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Consolidated UA PlusPoints Question & Answer Thread

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Old Sep 24, 2019, 7:33 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Quick Summary

Starting on December 4, 2019 all existing and future upgrade instruments (RPU and GPU) will be changed into PlusPoints. There will be a straight equivalence: each RPU is 20 points and each GPU is 40 points. There will be no actual changes to the earning rates or expiration dates for Premiers, including Million Milers and bonus instruments (now points) for multiples of 25,000 PQM beyond the 1K requirements.

More from United: Upgrade Types: PlusPoints

Earning Rates
Premier Platinum: 40 points
Premier 1K: 320 points (includes the 40 points earned for reaching Platinum)
Premier 1K in 2019, earned for every 25,000 PQM beyond the 100,000-mile minimum (or every 30 PQS in excess of 120): 40 points
Premier 1K in 2020, earned for every 3,000 PQP beyond the 18,000 PQP minimum: 20 points

Upgrade Options
Short-haul flights (all non-Polaris marketed flights), Economy (all fare classes) to Premium Plus, Business, or First: 20 points
Short-haul flights, Premium Plus to Business or First: 10 points
Long-haul flights, Economy (all fare classes) to Premium Plus: 20 points
Long-haul flights, Economy (Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, or W class) to Polaris: 40 points
Long-haul flights, Economy (S, T, L, K, or G class) to Polaris: 80 points
Long-haul flights, Premium Plus (all fare classes) to Polaris: 30 points
Long-haul flights, Economy (Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, or W class) or Premium Plus (all classes) to Polaris ("skip the waitlist"): ?? points (must be Premier 1K or GS and 30+ days in advance, expected to be a dynamic price, details still TBA)
Economy or Premium Economy to Business, or Business to First on LH, NH, or CM: 40 points

Basic Economy (fare class N and -LGT TATL fares in N/S/T/L/K/G classes as of current writing) tickets are never eligible for any upgrade of any kind.


Changes from Current Program

Generally speaking, all current uses of RPUs and GPUs will be the same as before (same inventory requirements, costs, and procedures) except that 20 or 40 points will be used instead of an RPU or GPU. However, there are some additional options and prices:
  • A short-haul (formerly RPU-eligible) upgrade is now 20 points (always) -- there is no concept of using a GPU on a domestic route since there is no concept of a GPU as a distinct instrument. So a 1K could choose to effectively use all 320 points for 16 RPUs.
  • BOG, UIO, HNL-GUM, and HNL-MAJ are now effectively RPU-eligible and require only 20 points.
  • Upgrading from Economy to Premium Economy ("Premium Plus") is now 20 points (from any fare class), which is an RPU-equivalent instead of a GPU-equivalent before.
  • Upgrading from Premium Economy to Business ("Premium Plus" to "Polaris") is now 30 points (from any fare class), which is a new price level and less than the GPU-equivalent before.
  • You may upgrade a previously ineligible deep discount Economy fare (classes S, T, L, K, or G) to Polaris for 80 points (2x GPU equivalent). (Upgrading a W or higher Economy fare is still 40 points, as before.)
  • Premier 1K members will have the opportunity to pay additional points to confirm an upgrade even if the requisite class (PZ/PN) is not available via "SkipWaitlist". This carries a 30-day advance requirement, will be available "from time to time", and further details are TBA.
  • Points are not deducted when you list for the upgrade, only when some part of the upgrade clears. You can request an unlimited number of upgrades in parallel, and remaining (uncleared) requests will be canceled if your points are exhausted.
    • E.g., if you waitlist for PZ (or PN) and for RN, and later RN clears from the waitlist, the full total for PZ will be deducted at that time.
  • Changes to how partial clearance of upgrades works. You have two options:
    • List all segments. If at least one segment clears, you will ultimately be charged for the highest single cost among all cleared segments. Thus, you will "spend an RPU" (20 points) if only a domestic connector to a Polaris-marketed segment clears (previously there was no cost).
    • List only the Polaris-marketed segments (or any subset you wish). You can add more segments back in after the Polaris-marketed segment clears - but this will be considered a new upgrade request (and cost extra points).
  • You can no longer cancel and redeposit a confirmed upgrade, even if your fare class is available (or maybe not - see post, which would imply no change here). If still waitlisted, it can be withdrawn. If withdrawn within 24 hrs of flight you will have to call UA to have ticket cancelled and reissued, as withdrawals can no longer be automatically processed within this window. (You can probably still SDC to another flight and back if your fare class is available and get the points back.)
  • No change to
    • Expiration. Instruments expiring 31-Jan-2020 will become points expiring 31-Jan-2020, and ditto for 31-Jan-2021. (UA Insider separated the 2 GPU extension practice from this announcement)
    • Use of instruments on partners (LH, NH, etc). Points will be deducted at application, like before (unlike UA flights which are changing). (Except CM, which will now be billed as a 40-point upgrade per segment.)
    • Pretty much anything else not covered above.
  • PlusPoints upgrades can be requested all the way until the cut-off time to check in for your flight. Previously, UA only accepted new waitlist requests for Global Premier Upgrades and Regional Premier Upgrades up to 24 hours before departure. Waitlists for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards will continue to be accepted until 24 hours before departure.
UA Insider & other relevant post(s) noted below:

We’ve heard from MileagePlus Premier® members that they’re interested in an upgrade program that’s more customizable and with fewer restrictions. Introducing PlusPoints – flexible points that can be used for upgrades anywhere we fly. Starting in December, the new program gives MileagePlus Platinum® members and above a bank of points that they can use to upgrade on U.S. domestic and international flights where they previously would have used Regional Premier Upgrades (RPUs) and Global Premier Upgrades (GPUs). Complimentary Premier Upgrades won’t change, so you will still get free upgrades on select flights when available.


FAQ with UA Insider (direct quotes in "quotes")

Will Global Services members have the same cost structure (in points) as 1K and Platinum? (link)
Yes.

How will the pricing of "Skip Waitlist" work? (link)
It is expected to be dynamic. "Availability and pricing ... will vary based on a number of factors."

Will 1K members still be able to extend 2 GPUs (or 80 PlusPoints) until April 30 of the following year, subject to re-qualification? (link)
Reports now show that you can extend up to 80 points, but only if you've requalified for 1K/GS and those 80 points were previously 2 GPUs. They know the difference and there are mixed reports of success extending former RPU points (but highly unlikely).

Will it still be possible to optionally list for both Premium Plus and Polaris (on an Economy fare)? (link)
"You will still be able to waitlist for both cabins. However, if you only clear into Premium Plus you’ll ultimately only pay for the highest upgrade you receive which in this example would be Premium Plus (20 PlusPoints). Keep in mind we’ll deduct the full request price, equal to the highest price upgrade requested, whenever any upgrade clears and you’ll receive any difference in PlusPoints due back to you when landing at your destination."

What happens if only part of your itinerary is upgraded? (link)
You will be charged for the upgrade you received: "If you don’t receive the highest-priced PlusPoints upgrade you requested, ... you’ll be due for a credit ... equal to the difference between the PlusPoints request price and the highest-priced PlusPoints upgrade you received."
You will not be able to cancel PlusPoints requests that have received upgrades. (link) Essentially burning 20 points in the event that only the domestic portion of your request clears.

If I don't want to risk a short connection clearing but not the long haul, can I request only the long haul? Can I add the short haul later?
Yes, you can limit the request to a specific segment.
But once a all or a portion or all the request has cleared, you can not change it to add another segment.

Will I get a refund if only the short segment clears but not the long haul / Polaris segment?
No, that is a change from the GPU days (but still true for mileage upgrades). But you will only be charged the amount for the cleared segment(s).

Is {anything else} changing? (link)
No, not really. "Million milers will receive the equivalent of what they receive today in PlusPoints. Classes of availability for upgrades are not changing. PlusPoints can be sponsored to other travelers in the same way GPU’s and RPU’s could be. For Skip Waitlist upgrades, the account holder must also be traveling."

I see PlusPoints for sale on Craigslist or eBay. May I buy them and use them?
We do not recommend this. If UA determines the PlusPoints was sold, you risk having your M+ account terminated and loss of your miles, status, lifetime miles, etc.

Do the fare class restrictions apply to domestic flights?
No, you can use a PlusPoints on any fare on any domestic/ any CPU eligible flight.
For non-CPU flights, the standard 40 PlusPoints is needs for W or higher. For lower fares it takes 80 PlusPoints.

Is there a maximum layover between segments of a journey?
Unclear. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20453548-post221.html is an example of 38 hours, where the 1K desk applied it on behalf of the customer. What is interesting about this case is that 38 hours is well beyond a layover, which implies that in some cases, one PlusPoints can be used for two journeys on the same ticket even if the two journeys are beyond 12 hours apart (12 hours being the pmUA rule – 4 hours for North American / “domestic” only flights).
Lots of uncertain still exists on this issue.

What is the relative waitlist priority of PlusPoints vs Miles
The use of PlusPoints vs Miles has no impact on the waitlist priority, they have the same priority as a supported upgrade

May I cross two oceans with the same set of PlusPoints?
Yes if the entire journey is on one confirmation number and the max layover rule (above) is met.

My PlusPoints ares still valid/unexpired, but my journey starts after the PlusPoints expires. Can I use them for that journey?
No.

Can I use my PlusPoints for another traveler? Do I have to be traveling with them?
You can use your PlusPoints for another traveler. If on the same PNR, it will be done as you do yourself. When on a common PNR, you can only request upgrades for everyone, not just some -- to do that you need to split the PNR.
If the other traveler is on a separate PNR, you pull up their PNR in your account (via My Trips), you will need their PNR id and their bass name as on the reservation. Then go to the upgrade tab and proceed as if it was your reservation
When on a common PNR, the other travelers will have the same waitlist priority as you (this should continue even if the PNR is split after requesting the upgrade).
When on a separate PNR, they will be prioritized based on their status.

If my status changes, will I lose my PlusPoints?
No, PlusPoints, once granted, are good until they expire. You could conceivably drop to general member and maintain your PlusPoints. When you use the PlusPoints, you'll be prioritized based on your present status.

Archive:Consolidated UA PlusPoints Question & Answer Thread {Archive}


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Consolidated UA PlusPoints Question & Answer Thread

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Old Jun 10, 2023, 10:59 am
  #256  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
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Originally Posted by spartacusmcfly
Correct, PPs retain their expiration date and are always drawn from the 'available' pool set to expire first.

1. If you cancel your 1st itinerary it will refund 40PP ('23 exp)
2. If you cancel your 2nd itinerary it will refund 30PP ('23 exp) and 50PP ('24 exp)

Just cancel and reapply.

If upgrade space is no longer available, you'll need to escalate to a supervisor and they can adjust the expiration date. They won't allow you to game the system, but they'll quickly correct the issue you describe above.

Happened to me at least a half dozen times during covid given all the route cancellations. Was corrected every time, but always by a supervisor.
I don't consider this "gaming the system". I don't know about "quickly" I spent an hour getting bounced a few times between reservations and MP. Then another hour for them to fix it.
Any idea what they are doing to correct this? are they just changing the expiration date? or doing something more complicated. Did you talk to reservations or MP?

Last edited by eng3; Jun 10, 2023 at 11:26 am
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Old Jun 10, 2023, 12:05 pm
  #257  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Originally Posted by eng3
I don't consider this "gaming the system". I don't know about "quickly" I spent an hour getting bounced a few times between reservations and MP. Then another hour for them to fix it.
Any idea what they are doing to correct this? are they just changing the expiration date? or doing something more complicated. Did you talk to reservations or MP?
Agreed, not gaming, as long as you're not trying to convert a '23 expiration into a '24 expiration.

For the supervisor, it's simply changing the expiration date. Frontline agents are not able to do this. Must be done by a supervisor.

It's quick but requires thorough documentation with an explanation and the reservation locators that were made and canceled.

This change impacts UA's crown jewels (J inventory) so is understandably onerous to circumvent and must withstand audit scrutiny.
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Old Jun 10, 2023, 12:10 pm
  #258  
 
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Originally Posted by eng3
Did you talk to reservations or MP?
Yes, MP supervisor.
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Old Jun 10, 2023, 5:05 pm
  #259  
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Join Date: Aug 2005
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Originally Posted by eng3
Has anyone encountered this issue?
Normal. Has been reported many times. It's a pain, but it can be fixed. Better to do that sooner than later IME.
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Old Jun 12, 2023, 11:56 am
  #260  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 480
Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
You will not even be able to apply in the first place

Can only apply PlusPoints with expiration after the flight date.
As always, thank you! 😊
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 8:18 am
  #261  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Quick question that I couldn't find an answer to quickly here...

I'm flying a purely domestic itinerary AAA-BBB-CCC. I applied PPs to AAA-BBB, which waitlisted. Subsequently I applied PPs, to BBB-CCC which cleared immediately, and 20 PPs were deducted. This morning, AAA-BBB cleared, and another 20 PPs were deducted.

Question: Will I get 20 back, or am I out of luck because I didn't initially upgrade both segments at the same time?

Thanks....
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 9:00 am
  #262  
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Join Date: Oct 2001
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Originally Posted by as219
Question: Will I get 20 back, or am I out of luck because I didn't initially upgrade both segments at the same time?

Thanks....
The latter.
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 9:00 am
  #263  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Programs: UA 1MM/1K, HH Diamond
Posts: 6,832
Originally Posted by jsloan
The latter.
Doh! Well, thanks for the info... I guess I should have cancelled the AAA-BBB upgrade, then reapplied to everything at the same time.
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 9:20 am
  #264  
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Join Date: Sep 2003
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Originally Posted by eng3
Has anyone encountered this issue?
I had 70PP set to expire 7/31/23.
I booked an itn that used 40PP. (30PP left expiring 7/31/23)
I then booked another itn that used 80PP (0PP left expiring 7/31/23 and 50 subtracted from the ones expiring 1/31/24)
I then cancel the first itn. The 40PP is redeposited but set to expire 7/31/23.
But both itn are prior to 7/31 so I'd expect them to expire 1/31.

Apparently PP retain their expiration date even if you book multiple trips within the expiration timeframe….
PlusPoints are never taken from an account until they actually used in a successful upgrade attempt. Any “subtraction” prior to a successful upgrade requiring PPs is just an accounting of how many PPs you’ve committed to requests. That’s why one can have more PP request points out than actual PPs in possession. To be clear, was the cancelled itinerary already upgraded? If so, it did pull the 7/31 PPs. If you cancelled, the same 7/31 PPs are redeposited.

if the upgrade was cancelled prior to upgrade, that would mean UA is “freezing” PPs in accounts sequentially against incoming requests. That creates a question as to what happens when one requests more upgrades than point in possession - there’s nothing to freeze at that point.

Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Jun 15, 2023 at 10:20 am
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 10:38 am
  #265  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Posts: 3,618
Originally Posted by as219
Doh! Well, thanks for the info... I guess I should have cancelled the AAA-BBB upgrade, then reapplied to everything at the same time.
You could try to call and claim you didn't know the consequences of your actions (well it is true). You might get a sympathetic agent that will redeposit the 20PPs. Doubtful but worth a try... hey it could happen.
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Old Jun 15, 2023, 2:45 pm
  #266  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Originally Posted by as219
..
I'm flying a purely domestic itinerary AAA-BBB-CCC. I applied PPs to AAA-BBB, which waitlisted. Subsequently I applied PPs, to BBB-CCC which cleared immediately, and 20 PPs were deducted. This morning, AAA-BBB cleared, and another 20 PPs were deducted.

Question: Will I get 20 back, or am I out of luck because I didn't initially upgrade both segments at the same time? ....
Out of luck
If you had cancelled the AAA-BBB request then reapply to the AAA-BBB-CCC, you would have been covered for both.

If you were concerned by losing priority of the original request, the system has changed and there are now 5 factors ahead of time of request, so the time factor rarely comes into play any more.
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Old Jun 16, 2023, 11:21 am
  #267  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Programs: UA 1MM/1K, HH Diamond
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Out of luck
If you had cancelled the AAA-BBB request then reapply to the AAA-BBB-CCC, you would have been covered for both.

If you were concerned by losing priority of the original request, the system has changed and there are now 5 factors ahead of time of request, so the time factor rarely comes into play any more.
I guess I was confused by the fact that when I first went to apply the PPs, it wanted to charge me 20 for each segment anyway. Oh well.
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Old Jun 16, 2023, 11:47 am
  #268  
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Originally Posted by as219
I guess I was confused by the fact that when I first went to apply the PPs, it wanted to charge me 20 for each segment anyway. Oh well.
Assuming it's a standard connecting flight -- less than a four-hour connection, no change of airports -- if you had selected both of them, it should have said the total was 20. The way PlusPoints work are that you get charged for the highest number of points of any segment that clears.
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Old Jun 16, 2023, 1:23 pm
  #269  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Posts: 66,852
Originally Posted by as219
I guess I was confused by the fact that when I first went to apply the PPs, it wanted to charge me 20 for each segment anyway. Oh well.
https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/mil...luspoints.html

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Old Jun 29, 2023, 8:19 am
  #270  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 106
I have some PlusPoints I earned from becoming Premier 1K last year which will expire end on Jan 2024, I don't think I will be able to requalify for 1K, however, if I make it to Platinum which will then give me 40 PlusPoints will that extend the ones I had from been 1K?
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