Last edit by: WineCountryUA
05April 2020
FAQ
With extended status. will we automatically get additional PlusPoints in 2021 (40 for Plats and 280 for 1KsGS?
No, your existing PlusPoints will be extended 6 months but to get additional 2021 PlusPoints you will need to meet the reduced thresholds for 2020
[5 April 2020] Status extended 1 year - United Hub
- Status extended 1 year (expires 1/31/22)
- Plus Points extended 6 months
- Lower qualifying thresholds to gain 2021 status in 2020 (about 50%)
[5 April 2020] United will extend Premier status for 12 months (SF Gate):
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[7 March 2020] A message to our Premier members (email):
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MileagePlus Status Extended Until 2022
Throughout these unprecedented times, we remain committed to doing what is right and fair for all of our MileagePlus members and are pleased to share the steps we are taking to reciprocate the trust and loyalty that you have placed in United. These steps include not only Premier status updates, but also an extension of current memberships and subscriptions. The updates will happen automatically over the next few weeks — there's nothing you need to do.
The big news: If you have current 2020 Premier status, it will be extended to January 31, 2022. At a minimum, you will enjoy the same published status next year that you have today, up to Premier 1K®.
We're reducing the 2020 Premier qualifying points (PQP) and flight requirements for all tiers by 50%. You'll still need a minimum of four flight segments on United or United Express®.
We're also doubling PQP for United Explorer cards and quadrupling PQP for the United Club cards.
At the same time that we're decreasing the published program's PQP requirements, via a promotion from May 1 – December 31, 2020, we're doubling (for United Explorer cards) or quadrupling (for United Club cards) the maximum number of PQP that Cardmembers can earn during 2020 to help achieve a higher level of status than you already have.
1K® and Platinum members, we're increasing your ability to upgrade by extending PlusPoints expiration dates by six months and expanding Skip Waitlist.
Over the years, you have placed your trust and loyalty in United, and we are honored to do the same for you. We are all in this together.
Status extension to January 31, 2022, applies to all members that met the published criteria of the MileagePlus program in 2019, status associated with the United/Marriott RewardsPlus program and status offered as part of a Sales nomination. Status granted from other programs and policies may not apply.
Throughout these unprecedented times, we remain committed to doing what is right and fair for all of our MileagePlus members and are pleased to share the steps we are taking to reciprocate the trust and loyalty that you have placed in United. These steps include not only Premier status updates, but also an extension of current memberships and subscriptions. The updates will happen automatically over the next few weeks — there's nothing you need to do.
The big news: If you have current 2020 Premier status, it will be extended to January 31, 2022. At a minimum, you will enjoy the same published status next year that you have today, up to Premier 1K®.
We're reducing the 2020 Premier qualifying points (PQP) and flight requirements for all tiers by 50%. You'll still need a minimum of four flight segments on United or United Express®.
We're also doubling PQP for United Explorer cards and quadrupling PQP for the United Club cards.
At the same time that we're decreasing the published program's PQP requirements, via a promotion from May 1 – December 31, 2020, we're doubling (for United Explorer cards) or quadrupling (for United Club cards) the maximum number of PQP that Cardmembers can earn during 2020 to help achieve a higher level of status than you already have.
1K® and Platinum members, we're increasing your ability to upgrade by extending PlusPoints expiration dates by six months and expanding Skip Waitlist.
- This means a six-month extension of any PlusPoints set to expire on or before January 31, 2021.
- Last year we introduced Skip Waitlist on select flights as a benefit to 1K members, giving you more opportunities to confirm an upgrade request at the time of booking. This benefit will now be available for the rest of 2020 in a significantly expanded selection of long-haul international regions and will have expanded availability in 2021 as well.
- We want to make sure your benefits are still there when you're ready to start flying again. That's why we're extending purchased United Club℠ memberships and purchased subscriptions for Economy Plus®, United Wi-Fi℠ and checked bags by six months. You should see this reflected in your MileagePlus account soon.
- If your travel plans have been disrupted, and you have an electronic travel certificate from us for the value of your ticket, you now have two years from the date it was issued to book a new flight, as well as up to an additional 11 months to travel. This includes all currently valid and all new electronic travel certificates issued on or after April 1, 2020.
- We are currently waiving all award redeposit fees for travel through end of May 2020.
- We are now also waiving all redeposit fees for award ticket cancellations made more than 30 days before departure for the remainder of 2020.
Over the years, you have placed your trust and loyalty in United, and we are honored to do the same for you. We are all in this together.
Status extension to January 31, 2022, applies to all members that met the published criteria of the MileagePlus program in 2019, status associated with the United/Marriott RewardsPlus program and status offered as part of a Sales nomination. Status granted from other programs and policies may not apply.
With extended status. will we automatically get additional PlusPoints in 2021 (40 for Plats and 280 for 1KsGS?
No, your existing PlusPoints will be extended 6 months but to get additional 2021 PlusPoints you will need to meet the reduced thresholds for 2020
[5 April 2020] Status extended 1 year - United Hub
- Status extended 1 year (expires 1/31/22)
- Plus Points extended 6 months
- Lower qualifying thresholds to gain 2021 status in 2020 (about 50%)
[5 April 2020] United will extend Premier status for 12 months (SF Gate):
United will announce on Sunday that it is extending elite status to MileagePlus Premier members through 2021 and members will retain their current status through January 2022. This follows a similar move by Delta Air Lines on April 4 to extend SkyMiles Medallion elite status to 2021.
A United spokesperson has confirmed this to SFGATE, adding: "We are also going to help both general members and members who want to reach the next status level by lowering thresholds for Premier Qualifying Points (PQP’s) for the 2021 status year."
In addition to the elite status extension, United will extend all its annual subscription options by six months, including United Club memberships, wi-fi, checked bags and EconomyPlus, according to the spokesperson.
A United spokesperson has confirmed this to SFGATE, adding: "We are also going to help both general members and members who want to reach the next status level by lowering thresholds for Premier Qualifying Points (PQP’s) for the 2021 status year."
In addition to the elite status extension, United will extend all its annual subscription options by six months, including United Club memberships, wi-fi, checked bags and EconomyPlus, according to the spokesperson.
[7 March 2020] A message to our Premier members (email):
At this time, we are not planning any changes for our 2021 Premier program but we will continue to evaluate our options as we learn more about how the current climate is affecting members' activity. In the interim though, we do plan to give members who are participating in a MileagePlus 2020 Premier Status Match Challenge promotion an additional 30 days to complete their challenge. This extension will automatically be reflected in member accounts within the next week.
There's a good (but not exhaustive) crowdsourced list of company travel restrictions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...bWhYFM/preview .....
Hey there!
As true loyalty is best tested in challenging times, I did a bit of research on how different airlines and hotel programmes have responded:
Feel free to comment that Google Sheets file and if you have some better insights, let me know (I used only what was available on English-speaking websites and some blog posts I could find, showing emails from the programmes). ....
As true loyalty is best tested in challenging times, I did a bit of research on how different airlines and hotel programmes have responded:
- 74 airline loyalty responses (status, miles expiration extensions) and booking flexibility terms (changes and refunds)
- 18 hotel loyalty responses (status, points expiration extensions) and booking flexibility terms (changes and refunds)
Feel free to comment that Google Sheets file and if you have some better insights, let me know (I used only what was available on English-speaking websites and some blog posts I could find, showing emails from the programmes). ....
UA • CONFIRMS • Status Extension to JAN 2022; PQP Thresholds Reduced by ½ for 2020
#316
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, SPG Platinum, UA Million Miler
Posts: 2,596
I bet they end up extending status a year- I work in big tech and MSFT/AMZN/TWTR/SNAP etc have all implemented (mostly) no-travel policies, even for domestic travel. This will get far worse before it gets better
#317
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
Most will go back to flying their work flights with the same patterns as before, either because their boss tells them to, because of a UA contract, or because its simply the most convenient flights for their flying patterns
Zero doubt airlines will selectively poach by matching status and offering an extension.
I think there is a contingent here that believes come May 1 or sooner it’s all back to normal. It won’t be.
#318
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,405
Many (I doubt it's "most") companies have halted business travel, sure. However, that doesn't mean you can't buy a plane ticket from United.
#319
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,720
What most airlines are doing now is stupid. Nobody is booking new flights due to corporate travel restrictions or just overall fear of being quarantined somewhere if they catch a cold. So a limited waiver for new bookings is pointless. So far B6 is the only one that seems to get it.
A more customer friendly policy would be to permit free changes to all existing itineraries without change fees. In other words, no refunds but let people fly later in the year when they feel safer (at whatever the fare is at time of re-ticketing).
The bonus EQP offers will not come until airlines have a better fix on summer bookings. If travel demand continues to plummet then we will see fare reductions in addition to other promos. And same into the fall. However airlines are also massively reducing capacity so that will offset some of the demand reduction.It will be interesting to see if an EQP promo really works as it doesn't really get you as far as the EQM promos. 2x5000 (transcon or Hawaii ?RT) would net you 10k EQM on AS. 2x$300 RT fare would next you only 600 EQP, which doesn't get you very far towards higher status. Even worse on the TATL and TPAC fares, particularly as you can find biz class seat sales in the $1-2k RT range.
A more customer friendly policy would be to permit free changes to all existing itineraries without change fees. In other words, no refunds but let people fly later in the year when they feel safer (at whatever the fare is at time of re-ticketing).
The bonus EQP offers will not come until airlines have a better fix on summer bookings. If travel demand continues to plummet then we will see fare reductions in addition to other promos. And same into the fall. However airlines are also massively reducing capacity so that will offset some of the demand reduction.It will be interesting to see if an EQP promo really works as it doesn't really get you as far as the EQM promos. 2x5000 (transcon or Hawaii ?RT) would net you 10k EQM on AS. 2x$300 RT fare would next you only 600 EQP, which doesn't get you very far towards higher status. Even worse on the TATL and TPAC fares, particularly as you can find biz class seat sales in the $1-2k RT range.
#320
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,453
They may not let you come back to the office though.
I can't remember when I've cared less about what UA does. Although I suppose I'd take it if they gave me another year of free award changes. Extension of PlusPoints would be nice, too.
I can't remember when I've cared less about what UA does. Although I suppose I'd take it if they gave me another year of free award changes. Extension of PlusPoints would be nice, too.
#321
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 4,998
I sit back, aloof, like you and observe the desperate comments, hoping for a reprieve from UA. If, in fact, UA would grant a status reprieve, it certainly wouldn't halt the degradation of elite benefits. The die is cast already.
This would really garner some loyalty to UA.
The business model for airlines has changed, and they are far more likely to cut capacity to try bring airfares and relative demand back up, or to incent new purchases with PQP bonuses, than to essentially increase "free" perks by granting an extension of status.
#322
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 4,125
What most airlines are doing now is stupid. Nobody is booking new flights due to corporate travel restrictions or just overall fear of being quarantined somewhere if they catch a cold. So a limited waiver for new bookings is pointless. So far B6 is the only one that seems to get it.
A more customer friendly policy would be to permit free changes to all existing itineraries without change fees. In other words, no refunds but let people fly later in the year when they feel safer (at whatever the fare is at time of re-ticketing).
The bonus EQP offers will not come until airlines have a better fix on summer bookings. If travel demand continues to plummet then we will see fare reductions in addition to other promos. And same into the fall. However airlines are also massively reducing capacity so that will offset some of the demand reduction.It will be interesting to see if an EQP promo really works as it doesn't really get you as far as the EQM promos. 2x5000 (transcon or Hawaii ?RT) would net you 10k EQM on AS. 2x$300 RT fare would next you only 600 EQP, which doesn't get you very far towards higher status. Even worse on the TATL and TPAC fares, particularly as you can find biz class seat sales in the $1-2k RT range.
A more customer friendly policy would be to permit free changes to all existing itineraries without change fees. In other words, no refunds but let people fly later in the year when they feel safer (at whatever the fare is at time of re-ticketing).
The bonus EQP offers will not come until airlines have a better fix on summer bookings. If travel demand continues to plummet then we will see fare reductions in addition to other promos. And same into the fall. However airlines are also massively reducing capacity so that will offset some of the demand reduction.It will be interesting to see if an EQP promo really works as it doesn't really get you as far as the EQM promos. 2x5000 (transcon or Hawaii ?RT) would net you 10k EQM on AS. 2x$300 RT fare would next you only 600 EQP, which doesn't get you very far towards higher status. Even worse on the TATL and TPAC fares, particularly as you can find biz class seat sales in the $1-2k RT range.
#323
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,453
It's kind of spreading like a virus. No one wants to be the executive who didn't take action, and then had a major outbreak at the office.
#324
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
And the trend is increasing daily, not subsiding.
#325
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
If they didn't fire me, it would certainly be a major career limiting move. They'd certainly question my judgement if I blatantly booked a non-essential business trip in light of the near daily reminders to not take those trips or hold in person team meetings - Our Seattle office is working remotely at least a few more weeks - our Bay Area offices are open, but everyone encouraged to work remotely unless they don't have the means to do so.
So - no, the communication hasn't said I'd be fired for taking a trip - but they'd perceive me as an idiot if I did so. I haven't tried it, I'm not certain our corporate travel portal would even book it without high up approvals.
So - no, the communication hasn't said I'd be fired for taking a trip - but they'd perceive me as an idiot if I did so. I haven't tried it, I'm not certain our corporate travel portal would even book it without high up approvals.
#326
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Port St Lucie, FL, UA1K since 1994 and 3mm, Delta 1mm
Programs: Marriott Titanium Life, Hilton Gold
Posts: 566
Already had two exhibitions cancelled for February and now March. One in Singapore (obvious) but other is in Madrid. Problem was that EU customers stated that they would not come to the one in Madrid.
#327
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist, Virtuoso Travel Agent, Commercial Pilot
Posts: 2,117
There's a good (but not exhaustive) crowdsourced list of company travel restrictions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...bWhYFM/preview
Most companies I know of have significantly restricted international business travel. A significant number have also curtailed domestic business travel. Most of the aforementioned businesses also have policies which prohibit visiting an office if you've traveled to a country with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 within the last 14 days, and a small handful companies prohibit employees from going into an office if the employee has done ANY international travel within the last 14 days.
Most companies I know of have significantly restricted international business travel. A significant number have also curtailed domestic business travel. Most of the aforementioned businesses also have policies which prohibit visiting an office if you've traveled to a country with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 within the last 14 days, and a small handful companies prohibit employees from going into an office if the employee has done ANY international travel within the last 14 days.
#329
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
#330
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,405
If they didn't fire me, it would certainly be a major career limiting move. They'd certainly question my judgement if I blatantly booked a non-essential business trip in light of the near daily reminders to not take those trips or hold in person team meetings - Our Seattle office is working remotely at least a few more weeks - our Bay Area offices are open, but everyone encouraged to work remotely unless they don't have the means to do so.
I still think UA will run promos later in the year, because the moves that they’re taking suggest that they need to stimulate demand. But there’s no moral imperative here. If their bookings don’t drop to the point where they need to stimulate them, they won’t see any need to take action.