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Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014

Old Nov 1, 2013, 4:08 am
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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.
  • 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

Changes to upgrade policy for intra-Asia and northern South America flights
  1. Complimentary Premier Upgrades and instant upgrades are not applicable
  2. 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
  3. There is no co-pay exemption for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards requested on or after November 1, 2013
  4. 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?
Originally Posted by UA Insider
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.
Additional details on changing tickets booked prior to 2/3/14 per UA Insider:
Originally Posted by UA Insider
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)
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?
Originally Posted by UA Insider
The new award pricing takes effect for bookings made on or after Feb 3, 2014 for all future travel dates. If you purchased a ticket prior to then for travel on March 15, and no changes are made to the itinerary, the current pricing will apply.
Q: How will award pricing apply to mixed-carrier Saver Awards?
Originally Posted by UA Insider
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.
  • 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)
(reverted to J.Edward's rev)
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Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014

Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:16 pm
  #2356  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: QF WP, QR GOLD, TK GOLD, EY GOLD, AF/KLM GOLD
Posts: 392
Originally Posted by yerffej201
how much longer until the deval? let the countdown begin!
can't wait for it to happen. MEL to BKK/SIN in J for 30,000 oneway! rates are going DOWN for us in Australia
zainman is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:18 pm
  #2357  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,384
Originally Posted by zainman
can't wait for it to happen. MEL to BKK/SIN in J for 30,000 oneway! rates are going DOWN for us in Australia
but you could have done mel-bkk/sin-hnd-gum for 25k and dropped... i don't really see it as going down even ex-aus/nz/oceania
yerffej201 is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:28 pm
  #2358  
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,731
Booked this online 2 hours ago

LAX-ICN//ICN-FRA-MXP//MXP-IST-YYZ 120K and $110.50

Could not get VCE to work - site would show the segment but once I selected it I got error screen.

However MXP worked fine despite instead of showing available flights when booking multi-city, it gave me an all white calendar and the available flights when looked up under city pairs on more desirable dates disappeared altogether

After ticketed, called to try to move the date on the ICN-FRA-MXP portion. The agent took less than 30 sec to tell me she would transfer me to the RTW desk... Hang up and be done with it.

500K miles gone since Dec.

Is the cut off at EST time or Central time?

Originally Posted by cesco.g
Just talked to GS res. Agent shared, they have been inundated with calls and she has been "searching for premium award space all day long".
Meanwhile, .bomb shows fake LH C-award space on several days for next month. None bookable.
Deceiving and frustrating!
That was what happened to me when I tried to have ICN-FRA-VCE. They showed available but after "selected" I got error screen.

Luckily ICN-FRA-MXP while having similar issues, there was available despite the all white calendar.

Last edited by iluv2fly; Feb 1, 2014 at 9:15 am Reason: merge
Happy is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:42 pm
  #2359  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: So Cal
Programs: UA Gold/0.744MM, WN AL, Hyatt Diamond, MR Scum, Hertz PC, National Exec, Avis PC
Posts: 5,552
Originally Posted by Happy
Booked this online 2 hours ago

LAX-ICN//ICN-FRA-MXP//MXP-IST-YYZ 120K and $110.50

Could not get VCE to work - site would show the segment but once I selected it I got error screen.

However MXP worked fine despite instead of showing available flights when booking multi-city, it gave me an all white calendar and the available flights when looked up under city pairs on more desirable dates disappeared altogether

After ticketed, called to try to move the date on the ICN-FRA-MXP portion. The agent took less than 30 sec to tell me she would transfer me to the RTW desk... Hang up and be done with it.

Is the cut off at EST time or Central time?
Did you take the LAX-ICN I was about to book in F and disappeared!!!

Luckily I had a backup plan, but not as nice. However, they are having a hard time getting a confirmation from CA for my PEK-SFO flight in F. Keep trying to transfer to *A desk and keep getting bopped back to the Premier desk.

However, agent (second agent after having to HUACA due to the bogus "RTW" excuse) read a memo they just received. Something to the effect that to "ensure a seamless customer experience" they are extending the deadline until Feb 3. Interesting if true.

meanwhile, I set on hold.

Entire itin will be LAX-YUL-MUC-BKK//HKT-BKK-PEK//PEK-SFO-SNA in Y-J-F/J-J/F-Y on AC-LH-TG/TG-TG/CA-UA
jasonvr is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:50 pm
  #2360  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,866
Originally Posted by jasonvr
However, agent (second agent after having to HUACA due to the bogus "RTW" excuse) read a memo they just received. Something to the effect that to "ensure a seamless customer experience" they are extending the deadline until Feb 3. Interesting if true.
They should extend to March 30, the date US Air cuts off Star awards.
BF263533 is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 9:54 pm
  #2361  
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,731
Originally Posted by jasonvr
Did you take the LAX-ICN I was about to book in F and disappeared!!!

Luckily I had a backup plan, but not as nice. However, they are having a hard time getting a confirmation from CA for my PEK-SFO flight in F. Keep trying to transfer to *A desk and keep getting bopped back to the Premier desk.

However, agent (second agent after having to HUACA due to the bogus "RTW" excuse) read a memo they just received. Something to the effect that to "ensure a seamless customer experience" they are extending the deadline until Feb 3. Interesting if true.

meanwhile, I set on hold.

Entire itin will be LAX-YUL-MUC-BKK//HKT-BKK-PEK//PEK-SFO-SNA in Y-J-F/J-J/F-Y on AC-LH-TG/TG-TG/CA-UA
Booked FLL-IAH-PEK//HKG-BKK-CDG//CDG-YUL-FLL last Dec. in CA F, TG F and AC J, with UA coach and AC coach at the bookends. UA segment is Waitlist Requested though I doubt it would ever clear. :rolleye:

I never see an F on the LAX-ICN route in May - J only. I suspect the Fs are long gone.

I did see 11/03 and 11/26. Held a ressie for the 11/03 but no agent would try to ticket it but sent me to RTW which said would be 285K... Yeah right. Canceled that but the inventory did not come back. 11/26 disappeared when I tried to look it up.

I got phantom LH inventory on the FRA-MXP route and especially on the FRA-VCE route. Managed to find a date the FRA-MXP was bookable despite the all white calendar when doing multi-city booking. Wanted to change the date as when it was searched using City Pair, there were inventory on more desirable date. Called up and got the bogus RTW excuse in 30 seconds after she answered the phone. Since I already ticketed the whole thing online, I simply hang up.

Would burn one more if the Feb 3rd date is true. Burnt 500K on 2 trips, one F one J. Still have 500K left in combined balance. Sigh.

Last edited by Happy; Jan 31, 2014 at 10:16 pm
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Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:08 pm
  #2362  
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,903
Just confirmed - old chart extended till 02 Feb! New chart takes effect on 03 Feb.

I bet the IT couldn't do it!

A nice reprieve!
MatthewLAX is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:09 pm
  #2363  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, etc.
Posts: 4,210
Regardless of an extension, I think my work is done now.

UA's commitment to the integrity of their mileage program both in terms of not making it too easy to earn from non-flying activities and in providing good redemption values (including a strong alliance program for partner awards) was their remaining big selling point to me for the last few years. There was a high element of trust because they didn't ever excessively devalue customers' miles. Well that has been TOTALLY blown out of the water now. No reason to work hard to accumulate those miles anymore. The trust is broken and unlikely to ever be restored. No immediate divorce, but I expect I'll just drift further and further away from you United. We did have some good years together - those were the days. Maintaining status just for free upgrades to Economy Plus just doesn't cut it for me.
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Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:14 pm
  #2364  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Asia
Programs: RVT 1K
Posts: 883
Originally Posted by MatthewLAX
Just confirmed - old chart extended till 02 Feb! New chart takes effect on 03 Feb.

I bet the IT couldn't do it!

A nice reprieve!
Good to hear...was trying to find something to burn my last 80k on....
RS250Racer is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:14 pm
  #2365  
Company Representative, United Airlines
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Chicago, Houston, or somewhere in between
Posts: 2,176
Hi everyone,

With the updated MileagePlus award chart about to take effect, I have a couple updates and clarifications to share (which a few of you have already noticed):

The new Saver and Standard Award mileage requirements will become effective on Feb 3. We have moved implementation to a weekday, to better ensure we are able to serve our customers, particularly those who call our contact centers for assistance.

Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.

I’ll provide another update confirming the new mileage requirements have become effective, on February 3.

Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
UA Insider is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:21 pm
  #2366  
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,903
Originally Posted by UA Insider
Hi everyone,

With the updated MileagePlus award chart about to take effect, I have a couple updates and clarifications to share (which a few of you have already noticed):

The new Saver and Standard Award mileage requirements will become effective on Feb 3. We have moved implementation to a weekday, to better ensure we are able to serve our customers, particularly those who call our contact centers for assistance.

Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.

I’ll provide another update confirming the new mileage requirements have become effective, on February 3.

Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
What about changing awards for Premier Silvers and above where origin/destination remains the same, but routing changes? Currently, there is no change fee or re-price. Will this continue?

e.g.

LAX-CLT-MUC becomes LAX-YYZ-MUC
MatthewLAX is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:33 pm
  #2367  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Asia
Programs: RVT 1K
Posts: 883
Originally Posted by UA Insider
Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.
- Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
Thanks for the update...always a catch tho...doubt many will have double miles left at this point to book....
RS250Racer is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:43 pm
  #2368  
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Washington D.C.
Programs: AA 1MM, AA Plat, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 448
Originally Posted by UA Insider
Hi everyone,

Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.

Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
Which awards are being reduced on Feb. 1st?? I think I missed that...

Last edited by coiaflyer; Jan 31, 2014 at 10:50 pm
coiaflyer is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 10:53 pm
  #2369  
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Location: Tucson, AZ, USA. UA 1K, reluctant but * best in class * DL FO/MM. Former BA jumpseat rider and scourge of Dilbertian management and apologists. As LX might - and do - say: "....an experienced frequent flyer of international airlines"
Posts: 3,386
Originally Posted by UA Insider
Hi everyone,

With the updated MileagePlus award chart about to take effect, I have a couple updates and clarifications to share (which a few of you have already noticed):

The new Saver and Standard Award mileage requirements will become effective on Feb 3. We have moved implementation to a weekday, to better ensure we are able to serve our customers, particularly those who call our contact centers for assistance.

Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.

I’ll provide another update confirming the new mileage requirements have become effective, on February 3.

Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
OK Aaron, thanks I can go to bed now... like lots of UA flyers, I was locking in several awards at the old "reasonable" as opposed to new "Jeff-Robbo-Style-best-in-class" mileage levels tonight.
redtailshark is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2014, 11:00 pm
  #2370  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Perth, Australia
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by coiaflyer
Which awards are being reduced on Feb. 1st?? I think I missed that...
Australia to South Asia for one (only one I can think of off the top of my head). Shame about the lack of SQ online availability to book awards.
garbs is offline  

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