of issues. Unfortunately, we can’t assist you with other travel-related questions.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact us.
Regards,
(person's name)
MileagePlus
Nov 2, 2013, 6:11 am
#921
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Costa Rica
Programs: UA 1K, Priority Platinum, Marriot Gold, Delta Platinum
Posts: 308
How about adding UAInsider replies to the wiki to facilitate reading on this thread?
Nov 2, 2013, 6:25 am
#922
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,510
Now that they've rolled out a lot of bad news I'm hoping they give us some good news over the next couple of weeks. Although I'm not sure what that would be. Maybe the return of premium SQ redemptions in 2014? Or LX First?
Nov 2, 2013, 6:27 am
#923
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2003
Location: AA Plat / UA NOTHING / Alaska 75K / Hyatt Diamond / SPG LT Plat / Marriott Gold / Priority Club Plat / Hertz Pres
Posts: 24,709
Nov 2, 2013, 6:34 am
#924
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: London; Bangkok; Las Vegas
Programs: AA Exec Plat; UA MM Gold; Marriott Lifetime Titanium; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,745
Nov 2, 2013, 6:40 am
#925
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: TK Elite Plus, SAS EBG, QR Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,297
TK does it. Though they charge much lower rates for awards on their own metal, compared to *A partners. For instance EU-US in Business Class cost 70K return on TK metal, and 105K on *A partners.
The downside of course is that awards are hard to find on TK, and the fact that their fuel surcharges are exuberant.
The downside of course is that awards are hard to find on TK, and the fact that their fuel surcharges are exuberant.
Nov 2, 2013, 6:56 am
#926
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Colorado
Programs: United MM (formerly 1K), Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 551
Thoughts and Observations
1) I'm sure glad I spent miles taking my wife to HKT (first class) and my family to CDG (business) over this past year. ^ Unfortunately, my wife and I still have 450,000 miles in our accounts. 
2) I would think this change greatly devalues the incentive to purchase miles via the miles accelerator, unless they are going to double the miles you get for the dollar, or halve the price.
3) Given the changes this year, I have been flying UA much less then prior years and am no where near regaining 1K status. I was toying with the idea about buying some PQMs, but now I will not.
4) I will likely not be booking any more tickets on UA for the rest of this year.
5) I would by fuming had I purchased miles during the recent promotion, and would be filling a complaint with the DOT as well as protesting the change with the credit card company. It is nothing but fraud to do that sort of promotion and then cut the value of the miles in half.
6) If UA is going to match DL's moves, then they should increase the earning rate for Gold.
At the end of the day, I really don't get UA's mentality of picking the worst of just about everything (goal for on time rating, IRROPs, food etc..). Are they not looking at their own financials and seeing that these policies are anti-business traveler and have been a dismal failure? Do they really not understand that this last change just drove a bunch of HFVs to other airlines? How do they expect to attract with these policies? How can they be this stupid?
2) I would think this change greatly devalues the incentive to purchase miles via the miles accelerator, unless they are going to double the miles you get for the dollar, or halve the price.
3) Given the changes this year, I have been flying UA much less then prior years and am no where near regaining 1K status. I was toying with the idea about buying some PQMs, but now I will not.
4) I will likely not be booking any more tickets on UA for the rest of this year.
5) I would by fuming had I purchased miles during the recent promotion, and would be filling a complaint with the DOT as well as protesting the change with the credit card company. It is nothing but fraud to do that sort of promotion and then cut the value of the miles in half.
6) If UA is going to match DL's moves, then they should increase the earning rate for Gold.
At the end of the day, I really don't get UA's mentality of picking the worst of just about everything (goal for on time rating, IRROPs, food etc..). Are they not looking at their own financials and seeing that these policies are anti-business traveler and have been a dismal failure? Do they really not understand that this last change just drove a bunch of HFVs to other airlines? How do they expect to attract with these policies? How can they be this stupid?
Nov 2, 2013, 7:03 am
#928
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Anywhere but home
Programs: UA 1K/MM, DL GM/MM, HH Dia, PC Plat, MR Gold, ALL Sil,
Posts: 4,552
Nov 2, 2013, 7:04 am
#929
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Colorado
Programs: United MM (formerly 1K), Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 551
Nov 2, 2013, 7:14 am
#930
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Chicago: ORD, MDW
Programs: United Million Mile Flyer, Hilton Silver, Marriott Gold, DL, AA WN
Posts: 514
Really, there are 3 reasons that I have stayed with UA for 32 years through thick and thin:
1. I have a sense of loyalty - even if the company does not. I know and like many employees. I grew up near MDW - which was headquarters before ORD.
2. Mileage Plus has been good to me. I achieved Million Mile status. The perks kept me loyal.
3. Mileage Plus Awards and upgrades helped make my flights enjoyable and allowed me to visit parts of the world in F or C that I would never have been able to do.
It seems that since the merger, I (and those like me) have at target on my back. It seems that my revenue is not worth the cost, and management is determined to drive me away - especially now that I am at the end of my career and had ideas about how to spend my miles and buy advanced-purchase leisure travel.
a. "Loyalty" is only as valuable as "how much will you spend today". There is no concept of what my loyalty has meant in previous hard times nor what it could mean in the future.
b. I am now an "over entitled elite", who apparently learned how to take full advantage of all of the opportunities that the airline employed to attract and keep my loyalty and spending - even if I learned to ignore what other airlines were offering.
c. I have come to learn that devaluation is part of the game, but THIS is exceptionally extreme and comes at very short notice - which I know is their contractual right, but, still....
I have learned to accept that the airline in its wisdom sells miles to other corporations causing a flood of people buying perks equal to those I earned by flying. On the other hand, this is a two way street. I have learned that I can buy perks on other airlines too.
With its plan to make money today (which has so far not proved to be too successful) United has repeatedly pushed me to take my spending elsewhere.
They are succeeding. My next trip uses AA out bound (on mainline metal) and UA for the return (on an ERJ145).
Thanks, United!
1. I have a sense of loyalty - even if the company does not. I know and like many employees. I grew up near MDW - which was headquarters before ORD.
2. Mileage Plus has been good to me. I achieved Million Mile status. The perks kept me loyal.
3. Mileage Plus Awards and upgrades helped make my flights enjoyable and allowed me to visit parts of the world in F or C that I would never have been able to do.
It seems that since the merger, I (and those like me) have at target on my back. It seems that my revenue is not worth the cost, and management is determined to drive me away - especially now that I am at the end of my career and had ideas about how to spend my miles and buy advanced-purchase leisure travel.
a. "Loyalty" is only as valuable as "how much will you spend today". There is no concept of what my loyalty has meant in previous hard times nor what it could mean in the future.
b. I am now an "over entitled elite", who apparently learned how to take full advantage of all of the opportunities that the airline employed to attract and keep my loyalty and spending - even if I learned to ignore what other airlines were offering.
c. I have come to learn that devaluation is part of the game, but THIS is exceptionally extreme and comes at very short notice - which I know is their contractual right, but, still....
I have learned to accept that the airline in its wisdom sells miles to other corporations causing a flood of people buying perks equal to those I earned by flying. On the other hand, this is a two way street. I have learned that I can buy perks on other airlines too.
With its plan to make money today (which has so far not proved to be too successful) United has repeatedly pushed me to take my spending elsewhere.
They are succeeding. My next trip uses AA out bound (on mainline metal) and UA for the return (on an ERJ145).
Thanks, United!