HibernateNow

my father has been gold for over 15 years.... I managed his MileagePlus acct. When he passed in December, I used the remaining miles to book seats for my mother and sister for travels to/from the funeral.(he died suddenly in a foreign country) Only 1100 miles remain in his account.

if I ask nicely, will UA allow my recently deceased father's gold status to be transferred to my mother? his 2022 gold status was never used, since he passed in December 2021.

WineCountryUA

Transfer miles yes, transfer status -- have never heard that happening

MM companion is the only case of UA providing status to anothe family member.

8MiHi

The rules are clear that not even a MM companion retains their status after the death of a Million-miler Premier member.
I would guess that it would be a hard no for a non MM as well.
That said, I would still inquire if MP might provide something for your mom when you call to transfer your dad's miles.

mahasamatman

Or, more to the point, when United is notified of the death.

dmurphynj

HibernateNow First and foremost, condolences on your loss. Can't imagine what that was like dealing with a foreign country like that.

Now, I did have a question regarding MM companion ... How would United know? Unless one calls in to report the passing, I'd think they would have no way of knowing the member is deceased?

uanj

Very sorry to hear about your loss. I can imagine how much more difficult it is with the physical separation. Like others have said, I have never heard of UA passing status on to a family member upon death.

xliioper

The miles may be transferred upon death, but that is the only thing that is transferable.

"Awards and benefits, including accrued mileage, Premier (and/or Million Miler) status levels, Premier (and/or Million Miler) benefits, PlusPoints, Premier Qualifying Credits and certificates do not constitute property of the Member and are not transferable except as set forth herein. Accrued mileage may be transferred to another MileagePlus account through United’s Transfer Miles Program. Members must comply with the Transfer Miles Program Terms and Conditions found on united.com. In the event of the death or divorce of a Member, United may, in its sole discretion, credit all or a portion of such Member’s accrued mileage to authorized persons upon receipt of documentation satisfactory to United and payment of applicable fees."

glob99

The SSA keeps a death list. Companies can access this list, think of insurance co. or credit card co. So it would be easy for United to know of the death.

jhayes_1780

First, let me also offer my condolences on his passing.

Second AFAIK, UA does not have a mechanisim for collecting/comparing SS#'s (I know they don't have mine). But you are correct in the context that most death records are public record. But talk about dedicating time and effort into the research.... it would be quite an undertaking. Finally, while it would be a "kind gesture" to allow maybe a bumped down status to a widow/er for the remainder of their qualified earning. But (and no one really offered this) allowing MM companions the benefit in perpetuity? That would be an even bigger nightmare.

Alpha Golf

Very sorry for your loss.

SPN Lifer

You can easily transfer the 1,100 orphan miles.

Miles transfer / usage upon member death

Unlike UA, DL does not have a provision to transfer a decedent's miles.

My young adult son died at the beginning of 2020, so I am keeping his (authorized user) Hilton AmEx card alive, and also occasionally transferring very small amounts of money into and out of his mostly $5-balance credit union checking account. This will be how we redeem his DL miles if I am ever going somewhere they fly.

So verification with the SSA death list is not done routinely. Whether the cost, in payment to SSA (?) or in UA resources, of periodically verifying all MM Premier members with the SSA list, or other public records, would be worthwhile, only UA can say. But I doubt it.

I greatly appreciated the humane policy of the Friendly Skies™ with respect to mileage transfer, and fully understand that annual or lifetime status is not transferable.

That is why, when UA [CO] sold lifetime United [Presidents] Club memberships, I bought a joint spousal version. (Also, on the cusp of lifetime Marriott Bonv°y Platinum Elite status, I have shifted all my credit card spend and hotel stays, so she will have it, too. And I plan not to draw Social Security until age 70, to maximize the survivor benefit.)

Prayers, HibernateNow , for the repose of your father's soul and the consolation of your family. 💚 🙏

dmurphynj

Again, unrelated to the mileage topic, but my deepest condolences. Truly, my very worst nightmare in the entire world.

HibernateNow

since my father passed recently, I have learned that so many thing can and do happen after death.

the word that I've encountered the most must be YMMV.

After contacting UA and speaking with a very nice and sympathetic agent, my father's Premier Gold status was "transferred" to my mother. She looked at my father's continuous record of being Gold for the last 17 years. Actually, "transferred" was not how they did it. They just conferred Premier Gold status on my mother's account as a goodwill gesture.(for 2022 only, obviously) They didn't have to do it... but they did... it goes a long way to show me that someone at United does care.

Like I said... YMMV. Don't get me started on how Citibank has so far absolutely refused to honor the ThankYou points after his death. (having spent over 1.2 million over 20 years and accumulating all those points, unused) All gone at the moment he passed away, at least that what Citibank is still insisting after numerous contacts.

WineCountryUA

Thanks for the update.
Color me surprised, I believe that is a new datapoint for all of us.
I'm sure you will never forget UA did this.

HibernateNow

absolutely... like I said, it was YMMV. I always thought that my dad didn't have many "real" friends... color me surprised when over 200 of them showed up at his funeral. I was so surprised and touched. (the only downside was that I spent almost a week handwriting thank you notes to each and every one of them who attended)