nevillek

Hi,

My 28,600 Mileage Plus miles expired on Jan 1, 2017 without my knowledge, as in the last year, I didn't take a single Star Alliance flight because they turned out far more expensive than other airlines.

Now, UA wants $150 to re-instate the 28,600 miles. Is it worth it?

UAPremExecflyer

Only you can decide that http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...eb-2015-a.html

WineCountryUA

So it has been roughly 2 years on no activity. When would you expect to use the miles?
Your miles could purchase a single domestic RT, what is that worth to you?

What else might you do with the miles?

Re-instatement needs to be done within 18 months of expiration, so no immediate decision is needed.


Note -- there are some potential cheaper ($100) approaches detailed in this thread's wiki (if you are eligible).

frank_10b

Any recent reports of UA being less Scrooge-sh and offering better deals to renew miles?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

To United, someone wanting to re-instate miles means someone is probably going to use those miles. The obvious implication is United sees the miles as being worth something to you and therefore is going to charge you for them.

With the new mileage earning schemes, and depending on your status and the types of tickets you generally buy, the miles you're buying back may be currently harder to accumulate. Don't look for UA to give a discount on miles that were easier to earn back in the day.

It's incredibly easy to avoid losing them in the first place...

WineCountryUA

There are two options list in the thread's wiki (purchase a flight +$100 or get a credit card +$100) that are better (if still available) than the standard online fee.

lsed

Hey guys, I found I had some UA miles expired 2 weeks ago.
So I followed the advice in the Wiki and dug through my old flights from last year.

Turns out there was a Brussels Air flight that accrued 0 miles on A3, but does get miles on UA. I filed and it immediately got approved by the system and was credited to my account.

However the expired miles are still not reinstated.
Do I have to call for this, or does it automatically reflect after a while?

Thanks so much for the help guys! Really hate that UA pulled the awardwallet support!

--------

Ok called in and the agent said 7- 10 working days to auto reflect. Could be quicker but no way to expedite it

Roberteyewhy

Hey guys long time eh. Anyway, 2 questions please.

1) No way to get expired miles (32,000 on 01.01.17) reinstated for free?

2) Got an email from UA saying, "Register and fly - Register for $100 and then complete qualifying round-trip travel on United or United Express. You must register within 18 months of your mileage expiration date and complete travel within 90 days of registration. The registration fee is non-refundable and a maximum of 750,000 miles can be reinstated with this option. Please call the MileagePlus Service Center to participate in this offer."

Called and was told that ONLY I can pay and ONLY I can use the ticket. This just cannot be true! Does not make business or common sense. If I purchase the ticket and use my MileagePlus number to reinstate my miles and get the added miles for the flight, why would UA care who flies? They got the money. I can throw the ticket away if I choose or put it in someone else's name since I paid for it. What is the truth?

Thanks,
Robert

WineCountryUA

Find a uncreditted flight / hotel stay / car rental within the last 18 months and before the expiration.

Once reinstated see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...es-thread.html

UA makes the rules

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Uh - looks like 100% "common sense" to me. You want YOUR miles reinstated, so United wants YOU to pay and YOU to fly.

Roberteyewhy

Thanks for the insights everyone. I know UA makes the rules but...

Hopefully, I will reinstate the miles by flying somewhere within 12 months.

Robert

frank_10b

Just wanted to know if there is any catch behind the "qualifying" flight to reinstate
--It doesn't matter which fare class?
--Would it matter if I used money from my United travel bank (I think that's what it's called)?
Thanks

WineCountryUA

As long as a paid flight on UA/UX metal you probably will be OK but you should read the T&Cs provided with the promo.

No -- that is considered by UA the same as a "cash" payment.

Roberteyewhy

From United to me:

Thanks for taking the time to write to us. We’re glad to hear from you.

I can certainly understand your disappointment when you found out your miles had expired. I know those who don’t travel often (or not at all) may find it more difficult to keep up with their account and apparently this was the situation in your case.
To ensure active participation in our program, we require that members have some kind of qualifying activity (miles in or out of the account) every 18 months. You can even track the expiration date of your miles online (next to your mileage balance) when signed into your account. The expiration date resets for another 18 months after any qualifying activity posts to your account.
If you had any qualifying flights prior to your expiration date (but within the last 12 months), that haven’t posted to your account, please visit www.united.com/retrocredit to request missing mileage credit. Your expired miles will reinstate automatically within 10 days after the miles have posted to your account. If you didn't have qualifying activity, here are some options to have your miles reinstated:
• Buy Back your miles – You can buy back your miles online (www.united.com/transfermiles and click Reinstate expired miles). The cost varies depending on the amount of miles being reinstated.
• Register and fly - Register for $100 and then complete qualifying round-trip travel on United or United Express. You must register within 18 months of your mileage expiration date and complete travel within 90 days of registration. The registration fee is non-refundable and a maximum of 750,000 miles can be reinstated with this option. Please call the MileagePlus Service Center to participate in this offer.
• Register and use a MileagePlus Visa credit card - Register for $100 and then use a new or existing MileagePlus Visa credit card to make a purchase. You must register within 18 months of your mileage expiration date and use your card within 90 days of registration. The registration fee is non-refundable and a maximum of 750,000 miles may be reinstated with this option. To apply for a MileagePlus Visa credit card, please visit www.united.com/creditcard . Please call the MileagePlus Service Center to participate in this offer.

Robert

chuckywang

I'm thinking about doing the "Register and fly" promo to reinstate my expired miles. Can the order of this be to buy the RT ticket, then apply for the promo, and then fly? Or does the order have to be apply for the promo, then buy the RT ticket, and then fly?