Consolidated "Maximum Segments on UA Award Travel"
 

A few questions.....

1.) What is the MPM for LAX-JNB or LAX-CPT....also is it MPM+15% or 25% that is allowed now on a award?

2.) Once travel starts, I can still pay to make changes to flights and or routing from stopover on.... and then again (assuming last minute releasing) at point of turnaround for the flights home right?

2.) What is the most segments (flights/connections) that could be booked into a current post-merger UA Award? I know ANA is 12, and some past posts pre-merger said Continental didn't care.

I'm trying to go LAX-TLV-JNB-LAX with TLV being the stopover and JNB being turnaround

Assuming the MPM is high for LAX-JNB, I think this should be ok. The only problem is that availability pretty tough right now, and in order to get a "placeholder" ticket booked that I can then finesse as better seats and routes open up, I am really going to up the segments.

Right now I'm looking at something hokey like LAX-YUL-MUC-TLV//TLV-VIE-FRA-DOH-JNB-VFA//JNB-DOH-GVA-EWR-LAX
That actually looks exactly like 12 segments but I think the LAX-TLV mish-mosh needs another segment if I go DUS or ZRH...Don't ask ;)

Thanks for any input.

RCK

MPM doesn't matter anymore for award rules.

Yes, you can make changes while en route. gleff was once told of a 24 hours in advance rule but that may vary based on operating carrier and I have never experienced it even with some last minute (like <2 hours to departure) changes.

The absolute maximum number of segments on a ticket is 16, including any surface sectors. For a one-way award I've heard 8 or 9 is a limit. I'm not sure for a return trip.

This is not true IME. Do you have a reference for your claim?

As recently as 3 days ago I had an itinerary rejected by the system and after the agent and I went over the routing it turned out that it was over MPM+15%.

As far as MPMs that the OP asked about:

LAX-JNB - 12446 (TATL)
LAC-CPT - 12495 (TATL)

This should give enough room to play with although the proposed routing LAX-YUL-MUC-TLV-VIE-FRA-DOH-JNB is 16527 miles and well over the MPM+15%. I'd suggest trying to find a connection to SA from Israel or somewhere in Europe w/o going to DOH.

Just my personal experience. What routing did you try to book which was denied? There are plenty of routings which won't auto-price and I wouldn't be surprised if an agent didn't know why and blamed MPM, but AFAIK that's not actually part of the rules any more.

Todorovic, can you give me the MPM for LAX-VFA (Victoria Falls) since that is where I want to go on one side of the open jaw..... maybe that is more miles since it is 500+ from JNB.

Thanks

RCK

12886

The DOH segment is why it won't work. From USA-S SAFRICAthere are routes via N.TL, S ATL and even PACIFIC but not mid east.

So many false statements here. MPM, no DOH ....

sbm12 has so far offered the only correct advice.

There is no MPM

I have several awards currently booked that are way over MPM (if there is tell me how I am going from LAX to BKK via LHR and DOH)

The problem with defining the rules for award travel is that there dont seem to be any rules. Its more of whatever the system prices out - if it does - great - you may need to get creative mutlicity searches. If it doesnt and its anything of any complexity - good luck getting an agent to book it.

oh yeah - how is this for a direct route using a fairly simple multicity search:

YUL-DOH-DXB-ADD-LOS-JNB
business 60000 miles and $54.20

I also have a trip to JNB booked, and the return routes through DOH. Specifically, CPT-JNB-DOH-FRA-EWR. Was able to book online using multi-segment approach (I believe I searched CPT-DOH, and DOH-EWR).

LAX-LHR-DOH-BKK is 12002

LAX-BKK MPM+15% is 11393

definitely NOT way over the stated limit ...

YUL-DOH-DXB-ADD-LOS-JNB is 13517 miles

YUL-JNB MPM+15% is 11378

this one is over by a lot ...

CPT-JNB-DOH-FRA-EWR is 11373

CPT-EWR MPM+15% is 11873

this one's actually under.

Apparently, the MPM+15% is not enforced based on your examples although that was stated as the policy by UA Insider last year. Anyways, the above examples are not that outrageous although they certainly look like it. I guess going forward I'll have to be bolder when proposing routings to the reservations agents.

It was the old UA policy because the online system on .bomb was incapable of doing anything useful when it came to awards.

CO rules were always "looser".

Open Jaw must be in same country or zone?
 

So with some phantom availability showing up online, I had to do a online booking of LAX-IAD-FRA-MUC // JNB-DOH-IAH to lockin what the phone agents couldn't see on their end.

Then I called and spent 2 hours on the phone bickering with a girl who said that a itinerary can only have 8 segments.... so I get a supervisor and the fun begins..

I end up with the following:

LAX-IAD-FRA-MUC-TLV/Stopover/TLV-ATH-DOH-JNB//Destination-openJaw/PLZ-JNB-DOH-IAH-LAX

All C except for the ATH-DOH despite it showing available online. So 120K miles and $439.76

The stickler was I wanted to go to VFA (Victoria Falls) on the inbound from DOH via JNB. The supervisor said that if I did that, it was treated as a second stopover as he said that either it was in a different country (whihch I don't think was the issue), or the fact that Zimbabwe is considered Central Africa on the awards chart zone... thus, maybe the Jaw has to be in the same Zone.... though they are right next to each other.

The crappy part is that I can use ANA miles to get to VFA and then CPT on the way back... BUT, evidently, you can't start a ANA award from JNB, then transit back through JNB somewhere else (ie: CPT).

So now for the fun part, to sit back and watch what gets released, hoping to upgrade to First on Swiss and LH where possible.

THanks for all the help.

You're giving the TPAC mileage which is 11393. The TATL+ 15% is 16347 which is another 25% above the mileage that rankourabu has booked.

Unfortunately this example says nothing about whether MPM is still in play or not.

that sounds like a hell lot of taxes! I am at a loss what makes up all that money.

Also, it is possible to start from another zone - but again, if it doesnt book online - you ll have a hard time convincing an agent to do it.

Maximum Segments on UA Award and MPM LAX-JNB
 

My bad. Those taxes are for two tickets.

Stopover and destination in a different zone.
 

Don't mean to hijack this, but my question is similar to this post.

is a stopover in one region and a destination in another allowed? Presumably it would price as an award to the destination. In my case US to Asia via Europe. Destination in Asia, stopover in Europe.

Thanks for any insight. I'm not familiar with the current United award rules or lack thereof...

Yes. :-:

Thanks Seth.

Are routing rules posted anywhere?

MPM don't seem to be a factor anymore. Is it just a free for all? What is limited beyond total segments on an award?

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...vel/types.aspx . Then click the plus sign.

Well that seems ridiculously ill advised.

That is guaranteed to get you special treatment at TLV.

By all accounts on the internets - noone at DOH will care.

If I can only figure out how to get it to work. Im looking at one way BOS-FRA-BKK-NRT but the best ive been able to come up with is 110K Flight to Europe is LH J and remainder in F on Thai A380.

Piecing the return on seperate tix in F via Pacific on UA is extra 67K for a total of 177K. To make a Mini RTW trip. I guess its not too bad as DL wants 195K for J via DTW for similar dates.

Maximum Segments for award travel
 

Is there a maximum segments for an award trip.

I am going DUB - YVR then YVR to MCO then

MCO
PNS
IAH
SFO
FRA
CPH
DUB

Is it possible to have 6 fights and check the bag all the way through?

Anyone?

Just so people don't have to look up the codes the panned trip goes:

Orlando
Pensacola, Florida
Houston
(possibly San Francisco)
Frankfurt
Copenhagen
Dublin

Would it be allowed?

yes, 9 is the max
 

I recently booked a round trip using my UA miles that has a total of 9 segments including 1 permitted stopover (over 24 hours) and many layovers (less than or equal to 24 hours) involving 5 *A airlines. I was told by a UA CSR that I already maxed out the number of segments allowed. I didn't know that before I called in. That's the "rule" I got from UA. Many people here claim that there is something called MPM Maximum Permitted Mileage that you can't exceed for any trip and the total number of segments is not as important. I've heard that you can have up to 13 segments.

I think 4 is the max they can tag a bag for, that also assumes you arent staying > 24 hrs at any 1 stop. Staying > 24 hrs means having to claim your bag and recheck when you are gonna be flying out

Max # of segments allowed on an award?
 

U.S.-N.Asia award. Will a 12 segment routing going TPAC then TATL be allowed? I've put all the pieces together for:

JFK-NRT-ICN-PEK-ULN(Stopover)-PEK-HKG-TPE-PVG(Destination)-ICN-FRA-BRU-EWR

Assuming they will let me ticket such an unusual routing, would the # of segments be valid? If not, I will trim it up a bit. Thanks.

I had 11 on a Asia-Oceania award on the glitch... so I dont think 12 is going to be a problem.

however, you will not be allowed to cross both oceans, unless you open jaw in the US between the west and east coast. Many threads on this. You must use same ocean.

The detour between PEK and PVG is also unlikely to be allowed. also ULN will be your destination.

I have another award booked in April that goes JFK-SFO-HKG-BKK, VTE-BKK-DPS (destination)-SIN-MUC-DME-IAH-EWR. That let me go both oceans...did they recently change it?

no, you just got away with one. You are allowed do use the SIN-DME-IAH, as it can be considered Pacific, but I dont know how they allowed you MUC in there.
It could also be that you dont have a stopover - and thus they priced it as two one ways (check pricing info on receipt where it says rewards used)

I got it to ticket for 140k & $184.94

JFK-NRT (NH F) overnight sub-24hr stop
NRT-ICN (UA F) overnight sub-24hr stop
ICN-PEK (CA J) overnight sub-24hr stop
PEK-ULN (CA Y) destination
ULN-PEK (CA Y) overnight sub-24hr stop
PEK-HKG (CA J) layover long enough to go into town and eat at my fav place
HKG-TPE (TG J) overnight sub-24hr stop
TPE-PVG (CA F) stopover
PVG-ICN (OZ J)
ICN-FRA (OZ F) overnight sub-24hr stop
FRA-BRU (LH J)
BRU-EWR (UA F)

Will obviously cross my fingers for LH F to anywhere in the CONUS to open closer in and then I will go direct from FRA.

well done then.
on the phone? from scratch? spoonfeeding?

sounds like a US award where the agents are clueless in geography and you can sell them almost anything.

This was during the SQ mistake award redemption festival. SFO-HKG, SIN-MUC and DME-IAH all SQ F

On the phone. I had mapped all my segments. Read them out to her, she fed them to the computer and the computer priced it. I think there is no rhyme or reason to the system anymore. Luck of the draw.

I think you are absolutely right.
Also proves, spoonfeeding is the best way. Homework can save you a lot of hassle.

I've been booking some convoluted QR awards this past week, but I found for those you had to book the QR segments online, and then you could call in to play around with all the feeder star alliance flights - agents were hopeless finding QR space.

Max number of segments on an e-ticket seems to be 16 these days.

No MPM
 

On the phone right now with an agent who talked to the rate desk, and confirmed there is no more MPM, but there are other restrictions, especially if you have commenced travel (e.g. can't change origin / destination regions).

Perhaps OT ?, but in general what system is everyone using to check routes/availability? Expert flyer? KVS? Is it even reasonable to try on UA.com?

Very. Other than LH F phantom inventory it is quite reliable IME.

It is not currently showing any SQ C availability.

Other than these two problems it might be reliable but it also covers a small portion of *A carriers.

United.com covers ALL Star carriers, even the most obscure ones and Aer Lingus, interisland HI/WP on top of Star.

The only problems as mentioned are SQ C, LH phantom.