May 1, 2021, 4:06 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archive thread, the active thread is "Dynamic Award Pricing" by UA; questions, experiences, .... {Archive}
The details:
Award travel updates
Introducing a broader range of award prices
Updates to award travel are on the horizon. For flights on or after November 15, 2019, we’ll no longer publish an award chart listing the set amount of miles needed for each flight.The details:
- Some award prices will be lower than what’s currently published in our chart. You may have already seen these prices, and you’ll be able to get them immediately.
- Other award prices may be higher than what you see today, especially if you’re traveling at a popular time. These prices will take effect immediately for travel November 15 or after.
- Starting November 15, we’re removing close-in fees, so you won’t be charged the extra fee of up to $75 for booking last-minute award travel.
- A flexible award travel calendar is available on united.com or in our app.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is changing?
For travel on or after November 15, we will no longer publish an award chart listing the set amount of miles needed for award flights. Award pricing will now fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including demand. Additionally, starting November 15, we will no longer charge a fee of up to $75 for award flights booked within 21 days of departure.When will these updates take effect?
The award pricing changes apply immediately to flights on or after November 15, 2019. Until then, award prices will be the same as or lower than what’s currently published in our award chart.How many miles will I need for award travel after November 15?
Award prices will now fluctuate based on a variety of factors. Some air awards will be available for less than what’s listed in our chart, which you may have already noticed. After November 15, award prices may also be higher, especially if you’re traveling at popular times. Use our flexible award calendar to get a monthly view of the award prices for a specific destination.Why are you making these changes?
Increasing award prices for the most in-demand flights allows us to offer better returns for our shareholders. If your award travel is flexible, these updates will help you make the most of your miles.How will these updates affect award travel availability?
United MileagePlus members with Premier® status and qualifying United Chase Cardmembers can continue to book award travel without blackout dates. For other members, most award flights that are available today will continue to be available after these updates take effect.Do the lowest-priced awards have any extra flight restrictions?
No. Our lowest priced awards do not have any added restrictions; the fare rules for all award travel apply.How can I find the lowest priced award for my travel?
The award calendar on united.com or in our app will continue to show the lowest available price for your destination.Will I earn miles on my flight if I book an award?
No. As with current award bookings, award travel in the future will not be eligible to earn miles with MileagePlus or any other loyalty program.What if I need to change my existing award?
If you need to change your award ticket, you will be issued a new ticket for which new pricing and additional fees may apply.What if I purchase a close-in award before November 15
The close-in booking fee will still apply to all tickets booked within 21 days of departure prior to November 15, 2019. We will not refund fees paid prior to November 15, even if travel occurs on or after November 15.
"Dynamic Award Pricing" by UA; questions, experiences, .... {Archive}
May 13, 2019, 10:30 am
#1231
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Bucks County
Programs: UAL GS & Million Miler; Delta Lifetime Gold; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Platinum; Legion Etrangere
Posts: 1,609
Delta's new program supersedes them all as the most flexible and inclusive. "Loyalty is a two-way street and as a leading consumer brand, we are always looking for new ways to take care of our customers," said Sandeep Dube, Delta's senior vice president who works on its loyalty program, in the airline's announcement. Delta-loyal new parents, we're looking at you—use this to take a much needed (maybe solo) vacation.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 13, 2019 at 9:48 pm Reason: formatting
May 13, 2019, 10:33 am
#1232
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: DEN
Programs: UA MM Plat; AA MM Gold; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 15,866
May 13, 2019, 10:34 am
#1233
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
DL has led the race to the bottom with SkyPesos. Allowing some people to run a challenge to reclaim their status in a lousy program in a lousy alliance is hardly an earth-shattering, program-defining moment.
Nearly every negative change introduced by UA over the last five years has been a copy of something DL did first. Spend-based earnings? DL. Basic Economy? DL. PQDs? DL. No PQDs on partner tickets? DL, although they're rescinded that. No award chart? DL.
DL may be a good airline in a lot of ways, but I'll take "no innovation" over "DL innovation" in the FFP space anytime.
May 13, 2019, 11:07 am
#1234
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,722
For the past decade or two many of us have been very fortunate to live in a UA hub where we can earn UA miles that were far superior in value to Skypesos. For a time we also had better perks like free E+ fleetwide, RPUs/GPUs, etc
Turn out the lights, the party is over. UA miles are soon to be as worthless as skypesos, and the only remaining elite perk of significant value (for me) are Group 1 boarding and the free E+ seats when I buy my tickets. It was a good run but the switch to using credit cards that earn transferable points has been a no brainer for several years now. UA's recent gutting of MP awards will mainly hurt those of use who earn a nice chunk of UA miles through actual BIS flights.
May 13, 2019, 11:11 am
#1235
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Bucks County
Programs: UAL GS & Million Miler; Delta Lifetime Gold; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Platinum; Legion Etrangere
Posts: 1,609
The point was that Delta did something which will likely be appreciated by Delta's hostages. UAL, on the other hand, seems set and determined to devalue a very decent FF program and also to whittle away at other FF benefits. I wish Delta flew to and from where I need to go.
May 13, 2019, 11:20 am
#1236
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
Keep in mind some of DL's other "flyer-friendly" innovations: C+ upgrades via a list at T-72 for Golds; a race with American for the smallest extra-seating section among the US legacy carriers; a cap on the number of global upgrades that can be earned; round-trip awards that cost a million miles; even a statement from management about how they wanted to limit complimentary upgrades to no more than 20% of the cabin*. Heck, I even found a blog post touting how wonderful SkyPesos were because you could "pay with miles" at $0.01/mile.
Again, DL may be a good airline in a lot of ways, but SkyPesos is a terrible program, and SkyTeam is a terrible alliance.
* Not that UA wants anything different, but at least I haven't seen Kirby quoted as actually saying it. The "over-entitled elites" CFO is no longer with UA.
May 13, 2019, 11:42 am
#1237
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,466
The point was that Delta did something which will likely be appreciated by Delta's hostages. UAL, on the other hand, seems set and determined to devalue a very decent FF program and also to whittle away at other FF benefits. I wish Delta flew to and from where I need to go.
It would make perfect sense to select DL as your primary carrier based on the quality of the airline itself. Choosing them based on FFP . . . well, not so much.
May 13, 2019, 11:58 am
#1238
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,063
You guys are clearly discounting the entertainment value of the DL program 
(There's currently a 128K RT D1 summer sale, but they apparently didn't think to similarly discount the other cabins).
(There's currently a 128K RT D1 summer sale, but they apparently didn't think to similarly discount the other cabins).
Last edited by xliioper; May 13, 2019 at 12:06 pm
May 13, 2019, 9:46 pm
#1239
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,556
I have searched, but have not been able to find an answer to:
Will the changes (in miles needed) apply to awards on UA partner airlines as well?
Will the changes (in miles needed) apply to awards on UA partner airlines as well?
May 13, 2019, 9:52 pm
#1240
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
That said, I fully expect UA to make partner awards dynamic as soon as they can figure out the logistics.
May 13, 2019, 9:53 pm
#1241
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: 66,857
Last edited by WineCountryUA; May 13, 2019 at 10:03 pm
May 14, 2019, 9:51 am
#1242
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Bay Area - East Bay
Programs: UA 1k, AS 75k, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 641
Has anyone successfully booked an Excursionist leg for a trip after the dynamic pricing kicks in? I'm currently looking at booking a South Africa/Botswana trip some time next March or April and I can't get the middle leg to price for less than 30k points despite looking at multiple days/destinations, all of which fit the criteria for the Excursionist perk. Not sure if this is related to the dynamic awards, or if it's just typical United IT nonsense.
Edit: Figured out what's happening. Apparently if you pick a mixed award for your first flight, it only counts the lowest class flight as the class you can book for free for Excursionist. So despite paying for a business class award which happens to have one domestic leg in economy, you also get shunted to economy for the Excursionist perk. Pretty nasty.
Edit: Figured out what's happening. Apparently if you pick a mixed award for your first flight, it only counts the lowest class flight as the class you can book for free for Excursionist. So despite paying for a business class award which happens to have one domestic leg in economy, you also get shunted to economy for the Excursionist perk. Pretty nasty.
Last edited by zymm; May 14, 2019 at 10:04 am
May 14, 2019, 11:00 am
#1243
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
Edit: Figured out what's happening. Apparently if you pick a mixed award for your first flight, it only counts the lowest class flight as the class you can book for free for Excursionist. So despite paying for a business class award which happens to have one domestic leg in economy, you also get shunted to economy for the Excursionist perk. Pretty nasty.
May 14, 2019, 1:05 pm
#1244
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SLC
Programs: United Gold, Hilton Silver, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 768
I didn't have any issue booking a partner award (2) in J for BUD-SYD for next March. 90K miles. I'll look for a better routing and pay the change fee later if something better comes along. I'm seeing mixed-class awards showing going to BUD for the same time period, and I'm planning on booking next month when I've accumulated enough miles. What's I'm wondering about is if I can still wait-list for the domestic segment in I. Will I and X classes be going away? At least for partners, they're still there now for after November.
May 14, 2019, 1:10 pm
#1245
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
So far, they haven't announced anything one way or the other.