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
Oct 2, 2018, 1:53 pm
#391
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K; Marriott Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,355
Some people reported calling in and getting an extra RPU or GPU thrown their way as a peace offering. I wish I could find that thread, but it does show that there is some capacity for UA to respond to those who feel shortchanged by arbitrary rule changes.
Oct 2, 2018, 2:26 pm
#392
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,821
Being a squeaky wheel has always had the possibility of a one-off service gesture, and I would not be surprized if UA did post-change honor previous P reservations. However, given the mileage credit system is based on rules at time of travel (and always have been, and Ps got the benefits on the change to 200%), it will need a manual request. Mucking with the systems to provide this one-time exception could create greater issues.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 2, 2018 at 2:33 pm
Oct 2, 2018, 2:37 pm
#393
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA Plat, UA 1K>Plat>moving to Silver
Posts: 2,088
I have said this (previously) elsewhere on FT: United is in the business of making money and maximizing shareholder wealth. The management at United think these changes are going to help them achieve those goals. My own personal goal is to find the optimal flying experience for me. I travel on my own dime and make decisions on what is best for me.
My guess is the management at Untied expect a few to moan and complain and up their spend to meet the new requirements, they expect the pax tied to United on corporate accounts will have to stay and they expect a certain number will leave or be willing to drop to Platinum, but ultimately United want to position their 1K brand as something to strive for but provides the benefits that are touted. The thread that GPUs are useless must be a concern for United - these are the pax who spend to make 1K not receiving the expected benefits. (I think GS members generally can use their GPUs on international flights but I may be wrong on that score.) I also suspect the drop in the number of RPUs for GS and 1K is reflective of the frequency of TODs and available capacity for RPUs after the paid upfares. Again, United trying to be realistic and set expectations.
Do I personally like the new PQD spend requirement? No and I have previously stated I suspect 2019 will be my last year as a 1K member, but that will also provide me the freedom to not be tied to United. We all have a price - and my breaking point is PQD of $15k. My annual PQM will still be around 200k (currently around 150k with United) so the business OALs get from me is going to significantly increase and I am fine with that decision as I am a value buyer. I liken 1K to golden handcuffs - for me they have now been removed.
With that said if United loses more 1K members than expected it can only have upside for the remaining 1K members, and if United finds their estimates on the number of pax who move to OALs is greater than expected then they can always "enhance" the product in the future but I suspect they have already worked out the percentage that will move with the PQD delta.
My guess is the management at Untied expect a few to moan and complain and up their spend to meet the new requirements, they expect the pax tied to United on corporate accounts will have to stay and they expect a certain number will leave or be willing to drop to Platinum, but ultimately United want to position their 1K brand as something to strive for but provides the benefits that are touted. The thread that GPUs are useless must be a concern for United - these are the pax who spend to make 1K not receiving the expected benefits. (I think GS members generally can use their GPUs on international flights but I may be wrong on that score.) I also suspect the drop in the number of RPUs for GS and 1K is reflective of the frequency of TODs and available capacity for RPUs after the paid upfares. Again, United trying to be realistic and set expectations.
Do I personally like the new PQD spend requirement? No and I have previously stated I suspect 2019 will be my last year as a 1K member, but that will also provide me the freedom to not be tied to United. We all have a price - and my breaking point is PQD of $15k. My annual PQM will still be around 200k (currently around 150k with United) so the business OALs get from me is going to significantly increase and I am fine with that decision as I am a value buyer. I liken 1K to golden handcuffs - for me they have now been removed.
With that said if United loses more 1K members than expected it can only have upside for the remaining 1K members, and if United finds their estimates on the number of pax who move to OALs is greater than expected then they can always "enhance" the product in the future but I suspect they have already worked out the percentage that will move with the PQD delta.
Oct 2, 2018, 3:14 pm
#394
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: UA 1K 1MMer & LT UC (when flying UA); Hyatt Credit Cardist; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold via UA 1K
Posts: 6,956
Being a squeaky wheel has always had the possibility of a one-off service gesture, and I would not be surprized if UA did post-change honor previous P reservations. However, given the mileage credit system is based on rules at time of travel (and always have been, and Ps got the benefits on the change to 200%), it will need a manual request. Mucking with the systems to provide this one-time exception could create greater issues.
Oct 2, 2018, 3:22 pm
#395
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,821
Or they intended to announce earlier but had some holdup.
Oct 2, 2018, 3:42 pm
#396
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Q1 bookings at that point are likely outliers......
Oct 2, 2018, 3:58 pm
#397
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
Or, this one: "DL hasn't done anything we can copy this year - let's do something dumb that they wouldn't do to close out 2018 with a bang!"
Or, this one: "Naw, they're _still_ over-entitled..."
David
Oct 2, 2018, 4:44 pm
#398
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 4,993
Do I personally like the new PQD spend requirement? No and I have previously stated I suspect 2019 will be my last year as a 1K member, but that will also provide me the freedom to not be tied to United. We all have a price - and my breaking point is PQD of $15k. My annual PQM will still be around 200k (currently around 150k with United) so the business OALs get from me is going to significantly increase and I am fine with that decision as I am a value buyer. I liken 1K to golden handcuffs - for me they have now been removed.
Last edited by zombietooth; Oct 2, 2018 at 4:53 pm
Oct 2, 2018, 6:02 pm
#399
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1k
Posts: 312
Good news! I got written confirmation from 1kvoice on the below:
I had already purchase a chunk of travel for next year so this is good news for me and feels much more fair!
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.
Oct 2, 2018, 6:12 pm
#400
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BA EC gold UA gold—MM Hilton Diamond Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 107
Excellent news. We had already purchased 2 P class RT eu/usa so this is just what was wanted.
Oct 2, 2018, 6:27 pm
#401
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
What is 1kvoice?
Was that an email to you or on some web site?
Is that only for 1K owners who request the adjustment?
Oct 2, 2018, 6:37 pm
#402
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K; Marriott Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,355
Do you think this includes P fares on ANA? I have a big trip in March already booked and credited to UA.
Oct 2, 2018, 6:45 pm
#403
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,446
Oct 2, 2018, 7:38 pm
#404
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 15,014
I only have one P ticket impacted, but it’s HNL- LHR r.t., so it’s a couple of PQMs. Don’t know if the extra PQMs will be important at end of next year, but nice to know UA is allegedly honoring the earnings stated at time of purchase.
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Oct 2, 2018 at 7:58 pm
Oct 2, 2018, 8:26 pm
#405
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1k
Posts: 312
I try to avoid doing non 016 tickets as UA 1k desk is very good with IRROPS as well as flexibility due to schedule changes (from the airline)