[ad_1]
United Airlines has announced a major adjustment to the functioning of its upgrades for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members. On the surface, these changes seem incredibly positive, but is there a problem?
Current operation of United Airlines upgrades
Currently, all United Elite MileagePlus members enjoy free upgrades on most domestic and international flights. These are subject to availability at the upgrade window, at the latest several days before departure.
In addition, holders of Platinum Premier and Premier 1K statuses (which require respectively 75,000 and 100,000 elite qualification miles) receive other confirmed improvements:
- Premier Platinum members receive two regional upgrades a year
- Premier 1K members benefit each year from six Premier global upgrades and two Premier regional upgrades
These upgrades can be confirmed at the time of booking pending the availability of upgrades, which can be difficult to find. These are the Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades that are adjusted with the changes made by United.
What are United Airlines PlusPoints?
Today & # 39; hui United Airlines has announced that effective December 4, 2019, it will replace Global Premier upgrades and Regional Premier upgrades with PlusPoints..
PlusPoints is a new system designed to give members a lot more flexibility and in appearance, it is incredibly positive. Rather than giving Platinum Premier and Premier 1K members a number of Premier World upgrades and Premier Regional upgrades, United instead gives members the opportunity to choose the rewards that matter most to them.
Members will receive a number of PlusPoints and will be able to exchange them as they wish.
Luc Bondar, Vice President of Loyalty and President of MileagePlus, stated the following:
"We're making it even easier for our Premier members to use the upgrades whenever and wherever they want. The new PlusPoints program increases the total number of upgrade opportunities for Premier Premier members, expands fare classes where they can be used and allows members to simultaneously request upgrades on multiple flights. We are already facilitating the management of all online upgrades for our members. Switching to PlusPoints is another way to make MileagePlus the best loyalty program in the industry. "
How do you earn United Plus Points?
With the new United Airlines PlusPoints system:
- MileagePlus Platinum members will receive 40 PlusPoints
- MileagePlus 1K members will receive 280 additional PlusPoints (for a total of 320)
For all existing confirmed upgrade instruments, December 4, 2019:
- Each Regional Premier Upgrade will be converted to 20 PlusPoints
- Each Global Premier upgrade will be converted to 40 PlusPoints
Members can choose whether they value more national or international upgrades
The expiration policy for PlusPoints will be identical to that of GPUs and RPUs. They will still expire in January a full year after being earned.
How to redeem Plus Points with United Airlines?
With the way that PlusPoints upgrades work, no one should lose here, at least with the way things are currently configured:
- Flights that could previously be upgraded with Regional Premier Upgrades will require at most 20 PlusPoints
- Flights that could previously be upgraded with Global Premier upgrades will require at most 40 PlusPoints
- PlusPoints can still be used for upgrades on ANA and Lufthansa at the same cost as before, with the same fare class restrictions.
You can even use PlusPoints to upgrade to Lufthansa.
But members will have even more flexibility. For example, on international flights:
- You can move from an economy to a higher economy with 20 PlusPoints
- You can upgrade from premium economy class to business class for 30 PlusPoints
- You can go from economy class to business class for 40 PlusPoints
- You can switch from discount to economy rate (these rates were not upgradeable with global Premier upgrades) vs. 80 PlusPoints
As you can see, members have a lot more flexibility. For example, former Premier 1K members had received four regional Premier upgrades and six Global Premier upgrades, while they can now trade 320 PlusPoints any way they want, whether they prefer national or international upgrades.
New "Ignore waiting list" feature
In addition to the published upgrade costs, United also introduces a "Skip Waitlist" feature, which allows members to redeem additional PlusPoints to skip the upgrade queue on a flight and confirm an upgrade. The cost of this operation will vary according to the chosen route and I imagine that the price will be high. It will not be for everyone, but it's still a good option.
With PlusPoints, you can even skip the waitlist by exchanging more points
You only pay the highest upgrade cost of your route
Suppose you fly from Aspen to Houston, from Newark to Hong Kong. If all upgrades are deleted, you will only pay the upgrade cost for the longest segment. The price will not be cumulative, but based only on the most expensive segment.
Members can request upgrades on multiple flights
PlusPoints will not be deducted until upgrades are confirmed. This means that MileagePlus members can request upgrades on many flights and will only need to redeem points once the upgrade has been confirmed. This gives members many more opportunities to confirm upgrades, because it's always frustrating to use an upgrade instrument on a flight without it becoming clear and everything is lost.
United allows all upgrades online
United is unique in allowing members to request all upgrades directly on their website. It's something that both American and Delta do not allow. This is so great from the point of view of the user experience.
It's nice to be able to request updates directly on united.com.
What is the trap with PlusPoints?
PointsPlus seems to be a totally positive change. Members have more flexibility to exchange upgrades as they wish, than they prefer national or international upgrades. Plus, no cost is up here, but there is more flexibility to buy at better rates otherwise.
So, for now, PointsPlus has no problem. Why would an airline make a seemingly positive change, ask yourself?
- It is a way for them to really improve the program without costing them.
- In the long run, this can be more easily devalued than GPUs and RPUs, as they can increase the number of points required for some upgrades.
- With the introduction of the premium economy, I am convinced that, in the long run, this will lead to greater price differentiation between transformations from one economy to another, an upgrade of an economy to the next. other and a modernization of economy to the other
- It's an interesting currency that United could monetize; Could they offer additional PlusPoints as a credit card advantage, as an additional reward for some or even more activities?
United PlusPoints Bottom Line
United's new PlusPoints upgrade system is actually quite impressive, at least in the way it's implemented now. It's a bit like the system used by Air Canada for its Altitude program, except that it adds to the free and unlimited upgrades at the national level.
For the moment, this change is quite positive, but it is feared that it will be easier for them to devalue the upgrade rates in the future.
What are you doing with United's new PlusPoints system?
[ad_2]
Source link