Yes RDM earning is going to be different.
The earning on partner flights is still an open issue.
Note there is no change in PQM/status earning (other then PQD requirements have been increased by 20% for 2015 for those without waivers)

For the ongoing discussion, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-distance.html

I need to book two TPAC(Japan-US) roundtrips for May and August. Due to scheduling, they will most likely be on NH metal. Will I earn more UA RDM miles by purchasing those NH tickets directly on NH's website?

For UA operated flights - no. If NH operated, we don't know yet.

Alternatives to UA ?
 

Working on the assumption that UA's partner mileage accrual will be similar to say DL, for me it will simply add to the total cost of UA/*A tickets.

Today when I compare tickets (setting aside status benefits, such as they may be), a UA/*A ticket costs me X$ but I receive Y$ back in RDMs. Now it looks like I will receive 1/2 or less Y$, effectively increasing the total cost of *A tickets.
I assume that many others (comments along the lines of "I got 20,000 miles for this ticket in 2014, but will get only 8,000 miles this year"...) will come to the same conclusion, and I cannot see any way this will not hurt UA ticket sales.

Since I am looking for an alternative.... is there any online source which compares different *A airlines' partner mileage accrual ?

Also mildly annoying is the delay in announcing the changes which will take place in March re *A partners. I have to book a flight, and the new RDM accrual rules will have at least some bearing on my choice.

i dont understand this bit either -why if you buy the tkt on ANA but the flight is
UA operated ,wont the miles awarded change ?
do UA know what price ana is charging you?

also, if you have a multistop star alliance tkt purchased non ua with a one segment ua leg-how do thry calculate the miles on the ua leg??

yes -- ANA has to pay UA for the UA ticket. UA receives a portion of the revenue of the total ticket based on the fare construction.

This is how for the past year UA has calculated PQDs.

UA will know the portion of revenue UA receives and that will be using to determine the RDMs as will be done for any UA segment.

Copay $ count towards 2015 award miles?
 

I'm not readily seeing this answer in the thread at sticky nor the first couple of pages:

Does the Copay Paid for Upgrades with miles count towards Award Miles in the new 2015 earning system?

And it looks like surcharges are counted but taxes not?

Just like PQDs, it is , no fees like copays are included.

One and done...
 

Wow...I just started flying United this past year (2014) and was fortunate enough to have made Platinum. I used up some 60something thousand miles on award travel and so having award miles be earned by dollar spent vs miles flown + bonus miles is really what is going to hit me the hardest. All my travel is for work and therefore paid for by the company, which is saying that 90% of the tickets are going to be on the Economy/Non-Refundable class (cheap) so my award miles accrual is going to suffer big time. I guess I picked the wrong airline to start being loyal to :(

Luckily I am not that invested in MileagePlus as most of you here who have been flying United for years and years. I am looking for a better alternative and was wondering which other airline(s)/frequent flyer program(s) would you consider if you were to make the switch?

Also can someone please explain to me what exactly does Global Services mean? Does it include certain premier status(es) or is it a whole different premier level?

Thanks in advance!

If switching programs, make airline & partners serve your home airport & relevant destinations in a convenient manner for you.

Global Services is an invitation-only program for the highest spenders on UA, and essentially a higher premier level. There are several threads related to this.

Have a trip that might start in Feb but end in March 1, 2015. I am guessing that the leg in Feb will be calculated under the old system and then the one on March 1st under the new system. Curious as to how the fare breakdown will work. Will it just be 50% of the roundtrip?

Fare break out will be done the same as done for PQDs. If out and back are identical fares then it will be 50/50 but if the fares are different than not.

2015 MileagePlus Program Updates Announced (Master/Consolidated Thread)
 

What a farce mileageplus has become. Tied up it is own convoluted nonsense. Worse than the US tax system. Soon they will be offering, for a fee, mileage consultants to calculate your status level. Get mileagebooks before year end.

Got to think they will lose high earners, those who just don't care so much about miles but care more about being respected and not taken for fools to jump through hoops.

Regardless of the origin of the "benefit", it has been a feature of MP up until now. As with all features/benefits of the program (intentional or not), it benefited some, worked against others.

Now they're removing that benefit/feature from the program. While its existence may have been accidental, removing it is not, and so for me, at least, it represents a devaluation of my status, a devaluation which (I suspect) particularly hits those of us who have families we occasionally travel with (or who occasionally travel without us).

anyone else notice a drop in prices?
 

I fly UA almost every week. But I always kayak to see how much the lowest cost alternative is, and how much more i'm paying for my UA ticket. After accounting for the bonus miles (since i'm a 1K, I earned 1/3rd of the miles towards a savers award ticket every time i flew), UA still came out ahead most of the time. When it didn't, I flew Jet Blue.

For my flights post March 1st, I won't need to net out in the miles anymore, but surprisingly, for every flight i've booked (10 so far) UA is the cheapest option available. That was rarely the case earlier. I wonder if this is their new strategy or if i just don't have enough data points yet.