After a year of changes in how points are earned in major airline loyalty schemes, United is making changes in how you can use them. The changes to its MileagePlus program, taking effect in November, affect what were called Standard Awards and will now be called Everyday Awards.
Saver Awards, the lowest-price award flights, are not affected by that change. The new Everyday group will not have a fixed price, varying by demand and date. United (unlike Delta) will still publish a rewards chart, which will state the maximum for that award—mostly higher than the previous Standard. Actual miles required will often be less. United says it will also be increasing seats available for Saver Awards, by about 10%.
The airline will also abandon round-trip awards, shifting to the model used by American and Delta, where each leg of the trip is priced separately, allowing mix-and-match of award types and classes. It also has the effect of eliminating stopovers, which had been permitted in international awards. They are replaced by an “Excursionist privilege” that allows for one free leg when three are selected and the itinerary is not entirely within the same region.
The example United gives is a Chicago-London round trip for 30,000 miles each way. If the passenger added London-Paris and then flew home to Chicago from there, the London-Paris leg would be free. Rules for the Excursionist feature will be less complex than current stopover rules.
For full details, from United, click HERE
