Nov 15, 2015, 11:28 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Million Miler Program
With United's change to PQPs and PQFs, UA no longer provides information on flight / "BIS" mile
United no longer shows the BIS mileage. For now, the app is showing segment miles during booking -- but united.com is not.
Presently using UA's timetable to research the flight, the flight miles are provided
Alternatively, you can use third-party tools like, gcmap to get a number. It may differ from UA's number by a few miles
Building a UA city pair BIS table
And finally, you can trust UA to track your miles (There have been very, very few instances of issues and less recently)
Post-merge, COPA flights also accumulated UA lifetime miles, that ceased in July 2015 when COPA left MileagePlus.
What if I use miles to purchase the trip? Does that earn Lifetime Miles?
MileagePlus Million Mile (and Beyond) Flyer Benefits [2014 forward]
Million Miler companion benefit
Building a UA city pair BIS table
Archive: [url=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/2150272-how-lifetime-miles-calculated-mileageplus-archive.html]How are "lifetime miles" calculated for MileagePlus? {Archive}
Related thread: Lifetime status by airline -- attempted summary
Mileage accrual for Million Miler qualification is based on the flight distance of United- and United Express-operated flights.
United no longer shows the BIS mileage.
Presently using UA's timetable to research the flight, the flight miles are provided
Alternatively, you can use third-party tools like, gcmap to get a number. It may differ from UA's number by a few miles
Building a UA city pair BIS table
And finally, you can trust UA to track your miles (There have been very, very few instances of issues and less recently)
- For elites, there is 500 lifetime mile minimum for UA/UX flights. (still true in 2020 and PQP/PQF era)
- There is no elite bonus or class of service bonus.
- BIS miles
= PQMs for 100% fares - Bus operated land connections booked as UA flight numbers earn lifetime miles
- No partner flights earn UA lifetime miles.
- Flight number / codeshare / ticket stock does not matter -- as long as it is a United-operated flight that is being credited to UA MP program.
- No credit card activity earns UA lifetime miles
- Only paid flights (including BULK / most consolidator tickets), no credit for award flights
- There is no method for purchasing lifetime miles
Basic Economy segments are non-mileage earning and do not earn lifetime milesIn the second iteration of BE (2018Q4),LT mileage earning appears to have been restored (100%50%of BIS)- Lapchild tickets are non-mileage earning including lifetime miles
Post-merge, COPA flights also accumulated UA lifetime miles, that ceased in July 2015 when COPA left MileagePlus.
What if I use miles to purchase the trip? Does that earn Lifetime Miles?
Depends
If you are using just UA miles and only paying cash for the taxes, as an award trip, it does not qualify for Lifetime miles
However
If you are using points from a credit card to purchase a ticket on their site, then the trip qualifies
If you are booking an economy ticket but using miles to upgrade, then the trip qualifies
If you are using the Money+Miles payment option, then the trip qualifies (regardless of the amount paid by miles)
If you are purchasing with a Chase creditcard and then using miles as a statement credit, then the trip qualifies
What about purchasing with "Money+Miles"?If you are using just UA miles and only paying cash for the taxes, as an award trip, it does not qualify for Lifetime miles
However
If you are using points from a credit card to purchase a ticket on their site, then the trip qualifies
If you are booking an economy ticket but using miles to upgrade, then the trip qualifies
If you are using the Money+Miles payment option, then the trip qualifies (regardless of the amount paid by miles)
If you are purchasing with a Chase creditcard and then using miles as a statement credit, then the trip qualifies
100% Lifetime Miles earning
see What is the "Book with Money and Miles" option ?
Related Threadssee What is the "Book with Money and Miles" option ?
MileagePlus Million Mile (and Beyond) Flyer Benefits [2014 forward]
Million Miler companion benefit
Building a UA city pair BIS table
Archive: [url=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/2150272-how-lifetime-miles-calculated-mileageplus-archive.html]How are "lifetime miles" calculated for MileagePlus? {Archive}
Related thread: Lifetime status by airline -- attempted summary
How are "lifetime miles" calculated for MileagePlus?
Mar 14, 2024, 10:49 pm
#286
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What you are seeing in the flight activity posting is redeemable miles, which may be lower than 500, as it is based on the fare. Lifetime miles are not the same as redeemable miles.
Mar 15, 2024, 3:52 am
#287
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It’s not the actual miles flown; it’s basically the shortest distance between a point (unknown) on each of the two airports in the flight segment. In my experience that distance is almost always that provided by the Great Circle Mapper website.
You could fly more miles depending on how the aircraft is routed by ATC, holding patterns, etc. As long as the airports are more than 500 miles a part, you’ll earn lifetime miles equivalent to the distance between the two airports.
reward miles are a whole different story that has been told, and retold elsewhere!
Mar 15, 2024, 11:23 am
#288
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It’s not the actual miles flown; it’s basically the shortest distance between a point (unknown) on each of the two airports in the flight segment. In my experience that distance is almost always that provided by the Great Circle Mapper website.
You could fly more miles depending on how the aircraft is routed by ATC, holding patterns, etc. As long as the airports are more than 500 miles a part, you’ll earn lifetime miles equivalent to the distance between the two airports.
reward miles are a whole different story that has been told, and retold elsewhere!
You could fly more miles depending on how the aircraft is routed by ATC, holding patterns, etc. As long as the airports are more than 500 miles a part, you’ll earn lifetime miles equivalent to the distance between the two airports.
reward miles are a whole different story that has been told, and retold elsewhere!
that’s what I was trying to figure out
I’m just interested in knowing what the total miles flown( between airports etc) is and it seems that the “ lifetime miles flown “ is based on that
thanks again
Mar 15, 2024, 3:52 pm
#289
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It is. You’ll find a lot of people on FlyerTalk keep a spreadsheet of their flying history, so for any city pair you fly, someone here can provide the distance in lifetime miles.
Mar 15, 2024, 3:57 pm
#290
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Mar 15, 2024, 4:30 pm
#291
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Any Great Circle Mapper web site, like Great Circle Mapper, will provide a sufficiently accurate value (and average +-1,2 miles) and depending how often you fly sync up with United's number -- once a year, once a quarter, and for the most die heart once a month (or once a trip), If ORCing probably worth a check.
Mar 15, 2024, 4:37 pm
#292
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Mar 15, 2024, 4:46 pm
#293
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But does that really matter, if you sync up with UA from time to time. As determined earlier in another thread it tends to average out anyways.
If you are on the same route off by 1 or 2 for each flight, they tend to add up.
Mar 15, 2024, 4:59 pm
#294
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Anyone is free to re-sync every flight if they feel the need, but short of achieving a threshold in the near future, there may be better uses of one's time.
If there was a history of errors by UA, I might change my mind but other then the ORC cases mentioned earlier, its your choice to spend the time.
I would suspect those doing the same route frequently already know the mileage and don't need to consult gcmap.
Mar 15, 2024, 5:43 pm
#295
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In the grand scheme of things for almost everyone, it’s not a big deal. For me it is. I want my figures (PQFs, PQPs and lifetime miles) to match up exactly for every segment. If not, I’ll track down the reason why! 😊
Mar 16, 2024, 1:29 am
#296
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Anyone is free to re-sync every flight if they feel the need, but short of achieving a threshold in the near future, there may be better uses of one's time. . . .
I would suspect those doing the same route frequently already know the mileage and don't need to consult gcmap.
I would suspect those doing the same route frequently already know the mileage and don't need to consult gcmap.
It happens, not too often, but it does. For example, SFO-SIN was 8,444 for years; GCM has it as 8,446; United has it now as 8,445. . . .
In the grand scheme of things for almost everyone, it’s not a big deal. For me it is. I want my figures (PQFs, PQPs and lifetime miles) to match up exactly for every segment. If not, I’ll track down the reason why! 😊
In the grand scheme of things for almost everyone, it’s not a big deal. For me it is. I want my figures (PQFs, PQPs and lifetime miles) to match up exactly for every segment. If not, I’ll track down the reason why! 😊
I'm not out to find UA mistakes, so I don't verify with alternative sources. It doesn't bother me that UA changes distances occasionally.But since UA doesn't provide any lifetime mileage statement but one's current total, the only way to verify receipt of what they claim you should receive is to note lifetime mileage segment-by-segment.
Mar 16, 2024, 10:26 am
#297
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It is a lot easier if you're usually only a Premier Silver. I'm not out to find UA mistakes, so I don't verify with alternative sources. It doesn't bother me that UA changes distances occasionally.
But since UA doesn't provide any lifetime mileage statement but one's current total, the only way to verify receipt of what they claim you should receive is to note lifetime mileage segment-by-segment.
I'm not out to find UA mistakes, so I don't verify with alternative sources. It doesn't bother me that UA changes distances occasionally.But since UA doesn't provide any lifetime mileage statement but one's current total, the only way to verify receipt of what they claim you should receive is to note lifetime mileage segment-by-segment.
Mar 16, 2024, 12:41 pm
#298
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When was the last time someone reported just an UA error of LT Miles??? Missing flights or ORCs or irrops all showup in other numbers. The LT tracking errors have all been on my part or a small difference (1, 2 miles) due to UA changes. As I am close to a threshold, and I track other key parameters, have been watching LT closer but it is more OCD than a real need.
Mar 16, 2024, 1:05 pm
#299
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When was the last time someone reported just an UA error of LT Miles??? Missing flights or ORCs or irrops all showup in other numbers. The LT tracking errors have all been on my part or a small difference (1, 2 miles) due to UA changes. As I am close to a threshold, and I track other key parameters, have been watching LT closer but it is more OCD than a real need.
