Ultimate Guide to United Airlines

Basic Economy

Basic economy (N), like all other airlines, is the cheapest but most restrictive fare class in United. Basic economy fares give you all the same onboard experience (service, seat type, and amenities) as a regular economy seat would.

However, the difference will come with ancillary purchases, like baggage, change fees and elite perks.
United's basic economy differs from its competition in that it does not allow for a free carry-on.

• Baggage Policy: 1 personal item for free, carry on for fee ($40), checked bag for fee (1st: $35, 2nd: $45)
• Boarding Group: Group 6
• Upgrades: Upgrades using cash can be done anytime and to any fare class.
    *Elite status and MileagePlus credit cards will not provide complimentary upgrades. Upgrade
    certificates are also ineligible to be used.
• Seat Selection: Seat Selection for a fee. *Elite status preferred seat selection benefits are ineligible.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant United Club access.
• Mileage Earnings: Flights are ineligible to earn PQF but will earn everything else.
• Same Day Changes: Elite status same day confirmed or same day standby changes benefits are ineligible.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through United (cash and MileagePlus) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All cash flights booked through United can be cancelled for a fee. Fee is $49.50 for domestic flights and $99.50 for international flights.

Economy

Economy (G,L,K,S,T,Q,V,W,M,E,H,U,B,Y) United's standard seats. Fare class G is the LOWEST discounted economy price. If you see one of these, don't hesitate! It's most likely the cheapest fare you will find. Subsequently, since all basic economy fare classes are identified as n, if economy displays G for the same flight, then that means the same basic economy fare will be at its lowest price point too. Fare class K, L, T, and S are also deep discount tickets, and could represent a good time to buy too. The main perk of economy is the ability to make changes to the booking, select seats, and enjoy MileagePlus perks. Do note that while economy tickets can select seats, selecting "Economy plus" seats will cost extra. These seats tend to be located in the exit row, or front of the cabin.

• Baggage Policy: 1 personal item for free, carry on for fee ($40), checked bag for fee (1st: $35, 2nd: $45)
• Boarding Group: Group 3-5, depending on window, middle, or aisle seat.
• Upgrades: Upgrades using cash can be done anytime and to any fare class.
   
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all regular economy seating.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant United Club access.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through United (cash and MileagePlus) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: Non-refundable economy tickets will refund full ticket price to travel credit if cancelled. Refundable economy will refund full ticket price to original form of payment. All changes are free and will only cost fare difference.

First and Business

United first and business class (P,Z,C,D,J) is located at the front of the plane for short haul international and most domestic US flights. Both are essentially the same thing and feature a wider seat with deeper recline. Except for the complimentary snacks onboard, nothing else is really different than other US first class products.

• Baggage Policy: 1 personal item and carry on for free, 2 free 70 lbs checked bags (3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Group 1
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all available first class seats.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant United Club access. The differentiator between United business and first flights is that United Business will get access to United Club lounges while United first does not.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through United (cash and MileagePlus) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: Non-refundable First or Business tickets will refund full ticket price to travel credit if cancelled. Refundable First or Business tickets will refund full ticket price to original form of payment. All changes are free and will only cost fare difference.

United Flights

United has made United mileage accrual on their own metal and marketed flights very simple: just based off how much you spend and what elite status you are at. The notable exception are basic economy tickets, which earn no miles. The following is the calculation of miles accrued on each flight:

General Member: 5 miles per dollar
Premier Silver: 7 miles per dollar
Premier Gold: 8 miles per dollar
Premier Platinum: 9 miles per dollar
Premier 1K: 11 miles per dollar

Partner Flights

Flights marketed and operated by partner airlines earn MileagePlus based on the number of miles flown. United Partners are not limited to Star alliance partners.

• Aegean
• Aer Lingus
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air Dolomiti
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• Airlink
• ANA
• Asiana
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Azul
• Brussels Airlines
• Cape Air
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Discover Airlines
• Edelweiss
• Egypt Air
• Emirates
• Ethiopian Airlines
• Eurowings
• EVA Airways
• Flydubai
• ITA Airways
• JSX
• Juneyao Air
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Lufthansa City Airlines
• Olympic Air
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Swiss International Air Lines
• TAP Air Portugal
• THAI Airways International
• Turkish Airlines
• Virgin Australia

Transfer Partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards: All ultimate rewards (UR) points earning cards can transfer UR to MileagePlus at a rate of 1 to 1. This makes cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which earns 3x points per dollar on dining and drugstores, effectively earn 3x United miles on dining and drugstores. Given that the value of MileagePlus is not typically the best value when compared to other transfer partners like Air Canada's Aeroplan, I would discourage transferring unless to top off points for a redemption.

Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott Points are also able to be transferred at a rate of 2 Bonvoy points to 1 MileagePlus if transferring in increments of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. It used to be a terrible deal but during typical Marriott point sales, if you buy at 0.89 cents per point, then transfer to United, it is effectively buying United miles at 1.78 cents per point. This is usually cheaper than when United miles are on sale for 1.88 cents per point so it could be a use case.

Everyday Partners

These direct partners will earn X amount of MileagePlus based on the amount of money spent. Although the earning rate isn't exceptional, they could be better than earning nothing. A couple of the more notable partners are listed below:

Vivid: 2 miles per dollar spent

Turo: 5 miles per dollar on first purchase and 1 mile per dollar thereafter

VRBO: 3 miles per dollar

For a list of other partners, visit United's website

United Affiliate Portals

Like many other loyalty programs, United uses their popularity to try to sell services and products through their affiliate portals. By clicking through these portals, you are earning MileagePlus instead of other miles or the product's own loyalty points. As such, I would not recommend using these methods to book, as there are more ways to get value.
United MileagePlus X: An app that shows challenges to earn United miles when completing certain activities. This is a pretty unique offering, honestly. United Hotels: Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on base hotel rates booked through United Stays.

United Vacations: Earn up to 10,000 MileagePlus per person when booking through United Vacations.

MileagePlus Dining: This is United's dining portal. Earn MileagePlus when purchasing from participating restaurants in MileagePlus Dining while using a credit linked to the dining portal.

MileagePlus Shopping: United's shopping portal. Earn MileagePlus when purchasing items through MileagePlus Shopping.

Other Methods/Partners

For other ways to earn MileagePlus and more partners, visit MileagePlus partners.

Points Pooling

United MileagePlus members can create a pool for their miles. Members in this pool can decide how many miles they want to contribute and the creator/leader can decide who can redeem the miles. There is a maximum of 4 members in a pool, with the miles in the pool only able to be redeemed for United operated flights.

United Flight

US carriers have one of the best online user interfaces for booking award flights. United, for instance, just requires you to click "Book"->"Award Travel"

There is even an award calendar when selecting "Flexible dates" when selecting your itinerary. This will allow you to look at awards with a monthly view.

This will then expand into a monthly calendar view!

Generally, these MileagePlus are worth around 1-1.5 cents per point. This applies even for business class flights, which is why people call the currency SkyPesos. However, there are 4 things that stand out about United compared to other currencies.

1. United Flash Sales: United can sometimes have no notice and barely advertised flash sales that will make flights incredibly cheap. The most recent flash sale included booking basic economy tickets from the US to Europe for 32,000 MileagePlus round-trip. This also stacks with the Take Off 15 mentioned below to get a round trip price of 27,000 MileagePlus. Do keep in mind that I have been tracking prices for a while and US to Europe basic economy flights have generally clocked in at around 36,000 MileagePlus round-trip from the east coast. These deals are often only found in MileagePlus Award Deals, where they typically advertise a low fare coming up in the next 2 or so months. Keep in mind the dates they advertise may not be the only dates, as bookings farther out can also be just as cheap.
2. Expanded Saver Awards: United awards typically have a floor for the amount of points they charge. They call this Saver award availability. For all Premier members and credit card holders will get expanded access to United economy saver awards. These awards will show up with a fare class of XN. For Premier Platinum and 1K members, they are able to access expanded saver level business awards as well. These awards will be denoted as fare class IN.
3. Fuel Surcharges: United does not pass on fuel charges to your award ticket. This is most important for when you look at flights from partner airlines, which some do try to charge their members, whereas United eats those fees for you.
4. Free Changes and Cancellation: Probably the best thing about United awards is the ability to freely change and cancel tickets if not in Basic Economy. This allows for a lot of flexibility and is a great program to book backup flights with.

Partner Flight

United has a very large selection of partners that MileagePlus can be redeemed for. Generally, the best value can be had from redeeming on partner award flights, specifically for Star Alliance flights. A highlight of United's program in this regard is the lack of fuel surcharges and booking fees tacked onto partner flights, such as Lufthansa and ANA. I am working on an article compiling an unofficial partner award chart for United's MileagePlus program.

Flight Upgrades

Instead of paying cash, United can upgrade your flight using miles. There could be value depending on the specific cash price for these redemptions. However, there are many limitations, such as needing to call to upgrade and being put on a waitlist. What is interesting is that United also allows for upgrading with miles for paid tickets on Star Alliance airlines. To see if there is is eligible space, fill out this form.

Other Options

United has many more options on their website for redemptions do not offer good value. A vast majority of the redemptions fall under the 0.6-0.9 cents per point range. At the baseline, United miles should be redeemed for 1 cent per point in my opinion. In that regard, a highlight for value in the list is the magazine subscriptions. United miles would be worth around 1.2 cents per point when redeeming in that manner.

Premier Status Requirements

United has 4 tiers of status for their Premier members. As you progress through the Premier tiers, the status will be more and more rewarding.

There are 2 metrics for tracking elite status with United: Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQP). Below are the ways to earn both PQP and PQF.

• United Flights: 1 PQP per dollar spent on paid flights. However, money spent on taxes and fees don't count towards PQP. Earn 1 PQF per paid flight segment.
• Award Flights: 1 PQP per 100 miles spent on award flights.
• Partner Flights All paid Star Alliance flights will earn 1 PQF per segment. Preferred partners will earn 1 PQP for every 5 miles earned.
  
  Non preferred partners will earn 1 PQP for every 6 miles earned.
• Credit Cards: 1 PQP per $15 spent on Chase United Club and Club Business card with a limit of 28,000 PQP spend accrual per calendar year. 1 PQP per $20 spent on Chase United Explorer, United Quest, and United Business cards. United Explorer has a limit of 1,000 PQP, United Quest with 18,000 PQP, and United Business with 4,000 PQP spend accrual per calendar year. In addition, the United Quest card will give an automatic 1,000 PQP bonus each year, while the United Club and Club Business cards will each give an automatic 1,500 PQP bonus each year.
• Promotions: United may run promotions to earn PQPs, such as with United stays, vacations and more.

Premier Benefits

The list below are the benefits that all Premier members have. I have ranked the list in order of which I find to be the most valuable benefit.

• Additional checked bags
• Economy Plus seating at check-in.
• Complimentary Companion Upgrades
• Priority Boarding
• Priority Check In
• Priority Waitlist Status

The chart below summarizes the benefits that differ for each tier:

Some of the benefits can be attributed Star Alliance Elite status. United Silver will match to Star Alliance Silver while United Gold and above will match to Star Alliance Gold. Pretty simple right? Some of the benefits I find valuable are the free checked bags, Star Alliance business lounge access when available.

PlusPoints

For those that reach Premier Platinum and 1K, you can receive 40 PlusPoints for Premier Platinum and 280 PlusPoints for Premier 1K. PlusPoints can be used for guaranteed upgrades as seen in the table below. Additionally, they can be used to exchange for other elite status perks, miles or Travel bank cash, as seen below. The way I would use PlusPoints is to upgrade from long haul economy to Polaris. With that in mind, you would be able to upgrade once with reaching Premier Platinum and 4 times with reaching Premier 1K.

Status Match

United offers status matches to other airline elites. Eligible airlines include:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Delta Air Lines
• Southwest Airlines

United Gateway

There is not much to write home about the United Gateway card, except that this is a $0 annual fee card. This means that it is a great downgrade option for personal United cards.

United Explorer and Business

The United Explorer and Business cards start coming with introductory perks for a low annual fee. The main draws for these cards are the checked bag benefits and the united club passes. A common theme for the United credit cards are the difficult nature of the statement credits. As such, they can be hard to be used to justify the annual fee. As mentioned earlier, the business card is generally going to be more valuable for most people. For most people getting a card of this tier, it is expected to at least fly 5 times a year. Triggering the $125 credit for 5 flights should be easy for the target audience for this card. Pair that with the "Better together" anniversary bonus of 5,000 miles, this could easily recoup the annual fee of the card.

United Quest

Hot take, but I find this card to be extremely lackluster. It just doesn't feel like the card can provide anymore outsized value than the explorer card could. Some could argue that there are more credits to justify the annual fee. However, why would I get a card, spend time and effort just to use the credits and break even? The only option to get outsized value is through the free checked bag benefit. However, this benefit is already present on the Explorer card and there is even a lack of United club passes. The only time I would recommend this card is if they fly United often with 2 checked bags and absolutely do not value United Club access at all.

United MileagePlus Reserve and United MileagePlus Reserve Business

For the highest tier of the United cards, the main draw is to once again have unlimited lounge access, specifically to the United Clubs. While United clubs generally don't have the best food but like a buffet, free food is free food. Since both cards also provide 2 free checked bags, this is why I mentioned that the Quest card would only be valuable for those that do not value United Clubs at all. Both cards come with Avis President's Club, which is Avis's highest status and not one that any other credit card will provide. Where the personal club really shines is the rest of the perks. For those chasing elite status, the personal club card will grant 1,500 PQP each year just for holding the card. The card also gives a 10% discount on economy saver awards in continental US and Canada, similar to a perk found on the Delta cards. To top it off, the card also grants IHG Platinum status. Although not as many statement credits, I find this club card to be much more appealing than the Quest card due to the nature of the card providing statuses and perks that would otherwise cost a lot more money to obtain.