future75k

PQD isn't an issue. But for your first two answers I'm not sure you understood my situation.


1) I am gold status. I've flown over 75,000 PQM this year, but they haven't posted yet. With just a day left, I don't assume they will. So at the change, I will be gold status. Even though I will eventually get to platinum status as a result solely of miles flown prior to Oct 5th, they won't have posted before the rules change.

2) I don't see how that answers the question. There is nothing in the "post october 6" rules that discusses new bookings, only changes and cancellations.

wche

I'm a noob at this: would the following itinerary change if booked after Oct 6?

EWR-SFO(layover)-SYD
MEL-BKK(layover)-HKG
HKG-EWR

simplified:
EWR-SYD-MEL-HKG-EWR

Currently pricing up at 80k

future75k

Is this documented somewhere? Obviously it makes a big difference to me. Would it be the same for someone who books as a 1K then becomes a gold - all of a sudden they will be assessed fees?

I assumed my status at time of booking under the old rules would be noted.


Well, the advantage would be that if the old rules grandfather me in at gold status with change fees, vs. being able to just book when i want to with no fees as a platinum (Is this true? There doesn't seem to be anything in the rules post oct 6 about new bookings within 61 or 21 days)

Thanks. I'm not worried about PQD - but no desire to strive for a cash offer. flight-based mileage or revenue challenges, fine. Paying cash for status alone is a bit silly to me.

findark

Yes, assuming HKG is a stopover. You will be charged an additional 17.5k miles (MEL-HKG award) for a total of 97.5k miles.

Yes, if booked as a 1K and you drop to gold, the old reservation now carries award change fees. There's nowhere in the record where it says what status you were when you booked the ticket.

WineCountryUA

Fees based on status at time of change has been the rule for years. It is documented in the award fees rules.
it is not and if you fall in status you pay higher fees.



You status will be back dated once the partner segments post.
The rules are status at time of change and rules based on time of purchase.

MLM JET

Just spoke to United rep and they said the Plats should flood their Feedback page to get the new fee reversed!

Mike Jacoubowsky

Don't tell me that; I've finally accepted my life as a future Gold!

tarheelnj

Plat here.

Just blew through all my miles booking multiple itineraries to multiple possible destinations, including some decent J saver awards to Europe, and even EWR-SFO BF! Also got a J saver award on the non-stop AC 787 flight EWR-YVR. 14,000 miles left. No idea how many of these flights I'll actually take. I'm disgusted that I felt compelled to do this because of a change in the middle of a program year, not to mention that I've now taken saver award space from others who might actually know they want to travel on one of those dates.

future75k

So will platinum's still be able to BOOK NEW award travel without fee after october 6th? I don't see where this has been answered

The new fare rules don't seem to address new bookings, just changes and cancellations?

ctownflyer

Sounds like you've answered your own question.

future75k

Not really, because it says the "old fare rules" only apply to booking on or before October 5th.

As such, the guidance for new bookings after october 5th seems unclear

future75k

I don't see where this is documented, perhaps you could highlight it?

Here: https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...s/default.aspx

I see:" After an award ticket is issued, a service charge may be imposed for each change requested by the member that necessitates the reissuance of the ticket. See award ticket fee chart for applicable fees. "

Following that link provides only this text:

"Fee level is based on the MileagePlus status of the member whose miles were used to book the award." Without any specific mention of whether it is the status level at time of booking, or time of change - but a general reference to the time of booking the award which doesn't make any more confident it is not that status that counts.

I know you are just trying to help, but I'm not going to risk hundreds of thousands of miles without any actual evidence from United to suggest they won't be wasted. If that has been the rule for years, then surely it must be documented somewhere?

aacharya

There is never a fee for booking an award, except if calling in or a close-in fee. To be fair, I haven't seen anything about the close-in fee changes.

future75k

Right, but the "Close-in" timeline used to be 21 days. They've now increased that timeline for changes and re-credits to 61 days in the new fee structure and added a fee to platinum members that used to have no fee for any of those things plus new bookings.

As the new fee structure makes no specific mention of close in new bookings, one would assume that either A) They follow the new change fee structure, whereby Platinums get screwed again or B) There will no longer be a close-in charge for any members on a new booking or C) the existing close-in fee structure remains - separate fees and a separate timeline than anything else. Which would be completed un-streamlined and make the new fees no more streamlined than the old ones.


Considering the whole thing is designed for them to make more money, I have a hard time believing it won't end up being A.

But if it is A, then I probably won't be booking any more award flights with United, so hopefully its not.

ctownflyer

Clearly it's C.
None of this has anything to do with close-in fees.