Sep 28, 2018, 11:53 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Today we’re introducing a few updates for members with MileagePlus Premier® status — some of which are already in effect and some that will come later. These updates include added benefits related to boarding groups and baggage allowances, as well as adjustments to our upgrade structure and Premier 1K® status qualification requirements.
Better boarding
Effective on September 18, 2018
· Premier® 1K® members will be called to board during pre-boarding ahead of Group 1
· Premier Gold members will now board with Boarding Group1, previous in Group 2
Baggage allowance for Premier members
Effective on September 28, 2018:
All Premier® members, regardless of Premier status, will receive the same standard weight allowance for checked baggage: 70 lbs. (32 kg.)
Additionally:
· All Premier members flying in United Business®, United First®, or United Polaris® business class are allowed up to three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Gold members flying in United Economy® between the U.S. and Europe are allowed three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Silver members flying in United Economy between the U.S. and Europe are allowed two bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
Premier qualification requirements
Effective on January 1, 2019:
· Premier qualification dollar (PQD) requirement for Premier 1K status will be raised from $12,000 to $15,000.
· P-class fares will earn 150% Premier qualifying miles (PQM), reduced from 200%.
Premier upgrades
Effective on January 1, 2019:
· The way a Premier 1K member earns additional upgrades will be changing. For every 25,000 Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or 30 Premier qualifying segments (PQS) after qualifying for Premier 1K status, we’ll add one Global Premier Upgrades into your account. No additional Regional Premier Upgrades can be earned after qualifying for Premier 1K status.
More details can be found here: www.mileageplusupdates.com
- UA Insider
Better boarding
Effective on September 18, 2018
· Premier® 1K® members will be called to board during pre-boarding ahead of Group 1
· Premier Gold members will now board with Boarding Group1, previous in Group 2
Baggage allowance for Premier members
Effective on September 28, 2018:
All Premier® members, regardless of Premier status, will receive the same standard weight allowance for checked baggage: 70 lbs. (32 kg.)
Additionally:
· All Premier members flying in United Business®, United First®, or United Polaris® business class are allowed up to three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Gold members flying in United Economy® between the U.S. and Europe are allowed three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Silver members flying in United Economy between the U.S. and Europe are allowed two bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
Premier qualification requirements
Effective on January 1, 2019:
· Premier qualification dollar (PQD) requirement for Premier 1K status will be raised from $12,000 to $15,000.
· P-class fares will earn 150% Premier qualifying miles (PQM), reduced from 200%.
Premier upgrades
Effective on January 1, 2019:
· The way a Premier 1K member earns additional upgrades will be changing. For every 25,000 Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or 30 Premier qualifying segments (PQS) after qualifying for Premier 1K status, we’ll add one Global Premier Upgrades into your account. No additional Regional Premier Upgrades can be earned after qualifying for Premier 1K status.
More details can be found here: www.mileageplusupdates.com
- UA Insider
Good news! I got written confirmation from 1kvoice on the below:
We will honor 200% Premier Qualifying Mile (PQM) accrual for tickets purchased before September 28, 2018 for travel on/after January 1, 2019.
• A manual adjustment to 200% PQM accrual for P-fare flown segments can be made post-departure at the customer’s request.
• Any tickets purchased after September 28, 2018, for travel on/after January 1, 2019 are only eligible to receive 150% PQM accrual.
• A manual adjustment to 200% PQM accrual for P-fare flown segments can be made post-departure at the customer’s request.
• Any tickets purchased after September 28, 2018, for travel on/after January 1, 2019 are only eligible to receive 150% PQM accrual.
Related threads
United's New Boarding Process (with Wiki) [starting 18 Sep 2018]
Partner P fare earning after 1 Jan 2019
Updates to MP Premier Program -1K PQD $15K, P fare 150%, fewer RPU, Bag waiver & more
Sep 28, 2018, 12:36 pm
#46
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: West
Programs: UA MP
Posts: 221
I kind of have a feeling this increase also has something to do with the rumors circulating earlier this year with *A adding another level (ie. Diamond) above gold. UA might have thought this was a good opportunity to create a "buffer" between Gold/Plat and top-tier 1K. Probably shows that if a new top-tier *A level comes, it'll introduce access to *A F lounges, such as how Oneworld has gone with their Emerald level.
Sep 28, 2018, 12:45 pm
#47
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New Jersey
Programs: UA MM 1K, AA MM Gold, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 3,236
Additional thoughts:
1. Will UA give 150% PQM for after-purchase paid upgrades that book into P? Right now it requires reticketing into a premium fare, and that process can be an issue for tickets booked through a corporate travel department.
2. What happens to P-fare tickets already booked for 2019, where the receipt shows 200% earning?
3. I wonder if Marriott will take note of the likely reduced 1K numbers and offer Marriott Platinum status to GS and 1K (like Hertz gives President's Circle to GS and 1K)?
1. Will UA give 150% PQM for after-purchase paid upgrades that book into P? Right now it requires reticketing into a premium fare, and that process can be an issue for tickets booked through a corporate travel department.
2. What happens to P-fare tickets already booked for 2019, where the receipt shows 200% earning?
3. I wonder if Marriott will take note of the likely reduced 1K numbers and offer Marriott Platinum status to GS and 1K (like Hertz gives President's Circle to GS and 1K)?
Sep 28, 2018, 12:46 pm
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,464
Can someone confirm the domestic economy baggage allowance for 1K members. One of the posts I read said “I cannot believe that United 1K members will no longer get 2 free bags when flying economy domestically”, but I cannot see that in the notes, The baggage note doesn’t seem to list what 1K members get.
Baggage allowance for Premier members
Effective on September 28, 2018:
All Premier® members, regardless of Premier status, will receive the same standard weight allowance for checked baggage: 70 lbs. (32 kg.)
Additionally:
· All Premier members flying in United Business®, United First®, or United Polaris® business class are allowed up to three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Gold members flying in United Economy® between the U.S. and Europe are allowed three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Silver members flying in United Economy between the U.S. and Europe are allowed two bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
Baggage allowance for Premier members
Effective on September 28, 2018:
All Premier® members, regardless of Premier status, will receive the same standard weight allowance for checked baggage: 70 lbs. (32 kg.)
Additionally:
· All Premier members flying in United Business®, United First®, or United Polaris® business class are allowed up to three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Gold members flying in United Economy® between the U.S. and Europe are allowed three bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
· Premier Silver members flying in United Economy between the U.S. and Europe are allowed two bags with a maximum weight of 70 lbs. (32 kg) per bag.
And now that everyone can check 70lb bags, have they got the handlers on a spinach diet?
Sep 28, 2018, 12:46 pm
#49
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Central Europe
Programs: AY Gold, A3 Gold, UA Gold, Hyatt Globalist, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 482
Sep 28, 2018, 12:47 pm
#50
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Central Europe
Programs: AY Gold, A3 Gold, UA Gold, Hyatt Globalist, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 482
And give those same oversees customers access to lucrative credit card bonuses, right?
Sep 28, 2018, 12:49 pm
#51
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
Additional thoughts:
1. Will UA give 150% PQM for after-purchase paid upgrades that book into P? Right now it requires reticketing into a premium fare, and that process can be an issue for tickets booked through a corporate travel department.
2. What happens to P-fare tickets already booked for 2019, where the receipt shows 200% earning?
3. I wonder if Marriott will take note of the likely reduced 1K numbers and offer Marriott Platinum status to GS and 1K (like Hertz gives President's Circle to GS and 1K)?
1. Will UA give 150% PQM for after-purchase paid upgrades that book into P? Right now it requires reticketing into a premium fare, and that process can be an issue for tickets booked through a corporate travel department.
2. What happens to P-fare tickets already booked for 2019, where the receipt shows 200% earning?
3. I wonder if Marriott will take note of the likely reduced 1K numbers and offer Marriott Platinum status to GS and 1K (like Hertz gives President's Circle to GS and 1K)?
Sep 28, 2018, 12:51 pm
#52
Join Date: May 2016
Location: In btw SJC & SFO
Programs: Marriott Titanium & LTP, Hilton Diamond (Aspire card), Hyatt Globalist, UA Gold (almost free agent)
Posts: 510
Looks like Z still remains the same with 200% PQM? So normally what's the price difference P vs Z for international like TPAC SFO-TYO or SFO-HKG business class? If so I look forward to more Z/P play fun next year . I can swallow the $3K PQD but not the P fare PQM change since I don't like mile run and never did that.
Also exactly Jan 1st next year I had a BKK-NRT-LAX-SFO P fare flight, I just checked ticket receipt it still shows 17676 PQM (5774 + 10902 + 1000) online but on reservation page it shows updated 14701 PQM. I think it’s a little off to my advantage. My calculation is 13507 = 4331 (5774 / 2 * 1.5) + 8176 (10902 / 2 * 1.5) + 1000, a whopping 1194PQM difference. Am I missing something?
Also exactly Jan 1st next year I had a BKK-NRT-LAX-SFO P fare flight, I just checked ticket receipt it still shows 17676 PQM (5774 + 10902 + 1000) online but on reservation page it shows updated 14701 PQM. I think it’s a little off to my advantage. My calculation is 13507 = 4331 (5774 / 2 * 1.5) + 8176 (10902 / 2 * 1.5) + 1000, a whopping 1194PQM difference. Am I missing something?
Sep 28, 2018, 12:53 pm
#53
Join Date: May 2016
Location: In btw SJC & SFO
Programs: Marriott Titanium & LTP, Hilton Diamond (Aspire card), Hyatt Globalist, UA Gold (almost free agent)
Posts: 510
Sep 28, 2018, 12:53 pm
#54
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oregon
Programs: AA EXP, AS 75K, UA 1MM Gold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Plat, National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 4,001
Sep 28, 2018, 12:54 pm
#55
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
With my PQMs running well over 300K annually the last few years, this is a big hit. Seems like a direct shot at people like me, even though my spend qualifies as a GS. A loss of 16+ RPUs per year will mean not much joy for friends/family, where most of them are used. Oh well, nice while it lasted.
I suspect the number of RPUs in circulation will drop by well over 50% in 2020.
I suspect the number of RPUs in circulation will drop by well over 50% in 2020.
Sep 28, 2018, 12:56 pm
#57
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,464
[deleted, irrelevant]
Last edited by fumje; Sep 28, 2018 at 1:44 pm
Sep 28, 2018, 12:59 pm
#58
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 4,126
This $12k --> $15k change for 1K is going to matter? I might spend $15K with just enough PQMs for Platinum.
Sep 28, 2018, 1:00 pm
#59
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,510
Unless someone is pretty successful using the confirmed upgrade instruments 1K isn’t worth much more than Gold. And Platinum going forward certainly isn’t.
Sep 28, 2018, 1:03 pm
#60
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,134
Sucks..I've already started booking out Jan and Feb '19, and I've bought P fares for those. Looks like I'll be taking a hit on the PQMs.
Overall crappy program devaluations if you ask me.
Overall crappy program devaluations if you ask me.