2009 Mileage Plus Changes

[futaris]

United Airlines - Annual changes for the 2009 Mileage Plus program

2009 MP Changes - UA Restores 500 Mile Min for Elites and New Award Redemption Rules - FlyerTalk Forums

Biggest relevant change is that now Australia/New Zealand - Australia/New Zealand/Oceania is now 35k miles when it used to be 20k miles in economy to Australia/New Zealand.

Much better to redeem from Singapore Krisflyer if you want to do PER-AKL-PPT for example.

[wallacej]

Copy of the email:

.......................
The changes to the Mileage Plus program for 2009 will reward our premium customers with highly competitive benefits, while responding to increased demand for United's new international first- and business-class cabins.

Please keep reading for a brief overview of each program change, then visit united.com for FAQs and details.

Restoration of 500-mile minimum accrual for elite members

Our elite members are the cornerstone of the Mileage Plus program. To reward these members and allow them to requalify for their benefits more quickly, the 500-mile minimum accrual on United flights will be restored for elite members effective January 1, 2009.

This policy change will be applied retroactively to flights between July 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. For elite members who flew United flights of less than 500 miles during that timeframe, all affected mileage balances and bonuses and earned upgrades will be adjusted by the end of the year to ensure that your elite status is correct for 2009. Please see united.com for full details.

Mileage awards

Mileage Plus continues to offer members more awards to popular destinations. In fact, through August members redeemed 12% more awards in 2008 than in 2007. Also, United continues its policy of no fuel surcharges on award tickets. However, changes will be made to award levels on January 1, 2009. Note that our most popular Saver and Standard awards within the continental United States will stay the same, but other routes and classes will change.
View revised Saver, Standard and partner award charts.

Upgrade awards

As United continues to introduce the new international first and business class, which include lie-flat seats and other enhancements, demand has increased. To ensure that the upgrades adequately reflect the value of a first- or business-class seat, we are generally reducing the mileage requirements and will be collecting a co-pay when miles are redeemed to upgrade an Economy ticket. This change will be effective for upgrade awards requested on or after July 1, 2009.

The co-pay amount will depend on the origin and destination cities, as well as the type of ticket purchased. If you upgrade from a higher fare class, your co-pay will be lower or even non-existent. Upgrade awards from Business to First will not require a co-pay.

And to ensure that all Mileage Plus members have a chance to experience the new international first and business class, beginning July 1, 2009, all paid international Economy-class tickets can be upgraded with miles and a co-pay. Currently, only select Economy classes can be upgraded internationally.

Please visit united.com for details about these changes, including helpful FAQs and examples.

Thank you for choosing United and Mileage Plus.

Sincerely,

Graham Atkinson
President, Mileage Plus

[dajop]

Biggest relevant change is that now Australia/New Zealand - Australia/New Zealand/Oceania is now 35k miles when it used to be 20k miles in economy to Australia/New Zealand.

Also the Australia/NZ to "Central Asia" (India etc) anomaly has been corrected and gone from 40K to 60K. Curiously though flights to South Asia (SE Asia) have gone from 50K to 60K, North Asia from 50K to 70K, yet Japan remains at 50K!

[MelUser]

The airline award which I use most is upgrades using points.

I understand the qantas international system - you are told some time from 18 hours before the flight and closer.

How does it work on United - say I buy a B class fare AUS-US-AUS and pay my 15000 points and whatever copayment they want from 09, when will a Y-J upgrade be confirmed - instantly, 2 weeks before, 1 day before etc?

[clifford]

How does it work on United - say I buy a B class fare AUS-US-AUS and pay my 15000 points and whatever copayment they want from 09, when will a Y-J upgrade be confirmed - instantly, 2 weeks before, 1 day before etc?

Yes. youve got it exactly.

[MelUser]

My question was - at what point in time will the upgrade be confirmed?

[clifford]

My question was - at what point in time will the upgrade be confirmed?

And my answer was 100% correct!

It's impossible to say with UA. Depends on many things including your status and aircraft loading. Could be confirmed on booking (very unlikely on SYD-USA flights) if I-class (NC) space is available, or at any other time until the aircraft doors are closed (or indeed it may not happen at all). Depends entirely on how UA's Inventory Management dept is feeling.

It may sound vague, but that's how it is. Using points generally has less priority for an upgrade than using a system wide upgrade certificate.

[beardoc]

I have about 25K points in both my and my partner's account and intend to book before the changes - I haven't called them yet, and you can't check online, but what is availability like for AirNZ flights redeemed on UA MP points about 9-12 months in advance?

[futaris]

Good generally. Use the ANA tool to check availability. Read this thread on BMI forums on Flyertalk to find out more about it.