kapitola

hello

Just new here and I am sorry if this is a stupid question. But are there any real benefits to just being a basic Mileage Plus member. I am just trying ot find out if I am allowed to request a specific seat and not pay for seat change, free baggage etc and what levels one has to be to get those rewards--I am jsut having trouble finding it on the website--i have looked here (http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...vel/types.aspx) but this doesn't really answer my questions--again sorry if stupid questions--any help appreciated thanks

WineCountryUA

Welcome to FT!, kapitola
www.united.com > MileagePlus program > Premier benefits and more
is probably the best starting point for understanding elite benefits but this FT forum is the best really understanding those benefits.

astroflyer

Hi Kapitola,

Welcome to Flyertalk!

The benefit of being a general member of Mileage Plus is accruing miles. These miles may then be redeemed for flights. Long before I had elite status, my miles took me to India, Europe, and China. Other than that, you don't really get any additional benefits.

One suggestion, pay careful attention to mile expiration. If for some reason you don't fly before the expiry window, look into doing a Mileage Plus Shopping purchase or credit a car rental to at least accrue a few miles and keep your balance active.

mgcsinc

And just to be more explicit: Like most airline mileage programs, the only real benefits of basic level membership are earning miles and tracking your itineraries in one place. Because it costs nothing to join, this makes sense.

vandrei

The OP should enroll in the MP dining program.

kapitola

hey guys --want to say how much I appreciate your replies! So kind

I was hoping that even at this most basic level I could potentially use points not just for flights (as I am normally reimbursed by my employer for flights so don't need free flights as of yet) but I get to keep the miles so was hoping they would eventually lead to upgrades - or is that "no way" on the lowest level? thanks again

Air Houston

At the lowest level your upgrades will be infrequent, unless you fly routes with mostly leisure travelers. IAH-CUN and CUN-IAH sometimes clear all upgrades and I have seen EGE-IAH operate with empty seats in F certain days of the week recently. (For example, not many Premier travelers fly EGE-IAH on Friday morning in the summer. They have the sense to stay in Vail over the weekend.)

SeamusSA

Well, you could use your earned miles for upgrades. Info is here. If you fly enough to earn Premier status you would go into the queue for complimentary upgrade on domestic flights but they are pretty hard to come by at lower tier status.

hydrogen

Does length of MP account really mean anything?

For example, is a GM who made their account in 1990 any different from a GM who made their account in 2010? Likewise for Premiers: Is a 1K who made their account in 1990 any different from a 1K who made their account in 2010?

Ignore any potential difference in the number of miles in the account.

WineCountryUA

nothing formally except for the MM levels. Occasionally some MP agent might notice it and comment -- that and $1.75 will get you a Vente.

ftweb

As a general member, you can apply to be part of the TSA pre-check program:

http://www.united.com/tsaprecheck

Not sure what your chances of getting in are as a mere GM, but if you are also global entry (which some credit cards reimburse for free), it sounds like it might be possible. It's definitely worth being in pre-check if you can get it.

More importantly, though, the real reason to join now is that someday your circumstances may change and you may become a frequent flyer. Particularly as my lifetime miles approach 1,000,000 but aren't there yet, I really wish I had joined MP a decade earlier and accrued another 100,000 lifetime miles. At the time I couldn't have predicted the benefit, but because the program rules and my life have changed, the MM companion benefit would be quite useful to me.

Also, you never know when you might achieve status. Seems hard to imagine under today's management, but there used to be all kinds of promotions that would increase the number of EQM/PQM earned, which could potentially push you over the line to 25K miles. DL once gave me an unsolicited gift of status for no reason (I changed markets, maybe they hoped to get my business)--again hard imagine to under today's UA, but the only thing we can say with 100% certainty is that you won't get any freebies if you don't sign up.

Given that it doesn't cost anything and makes on-line check-in easier and could get you tsa-precheck or some benefits you can't predict down the line, there's really no reason not to join. Also, the miles you earn will be worth something, even if not very much. What's the downside? Maybe the United Mileage Plus credit card offers you will receive weekly by snail mail...

KenInEscazu

Worthy of mention here, the program will change in 2014 for 2015 Premier status achievement. While currently Silver requires 25,000 miles or 30 segments, Gold 50,000 miles or 60 segments, Platinum 75,000 miles or 90 segments and 1K 100,000 miles or 120 segments, next year's program will add a required spend for each level. Often referred to here as PQDs, it stands for Premier Qualifying Dollars. The spend levels are $2,500, $5,000, $7500 and $10,000 respectively.

Taxes and some other charges don't apply, so each member's PQDs will be tracked on UA's web site for convenience. Many details aren't yet clear. Certain Chase credit cards with a minimum annual spend will offset the PQDs for up to Platinum levels, but 1K must be earned the hard way.

If you happen to reside outside of the USA, your foreign address will also liberate you from the spend requirement. I have foreign residency, but I spend the $10,000 anyway, so it won't affect me, but some are discussing using some foreign address even if they don't live outside the USA. Time will tell if UA cracks down on those who try that. There are also some offers that aren't available to foreign members, so I'll have to decide whether to use my residence address in Colombia or stick with my business address in Texas.

WARNING! Chasing miles and status can be addictive. LOL!

Welcome to this club of fanatics, where you will learn how to maximize whatever level of travel you need. The information available here is sometimes priceless, frequently irritating and always enlightening. Enjoy!

astroflyer

I'll just tell one little anecdote:

When I was a college student, I used to buy the TWA 4-flight college student pack. It got me 2 roundtrips for $500 (a pretty good deal given that one of those flights was Christmas time). It was also annoying as it required ticketing in person at the airport basically. In any case, I patiently accrued my miles after TWA was bought by AA...never coming anywhere close to making elite status.

I took lots of random flights over the years and always made sure to keep my account active. I just redeemed a good chunk of those miles for a First class award between Vietnam and JFK on Cathay Pacific. That ticket would cost over $10,000. So in this case, I just kept those really old miles for a splurge. Fun, huh?

Neil35

The benefits (or lack thereof) of basic membership have been explained up-thread. To get things you want (seat request, free baggage) you may want to consider the semi-elite "status" through the MileagePlus credit card. It will also give you a shot at upgrades on award flights.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...nt-credit.html

https://www.theexplorercard.com/ECMPage.aspx

tegelad

Also known as the Bronze status ... remember a benefit of the Chase cards is the ability to get CPU "complimentary" upgrades on reward travel. So if you don't have status, but if you use reward miles, you have a very slim chance of getting your coach ticket upgraded .... The other neat thing as pointed out is that it helps keep your miles from expiring ...

+-ADT