1.1 million miles expired 6 wks ago
Nov 12, 2009, 9:01 pm
#61
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Boston
Programs: UA GS MM
Posts: 129
I called MP to verify my earlier suggestion as I was doing it for my daughter. This is what they confirm:
1. Called MP to register for UA Challenge with $199 registration fee within 12 months of expiration date of miles.
2. Fly on United (revenue rt ticket) within 90 days upon registration.
3. Expired miles will be re-instated within 2 weeks upon completion of the trip.
Time to plan for a trip, in style, to (re)gain 1.1m miles. That would be a record hard to beat!
1. Called MP to register for UA Challenge with $199 registration fee within 12 months of expiration date of miles.
2. Fly on United (revenue rt ticket) within 90 days upon registration.
3. Expired miles will be re-instated within 2 weeks upon completion of the trip.
Time to plan for a trip, in style, to (re)gain 1.1m miles. That would be a record hard to beat!
Nov 12, 2009, 10:28 pm
#62
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,162
I called MP to verify my earlier suggestion as I was doing it for my daughter. This is what they confirm:
1. Called MP to register for UA Challenge with $199 registration fee within 12 months of expiration date of miles.
2. Fly on United (revenue rt ticket) within 90 days upon registration.
3. Expired miles will be re-instated within 2 weeks upon completion of the trip.
Time to plan for a trip, in style, to (re)gain 1.1m miles. That would be a record hard to beat!
1. Called MP to register for UA Challenge with $199 registration fee within 12 months of expiration date of miles.
2. Fly on United (revenue rt ticket) within 90 days upon registration.
3. Expired miles will be re-instated within 2 weeks upon completion of the trip.
Time to plan for a trip, in style, to (re)gain 1.1m miles. That would be a record hard to beat!
Nov 13, 2009, 1:45 am
#63
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SFO, TPE, HNL
Programs: UA GS 4MM, RCC life member (paid), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, CLEAR
Posts: 1,824
Can any other Million Miler confirm my recollection that - at least initially, our miles were never supposed to expire? What's my best option for getting the miles reinstated? Appeal to a supervisor? Clearly, if had any inkling I was about to lose 1.1 million miles, I could've taken care of it very simply by using Mileage Plus Dining etc.
Actually the OP is absolutely correct. When the Million Miler Program was first rolled out (March 1997) they offered Lifetime Premier Executive Status. They also went on to state that if you were Premier Executive or higher your miles would never expire. When read together a Million Miler's miles would never expire.
I have exactly the same memory about miles never expire for MM flyers. I was a MM from its inception and received a letter giving me lifetime 1P status and stated clearly that as a life time !P my MP miles will never expire. Several months ago I wrote a letter to UA asking why my account shows an expiration date. I got a response that the letter has been forwarded to the appropriate deparment for research. I have never heard from them since. Since I do keep my MP account active this is not a real issue for me. I did discuss with some other old timer MMs and they think my memory was incorrect, as they only remember the lifetime 1P but do not recall the miles never expire part. While I am very sympathetic that you run into this situation (fortunately you can pay $199 to the UA challenge and recover your miles), I am glad that my memory was correct, as both your post and that of iwc verified my memory that "miles never expire" was indeed given to us back in 1997.
Last edited by PanAmWT; Nov 13, 2009 at 1:57 am
Nov 13, 2009, 2:25 am
#64
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Oakland
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,109
The rental cars or hotel stays don't have to be under your own name. So you just need ANYONE who has an uncredited car rental/stay to help you out here, and you can add your MP number to that stay for retro credit.
Did this with Hilton to rescue 40k miles, and it worked.
-bmir
Did this with Hilton to rescue 40k miles, and it worked.
-bmir
If I can help get the miles back, let me know how this is done. 1.1m is a loss for the community, and should be fixed.
Nov 14, 2009, 8:33 pm
#65
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: United, Hilton, Hyatt, Southwest
Posts: 4
OP Update: 1.1 million miles expired
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I've spent the last 6 days talking to United's Premier Executive Customer Service (PECS) and Hertz. Here's the latest (listed in the order the options were presented to me by different reps:
Option 1: Find eligible Hertz or Hilton rental over the last year, get the Partner to transfer miles. There was some confusion on this option because initially the first PECS rep told me the stay had to be this calendar year. When I called the second time, the second rep told me that any credit within 18 months of expiry would do.
Option 2: To its credit, United PECS actually called me twice after my first call to them and left me voicemails at home requesting a call back. Both times when I called back, I was told about the $199 challenge - same terms as related by others. That is my fall back plan: I now know I can recover all 1.1MM miles at a cost of ~$500. That's still $500 more than I'd like to spend but at least I'd get the miles back. I have until Sep 30, 2010 to take the challenge (and the roundtrip flight). I'm pretty sure I'd be travelling on United over the next 10 months so the actual cost for getting the miles back would be closer to $199 (assuming the UA flights are no more expensive than alternatives).
Option 3: As a last resort, I was told I could address my plight to "Expired Miles" (fax #: 605.343.0215) explain my situation and request the miles to be reinstated.
I'm currently pursuing Option 1. Hertz found my Thanksgiving rental from Nov 27, 2008 and electronically transferred the miles to United last Tuesday. I've kept checking everyday but while the Hertz #1 points were removed right away, the miles have yet to appear. United has assured me that if the miles show up I will get all my miles reinstated. When I called Hertz a second time on Friday to confirm they transferred the miles to right account (I had given the # to them over the phone), initially I was told that the Mileage # the miles were transferred to was different and later that miles could take 6-8 wks to show up.
I've received generous offers from several members offering me credit for their unclaimed rentals from earlier this year. I'm very grateful to all of you for the advice and support. I'll keep checking my mileage balance and let you know when the miles have been reinstated. I figure if the Hertz credit doesn't appear in the next 2-3 weeks I might have to consider other options (because the rental is from last year, I can't pull it up on Hertz #1 website). I'll keep everyone posted.
Another option that I've been wondering about is getting mileage credit through Mileage Plus Dining. When I called Mileage Plus Dining to update my contact info., they told me they'd honor any dining credits over the previous 90 days, even if the diner had a different name. If that is indeed the case, anyone who ate at a participating restaurant over the preceding 3 months and paid with a credit card can get mileage credit transferred over to someone who's miles had recently expired and re-start the clock. Has anyone tried that?
Best regards,
Option 1: Find eligible Hertz or Hilton rental over the last year, get the Partner to transfer miles. There was some confusion on this option because initially the first PECS rep told me the stay had to be this calendar year. When I called the second time, the second rep told me that any credit within 18 months of expiry would do.
Option 2: To its credit, United PECS actually called me twice after my first call to them and left me voicemails at home requesting a call back. Both times when I called back, I was told about the $199 challenge - same terms as related by others. That is my fall back plan: I now know I can recover all 1.1MM miles at a cost of ~$500. That's still $500 more than I'd like to spend but at least I'd get the miles back. I have until Sep 30, 2010 to take the challenge (and the roundtrip flight). I'm pretty sure I'd be travelling on United over the next 10 months so the actual cost for getting the miles back would be closer to $199 (assuming the UA flights are no more expensive than alternatives).
Option 3: As a last resort, I was told I could address my plight to "Expired Miles" (fax #: 605.343.0215) explain my situation and request the miles to be reinstated.
I'm currently pursuing Option 1. Hertz found my Thanksgiving rental from Nov 27, 2008 and electronically transferred the miles to United last Tuesday. I've kept checking everyday but while the Hertz #1 points were removed right away, the miles have yet to appear. United has assured me that if the miles show up I will get all my miles reinstated. When I called Hertz a second time on Friday to confirm they transferred the miles to right account (I had given the # to them over the phone), initially I was told that the Mileage # the miles were transferred to was different and later that miles could take 6-8 wks to show up.
I've received generous offers from several members offering me credit for their unclaimed rentals from earlier this year. I'm very grateful to all of you for the advice and support. I'll keep checking my mileage balance and let you know when the miles have been reinstated. I figure if the Hertz credit doesn't appear in the next 2-3 weeks I might have to consider other options (because the rental is from last year, I can't pull it up on Hertz #1 website). I'll keep everyone posted.
Another option that I've been wondering about is getting mileage credit through Mileage Plus Dining. When I called Mileage Plus Dining to update my contact info., they told me they'd honor any dining credits over the previous 90 days, even if the diner had a different name. If that is indeed the case, anyone who ate at a participating restaurant over the preceding 3 months and paid with a credit card can get mileage credit transferred over to someone who's miles had recently expired and re-start the clock. Has anyone tried that?
Best regards,
Nov 14, 2009, 8:51 pm
#66
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: DUD
Programs: NZ and UA
Posts: 266
Good luck and thanks for keeping us posted.
Nov 14, 2009, 9:25 pm
#67
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Now MFE... formerly SEA and DCA
Programs: Now UA free!, AA Ex Plat, AS MVP, Marriott Titanium for life
Posts: 664
I guess I am the only one here that doesn't feel all that bad... sorry dude, and I hope you get your miles back. But you definitely have some very inexpensive options, to recoup thousands of $$$ value in travel.
I guess I would have just been more mindful of 1.1M miles... when UA went through bankruptcy in 2002, I had about 1M miles and was a bit concerned so I ate up a big chunk!
Anways, hope you get them back!
I guess I would have just been more mindful of 1.1M miles... when UA went through bankruptcy in 2002, I had about 1M miles and was a bit concerned so I ate up a big chunk!
Anways, hope you get them back!
Nov 14, 2009, 10:14 pm
#68
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: SFO
Posts: 3,942
Great ... hope to see your miles restored soon.
Perhaps I missed an earlier discussion. But I'm curious about option #2. Are you saying that the miles will be restored by taking a round trip on UA? What is the $199 challenge?
Option 2: To its credit, United PECS actually called me twice after my first call to them and left me voicemails at home requesting a call back. Both times when I called back, I was told about the $199 challenge - same terms as related by others. That is my fall back plan: I now know I can recover all 1.1MM miles at a cost of ~$500. That's still $500 more than I'd like to spend but at least I'd get the miles back. I have until Sep 30, 2010 to take the challenge (and the roundtrip flight). I'm pretty sure I'd be travelling on United over the next 10 months so the actual cost for getting the miles back would be closer to $199 (assuming the UA flights are no more expensive than alternatives).
Perhaps I missed an earlier discussion. But I'm curious about option #2. Are you saying that the miles will be restored by taking a round trip on UA? What is the $199 challenge?
Option 2: To its credit, United PECS actually called me twice after my first call to them and left me voicemails at home requesting a call back. Both times when I called back, I was told about the $199 challenge - same terms as related by others. That is my fall back plan: I now know I can recover all 1.1MM miles at a cost of ~$500. That's still $500 more than I'd like to spend but at least I'd get the miles back. I have until Sep 30, 2010 to take the challenge (and the roundtrip flight). I'm pretty sure I'd be travelling on United over the next 10 months so the actual cost for getting the miles back would be closer to $199 (assuming the UA flights are no more expensive than alternatives).
Nov 14, 2009, 10:27 pm
#69
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
I messed up a friends acct and he lost 70+k on 3/1/2009
Anyone have any idea how I can get them back for him. Since he lives Overseas and has been ill flying UA or a *A carrier is not possible, so that leaves out any promo with UA about flying them and getting the miles reinstated
He wanted to use the miles to fly 1 of his kids to the States
Thanks in advance
Anyone have any idea how I can get them back for him. Since he lives Overseas and has been ill flying UA or a *A carrier is not possible, so that leaves out any promo with UA about flying them and getting the miles reinstated
He wanted to use the miles to fly 1 of his kids to the States
Thanks in advance
Last edited by iluv2fly; Nov 14, 2009 at 11:10 pm Reason: more general
Nov 14, 2009, 10:35 pm
#70
In memoriam
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Seattle WA
Programs: Kimpton IC, Hyatt Diamond, Gold Marriott, Lifetime Platinum Starwood
Posts: 8,665
I had the same experience with USAirways - lost 44K although I had a transaction they didn't care; have not seen the miles since even though I wrote sent copies of receipts, etc.
I hope you get your miles back and we can hear a positive outcome.
I hope you get your miles back and we can hear a positive outcome.
Nov 14, 2009, 11:05 pm
#71
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
discussed in
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FT Wiki UA Mileage_Expiration
Nov 15, 2009, 7:58 pm
#72
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: SFO
Posts: 3,942
Ah ... got it, thanks! Doesn't apply to me, was simply curious
Been reported the folks who have lost miles can have them restored if within 1 year paid a fee ($199) and fly a RT of some duration within 3 (?) months on UA metal. If you think this might apply to you contact MP CS., unclear this is a formal program or just a case by case solution.
discussed in
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ad-merged.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...d-threads.html
FT Wiki UA Mileage_Expiration
discussed in
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ad-merged.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...d-threads.html
FT Wiki UA Mileage_Expiration
Nov 25, 2009, 7:59 pm
#73
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Southeastern WI
Programs: UA Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 590
The rental cars or hotel stays don't have to be under your own name. So you just need ANYONE who has an uncredited car rental/stay to help you out here, and you can add your MP number to that stay for retro credit.
Did this with Hilton to rescue 40k miles, and it worked.
-bmir
Did this with Hilton to rescue 40k miles, and it worked.
-bmir
Thanks for any advice.. she lost 68k miles !!!
Dec 5, 2009, 8:03 am
#75
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia, LAX, Paris
Programs: UA 1K/2MM, SPG/Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Lifetime HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 3,331
I hope that the OP will get his 1.1 M miles back and I suggest that he spends them pronto.
But really, is it too much to ask him to take ONE trip on UA per year to keep the miles from expiring?
But really, is it too much to ask him to take ONE trip on UA per year to keep the miles from expiring?