Jun 10, 2014, 5:09 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Earning miles on United flights
Spend-based mileage (RDM) earning for all UA metal flights effective March 1, 2015.
Redeemable Miles (RDM) changes highlights:
Fare multipliers based on Premier status:
For example, a 1K would earn 1100 miles for a $120 (assuming $20 in taxes/fees) ticket while a Silver would earn 700 miles for the same ticket.
As there is a maximum number of miles per ticket earned - this disincentives purchasing any ticket (excluding government taxes and fees) over the following:
A way to avoid this is booking one-ways if the fare rules permit.
Premier Qualifying Miles (PQM) are not affected by this change.
Announcement Site
Post 57: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/23008349-post57.html
Answered Questions:
Spend-based mileage (RDM) earning for all UA metal flights effective March 1, 2015.
Redeemable Miles (RDM) changes highlights:
- Miles earned will now be based on the ticket price instead of the number of miles flown (see partner flights on non-016 tickets exception )
- Ticket price is defined as base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges (same as PQDs)
- Class of service bonuses have been discontinued (e.g. X% more on A fares).
- There is a limit of 75,000 miles earned per ticket (see below for spending limits by status)
- UA flights regardless of ticket stock will use the ticket price to determine RDMs
- Partner flight on 016 ticket stock will use the ticket price to determine RDMs
- Partner flights on non-016 ticket stock will use a flight mileage-based system to determine RDMs with a fare class multiplier (see the partner page for detials
- Speciality / Bulk tickets with PQDs will use a flight mileage-based system to determine RDMs with a fare class multiplier, see Specialty tickets
Fare multipliers based on Premier status:
- x5 General Members
- x7 Silver
- x8 Gold
- x9 Plat
- x11 1K/GS
For example, a 1K would earn 1100 miles for a $120 (assuming $20 in taxes/fees) ticket while a Silver would earn 700 miles for the same ticket.
As there is a maximum number of miles per ticket earned - this disincentives purchasing any ticket (excluding government taxes and fees) over the following:
- $6818.18 for 1K/GS
- $8333.33 for Platinum
- $9375.00 for Gold
- $10714.28 for Silver
- $15000.00 for General Members
A way to avoid this is booking one-ways if the fare rules permit.
Premier Qualifying Miles (PQM) are not affected by this change.
www.mileageplusupdates.com
There is a tool on the site that allow you to enter how much you spent on a ticket along your premier status in order to calculate how many miles you will earn under the new system. The tool is aware of the miles per ticket limit.
There is a FAQ here: http://mileageplusupdates.com/faq.html
Relevant UA Insider posts:There is a tool on the site that allow you to enter how much you spent on a ticket along your premier status in order to calculate how many miles you will earn under the new system. The tool is aware of the miles per ticket limit.
There is a FAQ here: http://mileageplusupdates.com/faq.html
Post 57: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/23008349-post57.html
Hi everyone,
Today were announcing changes to how MileagePlus members will earn award miles in 2015. Weve posted complete details and a FAQ on united.com, but I wanted to share an excerpt of the key points with you directly:
As of March 1, 2015, the award miles you earn on most United and United Express tickets will be based on your ticket price (that is, base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges) and your MileagePlus status, instead of the distance you travel. The new criteria for earning award miles will look like this:
<portion removed for brevity>
The changes to earning award miles will apply to all MileagePlus members worldwide, and will be based on status at the time of flight on or after March 1, 2015. These changes will not affect the qualification requirements for 2015 Premier status. PQM and PQS will still be based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased. And where applicable, PQD will still be determined by the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.
Today were announcing changes to how MileagePlus members will earn award miles in 2015. Weve posted complete details and a FAQ on united.com, but I wanted to share an excerpt of the key points with you directly:
As of March 1, 2015, the award miles you earn on most United and United Express tickets will be based on your ticket price (that is, base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges) and your MileagePlus status, instead of the distance you travel. The new criteria for earning award miles will look like this:
<portion removed for brevity>
The changes to earning award miles will apply to all MileagePlus members worldwide, and will be based on status at the time of flight on or after March 1, 2015. These changes will not affect the qualification requirements for 2015 Premier status. PQM and PQS will still be based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased. And where applicable, PQD will still be determined by the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.
Class of service bonuses have been discontinued under the new system. There is already an adjustment for 1K over general members.
For tickets that will earn award miles based on ticket price, the class-of-service bonus and Premier bonus will be included in the number of award miles you earn per dollar. Basically COS has been removed.
E-mail received by GS lists 1K and GS together.
2015 MileagePlus Change - RDMs Will Be Calculated by Spend, Not Distance
Jun 10, 2014, 11:35 am
#466
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So? Who do you think makes up the bulk of United? Premier Golds fly 50,000-75,000 or fly 60+ segments. These are thousands of them. Very few of them are mileage runners. Each of them spends $5,000+. Lose the bulk of those middle of the road flyers, you don't have an airline anymore.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:35 am
#467
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Programs: AA EP | UA 1K
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I'll fly about 110K BIS miles this year. I'll earn 220K RDM for them. My PQD will end up at around $11-12K. This is actually a fairly typical year for me.
Under the new scheme, I'll earn around 125K RDM. That's a huge cut for me.
I think the mechanism makes sense for the airline, even though it won't for me until my company starts buying premium cabin international fares. Not holding my breath for that one. Sucks for me - and I think the challenge will be that they think they're leaving something for everyone, and may end up finding that they've got nothing for anyone. I feel for people paying F fares as much as I do for myself - though I also question their sanity buying F on UA.
Pretty sure the DL thread hashed through all of this anyway - no need for all of us to post, we can just copy-paste that thread over into this forum.
For my own part, the truth is that given that I fly the 120,000 miles a year on coach fares, the status is important for upgrades etc. Also for all the fee waivers that I benefit from on awards. I still have 500K miles left to burn in my account - but once those are gone, the value of my 1K status diminishes, and since I won't be earning that many miles anyway, begs the question of whether I should, for example, just credit to LH/SQ so that I can redeem in those programs. Lots to think about -- next year.
Under the new scheme, I'll earn around 125K RDM. That's a huge cut for me.
I think the mechanism makes sense for the airline, even though it won't for me until my company starts buying premium cabin international fares. Not holding my breath for that one. Sucks for me - and I think the challenge will be that they think they're leaving something for everyone, and may end up finding that they've got nothing for anyone. I feel for people paying F fares as much as I do for myself - though I also question their sanity buying F on UA.
Pretty sure the DL thread hashed through all of this anyway - no need for all of us to post, we can just copy-paste that thread over into this forum.
For my own part, the truth is that given that I fly the 120,000 miles a year on coach fares, the status is important for upgrades etc. Also for all the fee waivers that I benefit from on awards. I still have 500K miles left to burn in my account - but once those are gone, the value of my 1K status diminishes, and since I won't be earning that many miles anyway, begs the question of whether I should, for example, just credit to LH/SQ so that I can redeem in those programs. Lots to think about -- next year.
and yet again, SQ/LH does not give 100% miles on all UA fares. its likely half your discount fares will earn 50% or less, and in some cases 0%.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:36 am
#468
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
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Jun 10, 2014, 11:37 am
#469
Join Date: May 2012
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Programs: UA GS/1MM, Ritz Carlton Plat
Posts: 200
Thanks to everyone involved for putting together the wiki, it is great.
The wiki lists 1K/GS together, but I don't see any mention of GS anywhere other than from UA Insider's post. On the mileageplus announcement site and FAQ site it lists only 1K's. With respect to most mileage levels, etc. UA usually treats GS the same as 1K, so I assume that's the case here, but has anyone seen anything specific to GS?
BTW, I haven't done the calculations yet, but I assume I will come out ahead because I do a lot of high fare international flights.
The wiki lists 1K/GS together, but I don't see any mention of GS anywhere other than from UA Insider's post. On the mileageplus announcement site and FAQ site it lists only 1K's. With respect to most mileage levels, etc. UA usually treats GS the same as 1K, so I assume that's the case here, but has anyone seen anything specific to GS?
BTW, I haven't done the calculations yet, but I assume I will come out ahead because I do a lot of high fare international flights.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:37 am
#470
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Everywhere you wanna be
Programs: AA EP | UA 1K
Posts: 1,657
So? Who do you think makes up the bulk of United? Premier Golds fly 50,000-75,000 or fly 60+ segments. These are thousands of them. Very few of them are mileage runners. Each of them spends $5,000+. Lose the bulk of those middle of the road flyers, you don't have an airline anymore.
People forget DL did this last year, and this year DL is making profit lol. Everyone talks and talks, and nobody does anything.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:37 am
#471
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- E+
Jun 10, 2014, 11:38 am
#472
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Everywhere you wanna be
Programs: AA EP | UA 1K
Posts: 1,657
then go to a different airline. lol. An airline giving more to people who spend more; what a horrible concept.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:38 am
#473
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Join Date: Dec 2002
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Actually, because credit card spend will now be far and away the easiest way for most people to earn miles, you will see even more seats being taken by fliers who earned them through spend rather than BIS.
On the whole, this change should reduce award seat demand in the long term. Count on UA to reduce availability accordingly.
On the whole, this change should reduce award seat demand in the long term. Count on UA to reduce availability accordingly.
Compare to HVF C/F flyers, where 2 trips across the pond will now net 150k EQN. To me that's much easier than churning cards and I expect Chase will soon turn off the churner spigot just as Amex has recently done.
WN is probably the biggest beneficiary here - 6/10/12 points per $1 suddenly looks good compared with UA, even better if you are an elite. And no gimmicks with award inventory. Cheaper flights require fewer points.
I'll fly about 110K BIS miles this year. I'll earn 220K RDM for them. My PQD will end up at around $11-12K. This is actually a fairly typical year for me.
Under the new scheme, I'll earn around 125K RDM. That's a huge cut for me.
I think the mechanism makes sense for the airline, even though it won't for me until my company starts buying premium cabin international fares. Not holding my breath for that one. Sucks for me - and I think the challenge will be that they think they're leaving something for everyone, and may end up finding that they've got nothing for anyone.
Pretty sure the DL thread hashed through all of this anyway - no need for all of us to post, we can just copy-paste that thread over into this forum.
For my own part, the truth is that given that I fly the 120,000 miles a year on coach fares, the status is important for upgrades etc. Also for all the fee waivers that I benefit from on awards. I still have 500K miles left to burn in my account - but once those are gone, the value of my 1K status diminishes, and since I won't be earning that many miles anyway, begs the question of whether I should, for example, just credit to LH/SQ so that I can redeem in those programs. Lots to think about -- next year.
Under the new scheme, I'll earn around 125K RDM. That's a huge cut for me.
I think the mechanism makes sense for the airline, even though it won't for me until my company starts buying premium cabin international fares. Not holding my breath for that one. Sucks for me - and I think the challenge will be that they think they're leaving something for everyone, and may end up finding that they've got nothing for anyone.
Pretty sure the DL thread hashed through all of this anyway - no need for all of us to post, we can just copy-paste that thread over into this forum.
For my own part, the truth is that given that I fly the 120,000 miles a year on coach fares, the status is important for upgrades etc. Also for all the fee waivers that I benefit from on awards. I still have 500K miles left to burn in my account - but once those are gone, the value of my 1K status diminishes, and since I won't be earning that many miles anyway, begs the question of whether I should, for example, just credit to LH/SQ so that I can redeem in those programs. Lots to think about -- next year.
As for 1K, the value for domestic travelers has been greatly degraded over the past decade as CPUs for GS crowd out 1Ks and other elites at hubs. The real value remains with free E+, checked baggage, fee waivers and slightly better IRROPS treatment. It's enough to keep me tilted to UA, but the VX economy product is tempting.
Last edited by Boraxo; Jun 10, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Jun 10, 2014, 11:39 am
#474
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One Other Thing
For corporate travel, this disincentivizes planning ahead and searching for the lowest fare. I'm sure corporate travel managers will appreciate the additional monitoring necessary to keep budgets from exploding. Will probably also reduce the amount of corporate travel at many companies (both frequency and number of people sent).
Jun 10, 2014, 11:40 am
#475
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Programs: AA EP | UA 1K
Posts: 1,657
For corporate travel, this disincentivizes planning ahead and searching for the lowest fare. I'm sure corporate travel managers will appreciate the additional monitoring necessary to keep budgets from exploding. Will probably also reduce the amount of corporate travel at many companies (both frequency and number of people sent).
Jun 10, 2014, 11:41 am
#476
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UA isn't going to lose those folk. Where are those folk going to go? WN? no first class. B6? no star alliance. AA? they're switching to revenue eventually. DL? they're already doing this.
People forget DL did this last year, and this year DL is making profit lol. Everyone talks and talks, and nobody does anything.
People forget DL did this last year, and this year DL is making profit lol. Everyone talks and talks, and nobody does anything.
2. Not everyone cares about Star Alliance, a lot of Premier Golds only fly domestically
3. AA may switch but they have a better network in a lot of parts of the country (the southeast for one) than UA
4. DL has invested so much in their product if you're going to spend more they're the airline to do it on.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:43 am
#478
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Jun 10, 2014, 11:44 am
#479
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Don't forget another over-priced consulting company they hired too: Boston Consulting Group. Probably spent millions in consulting fees to hear cost-cutting methods and other ideas they could have got for free.
Jun 10, 2014, 11:44 am
#480
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO/SJC
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you will still get 1K status every year based on PQM and PQDs so your upgrades aren't going anywhere. You'll just get less miles to redeem for free flights.
and yet again, SQ/LH does not give 100% miles on all UA fares. its likely half your discount fares will earn 50% or less, and in some cases 0%.
and yet again, SQ/LH does not give 100% miles on all UA fares. its likely half your discount fares will earn 50% or less, and in some cases 0%.
Fair point on the SQ/LH - that was just for example, and as I said, for me this is a decision to be made next year as I see where I stand with my mileage balance and my travel plans.
Again, the change is definitely negative for me, but I understand the rationale behind the airlines doing it. Just wish UA had at least attempted to do something other than directly copy DL. Maybe change the multipliers a bit to have a serious reward for 1K loyalty. Or perhaps an exemption if your name is cricketer...