United Airlines customers who book the airline’s basic economy fares will no longer be able to earn miles — unless they have elite status or carry one of the airline’s credit cards.
Beginning in April, the Chicago-based carrier will bar most passengers from earning MileagePlus miles when flying on one of its no-frills fares.
Flyers with Premier elite status will continue to earn miles, but at a lower rate than they do currently. So will loyalty members who carry an eligible United credit card.
And that’s far from the only change the airline announced.
United on Thursday revealed it’s slashing mileage earning rates across the board for members without status or a credit (or debit) card in their wallet — while planning to award more miles to customers who do.
The carrier also plans to offer its credit cardholders discounts of at least 10% on every award flight, with price cuts of 15% or more for flyers with Premier status.
Altogether, it’s one of the most aggressive moves we’ve seen by a U.S. airline to give prime treatment to customers who carry a card or earn status — over those who don’t.
In other words, if you carry one of United’s cobranded credit (or debit) cards, Thursday’s shakeup should mean more miles and better redemption rates. Ditto for United loyalists with status.
If you don’t, you’ll see fewer miles hit your account going forward, and won’t get access to the best mileage deals — something TPG has already seen happening, increasingly, at the airline.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Here’s how United explained the thinking behind these changes:
“The most rewarding way to fly United is as a MileagePlus member, and the best way to get the most value from the MileagePlus program is to have one of our credit or debit cards,” chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said in a statement Thursday. “MileagePlus is designed to reward loyalty to United, and our best customers deserve the best benefits in the industry.”
With respect to basic economy, United already had one of the industry’s strictest policies when it comes to the no-frills fares. The carrier is now the only U.S. airline that bars most passengers from bringing a full-size carry-on bag on board its planes when flying on one of these tickets — though there are exceptions for (you guessed it) cardholders and Premier status members.
United follows in the footsteps of Delta Air Lines, which has long barred its loyalty members from earning miles on basic economy bookings.
American Airlines just implemented a similar policy in December.
United flyers will continue to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) on basic fares, as they do today. But they already don’t earn Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) on those bookings.
Related reading:
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thepointsguy.com
