Nov 1, 2013, 4:08 am
Last edit by: aacharya
Moderator Note: Please keep the wiki post limited to just the facts.
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.
See below for the round-trip increases on partner metal :
Changes to upgrade policy for intra-Asia and northern South America 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?
Additional details on changing tickets booked prior to 2/3/14 per UA Insider:
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?
Q: How will award pricing apply to mixed-carrier Saver Awards?
(reverted to J.Edward's rev)
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
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?
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.
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)
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?
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.
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)
Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014
Feb 2, 2014, 6:54 pm
#2476
Moderator, Hertz; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: KRK
Programs: UA 1MM, BA GGL, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond and others
Posts: 12,690
Feb 2, 2014, 7:51 pm
#2477
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: EWR
Posts: 680
I currently have an itinerary of HKG-BKK-FRA-LIS-EWR next year priced at 70k. If LH's A380 F opens up like a week before departure, would changing the FRA-LIS-EWR segment to FRA-JFK post 2/3 trigger a miles reprice?
Feb 2, 2014, 9:24 pm
#2479
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
The only saving face for true UA fliers would be, to finally reviving and allocating some inventory to the dormant IN booking class at least.
Feb 2, 2014, 9:33 pm
#2480
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,450
I suppose that partner availability will probably improve if you're willing to spend the extra miles.
Feb 2, 2014, 9:34 pm
#2481
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: So Cal
Programs: UA Gold/0.744MM, WN AL, Hyatt Diamond, MR Scum, Hertz PC, National Exec, Avis PC
Posts: 5,560
So who will be the last to book a soon-to-be-expensive F award? I booked one a couple of days ago, however I just completed a change on the outbound to get onto the TG A380 in F (replacing a TG 744 that I thought was going to be new F, but turns out would have been old F)
Feb 2, 2014, 11:10 pm
#2482
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sf bay area
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 434
Friday night I called and inquired specifically about making changes to dates and carrier. This was right around the time they announced the extension to the 3rd. The agent said they had just received written instructions not only about the extension but answers to questions like this. She read the following to me three times. I copied it word for word.
Quote:
Changes to carrier, on one or more segments: no change to award price as long as cabin, region, and award type remain the same. We will honor pre-February 3, 2014 price.
She said this contradicted what they had previously been told and expressed regret that they had been giving people the wrong info.
I've also sent an email and am waiting to hear back.
Quote:
Changes to carrier, on one or more segments: no change to award price as long as cabin, region, and award type remain the same. We will honor pre-February 3, 2014 price.
She said this contradicted what they had previously been told and expressed regret that they had been giving people the wrong info.
I've also sent an email and am waiting to hear back.
Feb 2, 2014, 11:12 pm
#2483
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
So who will be the last to book a soon-to-be-expensive F award? I booked one a couple of days ago, however I just completed a change on the outbound to get onto the TG A380 in F (replacing a TG 744 that I thought was going to be new F, but turns out would have been old F)
I'm probably pretty much done with doing this, unless one of my family members or friends asks for my assistance and includes transferring in Chase points. Fortunately, I've pretty much run down the accounts.
Feb 2, 2014, 11:54 pm
#2484
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
Well, it's now close to 1h00 a.m. CST and .bomb still sells partner awards according to the old mileage award charts ......
Feb 2, 2014, 11:56 pm
#2485
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Asia
Programs: RVT 1K
Posts: 883
Just burned another 70k minutes before midnight...down to just a few thousand miles....burned nearly half a million.
Last few years have been fun, probably did around 20 F flights US to Asia...gonna miss that...
Last few years have been fun, probably did around 20 F flights US to Asia...gonna miss that...
Feb 3, 2014, 12:22 am
#2486
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Auckland, NZ
Programs: UA 1K, QF Plat, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 82
Still waiting….
Yes, well I'm one of the few people waiting for new mileage award charts to kick in as rates going down for travel from Aus/NZ to many parts of SE Asia/S Asia/Middle East, and quite substantially. Any updates on why the hold up or if they are going to delay again?
Feb 3, 2014, 12:28 am
#2487
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,396
Booking an award where the mileage amount should have been reduced on February 1? If you book one of these awards on February 1 or 2, we will honor the reduced mileage amount. Although initial ticketing will be at the current, higher level, we will retroactively re-price your award to the lower mileage amount within 10 business days.
Feb 3, 2014, 12:33 am
#2488
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Auckland, NZ
Programs: UA 1K, QF Plat, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 82
Yes, my issue is that I don't have sufficient miles to purchase three of the ticket that I want to get, and I don't want to risk getting two now and then one when I get refunded the miles. My sense is that that process could take some time, given how slowly things have unfolded thus far.
Feb 3, 2014, 12:49 am
#2489
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: FL35
Programs: DL DM, AS MVPG, AA PP, UA 1K, Bonvoy Plat, Hyatt Globalist, HH Gold, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Natl EE
Posts: 420
Trying to complete online for LH F is bombing out now as of 11:43 PST for me.
Feb 3, 2014, 12:54 am
#2490
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 855
Refunding award reservations booked before 2/3 is bombing out for me.
Two reservations were cancelled, but getting the refund of miles and taxes required a call to web support.
Two reservations were cancelled, but getting the refund of miles and taxes required a call to web support.