Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014

Jan 8, 16, 4:42 pm - Wikipost

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New UA Award/Upgrade Chart (vs. Current Chart)

Changes took effect for travel booked starting February 3, 2014. See UA Insider's post linked here for more info about the date change. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22263212-post2366.html

Awards with *A partners now cost more than similar awards flown only on UA metal.

F awards on partners went up 40-80%
J awards on partners went up 20-40%
F and J awards on UA metal (or mixed carriers where UA metal is in premium cabin followed by partner segment in lower class) as well some Y awards increased by 5-20% (US to Europe in F up 19%, US to Middle East in F up 20% for example)

See below for the round-trip increases on partner metal :

US ✈ Southern South America: +10,000 J, +5,000 F

US ✈ Europe: +40,000 J, +85,000 F

US ✈ Northern/Central/Southern Africa: +40,000 J, +110,000 F

US ✈ Middle East: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +130,000 F

US ✈ Central Asia/India: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F

US ✈ South Asia: +15,000 Y, +40,000 J, +120,000 F

US ✈ North Asia: +5,000 Y, +40,000 J, +100,000 F

US ✈ Japan: +5,000 Y, +30,000 J, +85,000 F

US ✈ Oceania: +30,000 J, +70,000 F

US ✈ Australia/New Zealand: +25,000 J, +100,000 F

RTW: +20,000 Y, +90,000 J, +100,000 F

Changes to upgrade policy for intra-Asia and northern South America flights

Complimentary Premier Upgrades and instant upgrades are not applicable
Regional Premier Upgrades (for any fare class) and Global Premier Upgrades (for flights booked in fare class Z, P, S, T, L, K, G or N) can no longer be requested on or after November 1, 2013
There is no co-pay exemption for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards requested on or after November 1, 2013
The above changes do not apply to Copa-operated flights.

Questions and Answers

Q: If I book an award in January 2014 and then make changes in February or beyond (in routing, airline, origin, destination, etc), will it be repriced according to new mileage requirements, or will I keep the old pricing on that ticket?

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

Our existing change process will apply. Changes to awards that require a change in date do not result in a change to the award price. Any other change will require an add/collect in miles and fees for changes or cancellations will still apply as per our existing policies.

Additional details on changing tickets booked prior to 2/3/14 per UA Insider:

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

Changes that will not trigger a re-price for itineraries ticketed before February 3, 2014 include:

Date/time (cabin, region, and award type can't change)
Carrier on one or more segments (cabin, region, and award type can’t change)
Origin/Destination within the same regions (carrier and cabin can’t change)

Full details are in post #2588 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22283437-post2588.html

Q: Do these rates apply for tickets purchased after Feb 3 or for travel after Feb 3? That is,if one purchases a ticket now, to fly on Mar 15, will that be new or old pricing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

The new award pricing takes effect for bookings made on or after Feb 3, 2014 for all future travel dates. If you purchased a ticket prior to then for travel on March 15, and no changes are made to the itinerary, the current pricing will apply.

Q: How will award pricing apply to mixed-carrier Saver Awards?

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

Updated handling for mixed UA-Partner United/partner award itineraries: As we shared with the initial announcement, the Star Alliance/Partner partner award pricing will apply to Business or First awards for itineraries that include at least one flight segment operated by a MileagePlus partner carrier in Business or First.

However, as a customer benefit we have made an exception for most itineraries which require connecting onto a MileagePlus/Star partner in First or Business for a short distance. Specifically, if a United/Copa award itinerary contains a connecting segment on a MileagePlus/Star partner that is wholly within one MileagePlus award region, then the United award price will apply.

For example: IAD-FRA in United BusinessFirst connecting to FRA-FCO in Lufthansa Business, will be priced at the United mileage award amount.
Note that this exception will not apply to a few specific regions and routings, such as intra-Africa connecting segments and certain fifth-freedom routes (e.g. BKK-KUL operated by Lufthansa)

(reverted to J.Edward's rev)

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Nov 1, 13, 3:45 am

#136

lingzhou

Join Date: Oct 2011

Location: IAH

Programs: United

Posts: 178

fare to asia increase a lot, damn, time to change

Nov 1, 13, 3:47 am

#137

TravelinSperry

Join Date: Feb 2013

Location: Miami, FL

Programs: UA 1MM, AA Plat, Marriott LT Titanium, Hilton ♢, IHG Spire, Hyatt Globalist, Hertz Pres Circle

Posts: 4,820

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbm12

US-EU in biz went from 50k to either 57.5 (UA) or 7

(partner). That last one is a 40% raise.

Yea, this one hurt. I actually have 63k miles and recently cancelled my United cc. I had enough for the one way business I needed, now I don't. Might have to call to reinstate the visa. Tough devaluation.

Lurker, if I book a United StarAlliance award before Feb 1, but then want to make changes to it after, will the mileage requirement be different? Or just the change fee?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctownflyer

Comparison of the current saver award chart with the new United and Partner chart:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/35875

#UnitedUnfriendly
Let's get it trending folks...
https://twitter.com/DansDeals/status/396180927878922240

Wow, the biggest % jumps are in Star Alliance First class. The miles required for these routes moved significantly. Why would these routes be affected so much more (on a % basis), then the other classes of service?

Last edited by iluv2fly; Nov 1, 13 at 4:25 am Reason: merge

Nov 1, 13, 4:00 am

#138

love_to_travel

Join Date: Jul 2004

Location: HNL

Programs: United 1K®

Posts: 1,574

I'm not sure what to do. Is UA still better than DL and AA for awards? If it is still better or equal I'll stay, but if not I should switch.

Nov 1, 13, 4:01 am

#139

dsquared37

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Mar 2008

Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia

Programs: Some of this 'n some of that

Posts: 17,259

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelinSperry

Because $MI/J wants us to be miserable while spending our miles and flying UA F.

Nov 1, 13, 4:02 am

#140

RS250Racer

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: Asia

Programs: RVT 1K

Posts: 880

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelinSperry

I wonder if the star partners told UA to hike the rates, I am sure they were able to figure out you could buy F for around $3200....sure you had to book last minute but it was a decent deal.

I wonder now how much more they will whore out the miles...I would still buy em if they dropped to 1.5c per mile.

Nov 1, 13, 4:02 am

#141

GuyverII

Suspended

Join Date: Dec 2006

Location: 10 months VLC, 2 months everywhere else

Programs: *A

Posts: 3,770

Quote:

Originally Posted by little_dc

Great chart but to show the real changes you need to look outside the rewards to/from the USA.

welcome to "Get F-ed Friendy"

Wow. Just spent some time looking at this. Substantial devaluation. US-EU 70K on partner one way in J.

Nov 1, 13, 4:04 am

#142

RS250Racer

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: Asia

Programs: RVT 1K

Posts: 880

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsquared37

Because $MI/J wants us to be miserable while spending our miles and flying UA F.

I redeemed ONE time for UA F when I was a noob, most will only do it once.

This will drive loyal customers away, no reason to collect miles, I do not fly domestically and have NO desire to fly in C or F on miles with UA.

In the end I will probably fly less and spend more on luxury hotels and buying cheap C tix on LH or Thai.

Nov 1, 13, 4:09 am

#143

glu800

Join Date: Oct 2008

Location: SFO, SJC

Programs: UA, AA, AS, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 694

Here's a clearer table comparing old and new charts for routes to/from the Mainland U.S., Alaska, and Canada with the increases highlighted in red. There are so many massive devaluations that I haven't even wrapped my head around changes in the other regions. This is seriously insane...

Nov 1, 13, 4:10 am

#144

schley

Join Date: Mar 2009

Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Programs: UA-1k, 1mm, Marriott-LT Platinum, Hertz-Presidents Circle

Posts: 6,345

Nov 1, 13, 4:14 am

#145

dsquared37

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Mar 2008

Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia

Programs: Some of this 'n some of that

Posts: 17,259

Quote:

Originally Posted by glu800

This is seriously insane...

COdbaUA has gone past ludicrous speed (with apologies to Mel Brooks) and turned to plaid.

With all the devaluations, like Spaceball 1, it's 'too dangerous to stop'.

Nov 1, 13, 4:14 am

#146

RS250Racer

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: Asia

Programs: RVT 1K

Posts: 880

Quote:

Originally Posted by glu800

This is seriously insane...

It really is...nearly a clean DOUBLE on F to Asia...total BS.

I wonder if this is a prelude to what will happen with the $ with all the benny bucks being printed...

Nov 1, 13, 4:17 am

#147

Lack

Join Date: Mar 2008

Posts: 4,859

Price hike from the US isn't so bad (even for *A awards). Europe gets the most hurt I think, especially with most of the award needing partners...
Still, noticed a couple awards going lower, probably an oversight.

Nov 1, 13, 4:18 am

#148

schley

Join Date: Mar 2009

Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Programs: UA-1k, 1mm, Marriott-LT Platinum, Hertz-Presidents Circle

Posts: 6,345

Is this a change?

Not sure who uses the CC complimentary upgrades for awards benefit, but I think it is a good one. As we know this has applied to those people we make reservations for even. However this is the new wording, thus have they closed this loop?

Upgrading award tickets

Premier members who are primary cardholders for certain Chase-issued MileagePlus credit cards are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades when traveling on award tickets on United-operated flights. The following credit cards qualify for this benefit:

United MileagePlus Explorer Card
United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
United MileagePlus Club Card
United MileagePlus Club Business Card
United MileagePlus Presidential PlusSM Card
United MileagePlus Presidential Plus Business Card

Complimentary Premier Upgrades on award tickets will be sorted as indicated in the "Upgrade Confirmation Priority" section above, and prioritized after the lowest paid fare class within each Premier level. This benefit does not apply to companions traveling on award tickets.