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
Nov 2, 2013, 4:54 pm
#1036
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
But Delta are pleasing their customers also, not just investors. The only thing that DL doesn't do well at the moment is award redemption. Everything else seems pretty spot on. UA right now (it can change) is really doing pretty poorly in all metrics except maybe for getting most of the long haul planes into lay flat beds, and being a wee bit ahead of the curve on the lay flat PS flights. The others will shortly catch up. Everything else is pretty shoddy.
We'll see over the next couple of years whether UA can put this integration mess behind them and be able to perform like a single, customer friendly, profitable entity. Even Smisek acknowledges that they have not executed as anticipated.
Devaluing the MP redemption chart, though, is likely an encouraging sign to investors as it shows that UA leadership is prepared to 'make hard decisions' to the benefit of the bottom line... Even if it alienates some of their miles earning customers.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:00 pm
#1037
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Lifetime Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Radisson Premium
Posts: 6,638
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0_3 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Mobile/11B511 Safari/9537.53)
Agree, UA is not DL.
We'll see over the next couple of years whether UA can put this integration mess behind them and be able to perform like a single, customer friendly, profitable entity. Even Smisek acknowledges that they have not executed as anticipated.
Devaluing the MP redemption chart, though, is likely an encouraging sign to investors as it shows that UA leadership is prepared to 'make hard decisions' to the benefit of the bottom line... Even if it alienates some of their miles earning customers.
The HFVs ARE the bottom line. And management doesn't seem to have a clue why they aren't coming back. Do they really still think it was because of a bad on-time rate from a year and a half ago? Please!!!
Originally Posted by LarkSFO
But Delta are pleasing their customers also, not just investors. The only thing that DL doesn't do well at the moment is award redemption. Everything else seems pretty spot on. UA right now (it can change) is really doing pretty poorly in all metrics except maybe for getting most of the long haul planes into lay flat beds, and being a wee bit ahead of the curve on the lay flat PS flights. The others will shortly catch up. Everything else is pretty shoddy.
We'll see over the next couple of years whether UA can put this integration mess behind them and be able to perform like a single, customer friendly, profitable entity. Even Smisek acknowledges that they have not executed as anticipated.
Devaluing the MP redemption chart, though, is likely an encouraging sign to investors as it shows that UA leadership is prepared to 'make hard decisions' to the benefit of the bottom line... Even if it alienates some of their miles earning customers.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:00 pm
#1038
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: SFO South Bay
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 3,052
Nov 2, 2013, 5:01 pm
#1039
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 157
Seems like it will work as long as the "long-haul segment" is with UA and the partner's segment is at the lower class. Then the follow up question would be what if you have multiple smaller partner segments which add up to longer than the UA segment?
Nov 2, 2013, 5:01 pm
#1040
Join Date: May 2009
Programs: UA, AA, AS, B6
Posts: 103
Seems like a FF program ought to build loyalty, but especially with this move, UA is doing a good job to convince me NOT to fly them.
I was 1K for several years when my employer had me flying TPAC regularly and I enjoyed flying UA. Up until the merger, United gave me the impression that they actually appreciated my business. Not anymore.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:04 pm
#1041
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: LAS
Posts: 174
I just e-mailed SMI/J with the following screenshot and also a screenshot of the re-booked itins on DL. I explained that if I'm going to pay to fly in the premium cabin of an airline with a crappy mileage program, I may as well fly the one that's far, far superior in nearly every respect. Will it make any difference? Obviously not, but I feel it's important that UA hear from as many of us as possible that moves like this do, indeed, have monetary consequences.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:10 pm
#1042
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Are those your ticket numbers?
May not want to share them...
May not want to share them...
Nov 2, 2013, 5:12 pm
#1043
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: MDE
Programs: AA EP, CM PP, AV GM, UA Silver, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,002
I haven't read through all of these pages, but I have read the entire thread of another forum. I understand the changes (I think).
At first, it didn't look like I would be impacted much by the changes. I'm currently SJO based with a move coming soon to MDE. MDE is where I found the problem. No CPUs or RPUs to/from northern South America is ridiculous. There are domestic flights longer than MDE-PTY-MIA/MCO.
I wonder how much Copa had to say about this change. There are many expats in this part of the world who love and often fly Copa because of their MileagePlus benefits, but those just disappeared for those of us who will be living east or south of Panama.
Copa will lose me on these routes, as I can always buy a Z fare cheaper on UA than I can find it on CM. So I'll have to make two connections instead of one, and fly through IAH or EWR. I'll also earn more miles in the process, and I'm going to need them with this devaluation.
Count me as one very unhappy 1K who was not a bit concerned about PQDs. I'm also alarmed about the rate of negative changes that have been coming our way. What's next???
At first, it didn't look like I would be impacted much by the changes. I'm currently SJO based with a move coming soon to MDE. MDE is where I found the problem. No CPUs or RPUs to/from northern South America is ridiculous. There are domestic flights longer than MDE-PTY-MIA/MCO.
I wonder how much Copa had to say about this change. There are many expats in this part of the world who love and often fly Copa because of their MileagePlus benefits, but those just disappeared for those of us who will be living east or south of Panama.
Copa will lose me on these routes, as I can always buy a Z fare cheaper on UA than I can find it on CM. So I'll have to make two connections instead of one, and fly through IAH or EWR. I'll also earn more miles in the process, and I'm going to need them with this devaluation.
Count me as one very unhappy 1K who was not a bit concerned about PQDs. I'm also alarmed about the rate of negative changes that have been coming our way. What's next???
Nov 2, 2013, 5:13 pm
#1044
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Laguna Beach CA
Programs: AA EXP/4MM UA 1MM, HY Global, Bon Lft Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 720
In my opinion, Delta got the basics of passenger service in place before instituting the cuts that left many unhappy with the Skymiles.
People depend on an airline for good passenger service, on time performance and route network.
A well functioning, fair and available mileage redemption program is icing on the cake.
So far, Delta seems to get more of the basic things right.
People depend on an airline for good passenger service, on time performance and route network.
A well functioning, fair and available mileage redemption program is icing on the cake.
So far, Delta seems to get more of the basic things right.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:13 pm
#1045
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: QF WP, QR GOLD, TK GOLD, EY GOLD, AF/KLM GOLD
Posts: 392
What are the improvements in new UA award chart effective 1st feb 14?
Apparently there is at least one case where the number of miles required will be reduced..
Australia/NewZealand to South Asia will be reduced to 17.5/30/40k for Y/J/F one-way
are there any other scenarios will the number of miles required will be decreasing on the new award chart effective on 1st feb 2014?
from mile value:
Currently Hong Kong to Auckland costs 30k/45k/60k each way in economy/business/first. That will drop to 17.5k/30k/40k each way on the new partner chart.
http://milevalue.com/eight-silver-li...e-devaluation/
Australia/NewZealand to South Asia will be reduced to 17.5/30/40k for Y/J/F one-way
are there any other scenarios will the number of miles required will be decreasing on the new award chart effective on 1st feb 2014?
from mile value:
Currently Hong Kong to Auckland costs 30k/45k/60k each way in economy/business/first. That will drop to 17.5k/30k/40k each way on the new partner chart.
http://milevalue.com/eight-silver-li...e-devaluation/
Nov 2, 2013, 5:45 pm
#1047
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: iad/dca
Programs: UA Million Mile Gold, Club, AA, Delta, Marriott, Hertz G, A/Club
Posts: 1,106
They could have given us more time to spend down. Not much time or space available this time of year.
Nov 2, 2013, 5:53 pm
#1048
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Earth ... for now
Programs: UA 2MM * Marriott Ambassador LT Titanium * IHG Diamond Ambassador * Hilton Diamond *
Posts: 1,784
Nov 2, 2013, 5:59 pm
#1049
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Domestic did change for mainland-HI, 5K increase RT in Y. And lower 48 to AK are now 35K RT in Y.
Or even where the trip is two segments and the UA segment is shorter than the partner's lower class segment? (Think HNL for example)
Or even where the trip is two segments and the UA segment is shorter than the partner's lower class segment? (Think HNL for example)
Last edited by 84fiero; Nov 2, 2013 at 6:00 pm Reason: punctuation
Nov 2, 2013, 6:00 pm
#1050
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,718
The merger was an abomination from announcement day. Let CO and UA duke it out in the market. Instead CO took over and demolished the whole thing.
Wishing for a withering performance and regime change at this point (and have been since announcement day)
And DOJ stay strong and block US/AA. US can be the new USA Star airline.
Wishing for a withering performance and regime change at this point (and have been since announcement day)
And DOJ stay strong and block US/AA. US can be the new USA Star airline.
