MileagePlus Updates Copa Airlines Update

Coming soon:

The 2015 MileagePlus program

Changing the way you earn award miles, and giving you more ways to use them.

We’re changing the MileagePlus^® program to reward our members for their travel spending with United^®. And we’re adding new ways to use your award miles, to make the frequent flyer program with the best award availability* even better.

What’s new: How you earn award miles

As of March 1, 2015, the award miles you earn on most United and United Express^® tickets will be based on your ticket price (that is, base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges) instead of the distance you fly, so members will be rewarded for their travel spending on United. And when you have Premier^®status, you’ll earn even more.

To see how many miles you could earn, enter a ticket price and select a member level:

US$

= 000 award miles

The mileage calculator is for estimating purposes only. Actual mileage posting will be determined by the actual ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges), purchased ticket routing, fare class, Premier status, residency, ticket issue date and flight departure date. For tickets purchased in a currency other than US dollars, we will convert the purchase to US dollars and then calculate the number of miles you will earn.

Please note that this won’t change how you qualify for MileagePlus Premier status.

You will still earn even more miles with a MileagePlus cobranded credit card, just as you do today.

For tickets that will earn award miles based on ticket price, the class-of-service bonus and Premier bonus will be included in the number of award miles you earn per dollar.

This new way of earning award miles will apply to most tickets for flights operated by United and United Express. It will also apply to tickets for flights operated by a Star Alliance^™ or MileagePlus partner airline when the ticket number starts with "016."

Tickets for flights operated by a Star Alliance^™ or MileagePlus partner airline that aren’t issued by United (ticket numbers that don’t start with “016”) will still earn award miles based on distance flown and the purchased fare class.

You will still earn Premier^® qualifying miles (PQM) based on the distance of your flight. Premier members will still earn a minimum of 500 PQM on United and United Express flights shorter than 500 miles.

You will be able to earn up to 75,000 award miles per ticket. There will not be a minimum number of award miles you can earn for a flight.

Want to learn more? Read the FAQ

What's next: More and better ways to use your miles.

For the fifth year in a row, MileagePlus is ranked #1 in award seat availability among U.S. global carriers*. You already have so many innovative ways to use award miles, from flights with United’s global network to hotel stays to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And in 2015, you'll have new choices:

Economy Plus^® purchases on upcoming flights
Economy Plus annual subscriptions
Checked baggage subscriptions
And more on the way

FAQ

When will this program update take effect?

The change to how you earn award miles will apply to most tickets for travel departing on or after March 1, 2015, regardless of when you purchase the ticket. The new options for using miles will be available in early 2015 – be sure to watch your email for more details.

Who will this program update apply to?

This program update will apply to all MileagePlus members worldwide.

Will this change affect how I earn lifetime miles toward Million Miler status?

No. Your lifetime miles balance will still be based on the distance flown on United, United Express and Copa Airlines through June 30, 2015. Copa Airlines will launch its own loyalty program on July 1, 2015, and beginning on that date only flights on United and United Express will count toward your lifetime miles balance. Learn more.

Does this change affect how I earn bonus award miles with my U.S.-based or international United MileagePlus credit card?

No. If you hold a credit card that earns MileagePlus miles, nothing is changing with how you earn those miles.For example, United MileagePlus Explorer cardmembers will earn two award miles for each $1 spent on tickets purchased from United. Visit united.com for more information on our credit card partners.

Want to learn more? Read more FAQ.