Earlier today, I quickly posted the news that United Airlines will introduce a new Premier Qualifying Dollar (PQD) revenue requirement in 2014 to maintain or achieve elite status, in addition to the normal mileage requisites. It didn’t come as a shock to me and I promised to share more of my thoughts about the change.

First, here are two things you won’t hear me say:

• “Screw you United, I’m status matching to American!” Tick tock. It’s all but certain that American, especially with the new US Airways-heavy management team, will implement a similar revenue policy. And my bet is that it’ll come sooner rather than later (as in… similarly announced beginning in 2014 for 2015 status).
• “How can you do this to me? I fly exclusively with you 100,000 miles+ every year!” While I’ve enjoyed the perks of easy to attain top-tier status on cheap fares (especially in 2008 and 2009), I fully appreciate that airlines should focus on rewarding fliers who contribute the most to their bottom lines. It’s been a fun ride, but I get it.

A hard-target dollar requirement tied to each elite tier is only the beginning of United’s revenue-based approach, in my opinion.

What I see happening next is that United (and other U.S. airlines for that matter) will reduce the Premier Qualifying Miles/Segments (PQM/PQS) earned on low fare-class tickets, such as L, K, G and N (I outlined the revenue fare classes in this post). It would be a double-whammy of sorts making it harder to hit the PQM target on top of PQD for status, but I bet it’ll happen eventually.

Another potential change is that mileage redemptions could turn revenue-based. While I’ve accepted my fate for the elite status changes, this would be painful to swallow. Mostly because I’m sitting on a large stash of MileagePlus miles right now and the amount required for an international first class award would likely be exorbitant compared to today’s levels (or similar to a standard Delta award today ).

My personal shining light in all of this is that I should lock-in lifetime Premier Gold (and Star Alliance Gold) status with United this year being only 16,402 miles away.

How will you fare under the new system and am I crazy for postulating it’s only the beginning?

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

Related posts:

United Airlines Adds Spend Requirement for Elite Status Beginning in 2014

List and Description of All United Airlines Fare Classes

Airfare Pricing Buckets and Airline Fare Basis Codes Explained

The NEW United Upgrade and Award Fare Buckets

A couple of articles caught my attention this week about the difficulty some travelers have redeeming frequent flier miles.

The first is from the Daily Mail, and setting my opinion of the publication itself aside, I read through the article. About 1,000 British fliers were surveyed and asked about their participation in an airline’s frequent flier program. Among the results:

• Almost half never redeem their miles because the terms and conditions are too restrictive.
• Sixty percent of people think they need to take too many flights before they can claim rewards.
• About 40 percent of people who collect air miles ever redeem them.
• Only 23 percent of those surveyed said they collect airline loyalty points.

These findings shocked me until I stepped back from my far-too-intimate knowledge and personal experience with travel loyalty programs. It is fair to say that the average traveler has difficulty redeeming miles, and I understand their frustrations.

The nuances of an individual program can be mind-boggling and do (mostly) require an in-depth knowledge in order to yield desirable results when it comes time to redeem for a reward. That’s part of the reason why so many bloggers/experts offer award booking services.

But Should the Programs Be Regulated?

The other article I read sort of punctuates the results of that study’s findings, and comes from Christopher Elliott. He writes about a traveler who had a very difficult time trying to redeem her United Airlines MileagePlus miles for a flight (or even hotel or car redemption, which is a story in and of itself – even I didn’t know you had to be an elite or Chase cardholder for a hotel or car award).

Beyond discussing her particular case, he asks the question, “Should frequent flier miles be regulated by the government?” The basis of him posing the question is related to the so-called “promise” for free flights membership in a frequent flier program bestows. And while the perception might be there that airlines “promise” free flights, the reality is that they have no obligation to honor anything. The MileagePlus program rules, for example, state:

MileagePlus membership and benefits, including the Premier Program, are offered at the discretion of United Airlines and its affiliates, and United has the right to terminate the Program and/or the Premier Program or to change the Program Rules, regulations, benefits, conditions of participation or mileage levels, in whole or in part, at any time, with or without notice, even though changes may affect the value of the mileage or certificates already accumulated.

There’s certainly no promise there. Yeah, I know, most people don’t read the T&Cs of just about anything, but calling for regulation of FFPs is just ridiculous in my mind. As of earlier today, though, only 46 percent of his poll agrees with me:

I dare to say the majority of you reading this are pretty savvy when it comes to understanding the programs and how to maximize their value. How would/did you vote that poll?

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

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The Reality Check That Is United Airlines Global First Class

One of the most popular posts here on Frequently Flying is my Airfare Pricing Buckets & Airline Fare Basis Codes Revealed! entry from a couple of years ago. It’s still very much valid in decoding domestic United Airlines fare basis codes, as revenue management post-merger with Continental kept the same logic.

What has changed – just a bit – is the alphabet soup of fare classes used. And with the fairly recent addition of the super-discounted N-class on United, as well as all Star Alliance carriers now using the same letters for award redemptions, every letter of the alphabet is now in use at United.

Here’s a current alphabetical list and description of what each letter translates into (bold letters are award/upgrade classes only):

• A – First class
• B – Economy – Full fare (even though Y-class is the highest level in coach, it’s still considered a full fare)
• C – Business class
• D – Business class
• E – Economy
• F – First class – Full fare (“FN” is for MileagePlus Standard Awards)
• G – Economy – Discounted
• H – Economy (“HN” is for MileagePlus Standard Awards)
• I – First (2-cabin)/Business (3-cabin) – MileagePlus Saver Award class (“IN” is expanded award availability for GS/1K/Plat elites)
• J – Business class – Full fare (“JN” is expanded MileagePlus Standard Award for elites and Chase credit card holders, as well as an upgrade class from Y-fares for elites)
• K – Economy – Discounted
• L – Economy – Discounted
• M – Economy
• N – Economy – Discounted
• O – First Class (3-cabin) – MileagePlus Saver Award (“ON” is upgrade class on 3-cabin aircraft)
• P – First/Business class – Discounted (“PN” is upgrade from B/M-fares for elites; only GS/1K can upgrade from M)
• Q – Economy
• R – First (2-cabin)/Business (3-cabin) – Upgrade bucket (“RN” is expanded availability for elites)
• S – Economy – Discounted
• T – Economy – Discounted
• U – Economy
• V – Economy
• W – Economy
• X – Economy – MileagePlus Saver Award (“XN” is expanded availability for elites)
• Y – Economy – Full fare (“YN” is an expanded MileagePlus Standard Award for elites and Chase credit card holders)
• Z – Business class – Discounted (“ZN” is for MileagePlus Standard Awards)

As far as the revenue fare classes above, here’s the order from highest to lowest in terms of where each class falls on the spectrum of overall contribution to United:

F, A, J, C, D, Z, P, Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, N

One important thing to note is that the leading letter of your fare basis code, not necessarily which letter it books into, is what determines your flight mileage accrual. They can be different, which is often the case for “Y-UP” fares where you purchase a coach ticket that books directly into first class.

Another example is what I encountered earlier this year on my mileage run to Tokyo. United had an unadvertised promotional first class sale which booked into “A” class, but my fare basis code began with a “P,” so I only earned redeemable and Premier Qualifying Miles based on the “P.”

I think this causes a lot of confusion for some travelers as the “A,” in my example, was the only thing that appeared online or on a ticket receipt. To see the fare basis code, you have to click the “View Rules and Restrictions” link during the booking process, which yields something like this:

Questions? Comments?

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

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Airfare Pricing Buckets & Airline Fare Basis Codes Explained

The NEW United Airlines Upgrade & Award Fare Buckets

How to Find Mileage Runs – 2013 Edition

United Airlines will soon bring back the ability to buy or renew membership in the United Club by using MileagePlus miles, according to UA Insider’s post on Flyertalk this morning.

Also returning will be the ability to purchase annual subscriptions for Economy Plus, as well as an annual option for checked bags. Here’s the synopsis from UA Insider:

• United Club: We’re re-introducing the option to purchase a full-year United Club membership with award miles. Pricing starts at 40,000 miles (or $400), depending on Premier status.
• Economy Plus: We’re also re-introducing the option to purchase Economy Plus for a full year, with the notable difference that we’ll have different pricing and eligibility by region (domestic 48, North America, intra-Asia, etc.).
• Checked baggage: Customers will have the new option to purchase 1 or 2 checked bags for an entire year. Pricing will vary based on number of bags and region.

These offers are currently available on United’s Preview site (a beta-test site) with the official rollout to come in the next couple of weeks.

I generally don’t think people should burn miles for a lounge membership (they have a greater value for flight redemptions), but I have in the past when I was mileage rich and cash poor. It makes sense for some people (and for more reasons than my own), and several MileagePlus members were upset when this ability went away a year or so ago. At that time, here were the rates:

• General Member: 62,500 miles
• Premier: 60,000 miles
• Premier Executive: 50,000 miles
• 1K: 47,500 miles

Those with access to United’s Preview site are reporting that the 40k level isn’t showing up at any status level, so there are apparently still bugs to be worked out.

The region-based fees for Economy Plus are reportedly $499 for the Continental U.S., $599 for North and Central America, $499 for Intra-Asia only and $699 for Global access for one person.

I haven’t seen reports yet on what the checked baggage rates will be.

Stay tuned to this thread for updates if you’re interested.

Related posts:

United Club Survey About Using Miles for Membership

United Club Rate Increase, 3-Year Membership Discontinuation

A couple of years ago I made a similar post revealing my mileage tracking spreadsheet for United (or any airline for that matter). And while I love technology and my favorite app that still tracks my United balance (and so much more: PageOnce), I get a certain satisfaction out of my old school method.

I made a couple of changes since the last time I posted it, so I thought I’d share my updated version below – click it for a full view.

United Mileage Tracking Spreadsheet

Each line represents mileage earning or redemption (none currently showing) activity and I currently track redeemable miles (RDMs), elite/Premier qualifying miles (PQMs), cents-per-mile (CPM) fare information and lifetime miles.

The first line is my beginning MileagePlus balance as of January 1, 2013. My first flight of the year on January 19 was United Express flight number 6228 at a purchased fare class of “T” on a Canadair CRJ-200. I use the leading letter of the fare basis code – “T” in this case – as it’s the one that determines mileage accrual rates. I geek out tracking aircraft registrations, so I keep a record of those in the next column.

Continuing on, it shows I was seated in 4B, I earned 500 “butt-in-seat” miles for the flight, another 500 miles as my 100% elite Premier 1K bonus, and zero for any fare bonus to total 1,000 redeemable miles for the flight. I keep a running tally of those miles to quickly compare my spreadsheet amounts against what United shows online.

Next, I record my individual PQMs for each flight and a corresponding tally. After that comes the cents-per-mile (CPM) calculation, which is a formula dividing my out-of-pocket cost (the $ SPENT column) by the total PQMs for the itinerary. And since I’m oh so close to million-miler status, I have a lifetime mileage column that progressively adds each line’s flight mileage (so long as it’s United metal).

I add everything booked and not yet flown (the redacted portion) to reveal a total CPM and airfare spend for the calendar year, along with the amount of miles remaining to hit million-miler.

And this year I decided to add e-cert data at the bottom as a back up to my paper versions filed away.

Do you maintain a spreadsheet or have you gone totally online to track your miles & points with a service provider?

Related posts:

My United Airlines Mileage Tracking Spreadsheet (2011 Edition)

Airfare Pricing Buckets and Airline Fare Basis Codes Explained

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I’m off on a mileage run of sorts that began Saturday. I’ll be crisscrossing the country numerous times and traversing the Pacific Ocean on a pair of flights. And I say “mileage run of sorts” since it doesn’t fall into the ultra lowball cents-per-mile category, as well as my other purpose for the trip: to bring me within striking distance of million-miler on United much sooner this year than later. Oh, and it’s all in first class!

In total, I’ll rack up about 23,000 lifetime miles, 30,000 Premier Qualifying Miles, and roughly 83,000 redeemable miles due to generous class-of-service bonuses. It’s not the craziest run I’ve ever done and I’m breaking it up with hotel stays in various cities to keep me sane. I’ll provide all the details, reviews and more when I return.

In the meantime, posting will be light for the rest of the week here on Frequently Flying. I should be back to regularly scheduled programming next Monday.

Safe travels everyone!

Related posts:

Looking Back at 2012 and What’s in Store for 2013

This morning I arrived off a red eye, went to the United Club and had a mini panic attack when logging into United.com and seeing this:

United Identification Inconsistencies

I’m in the beginning of a mileage run (of sorts… more on that in a future post) that includes international travel and that was a message I didn’t want to see. I calmed quickly after reading through it realizing United is looking to sync up MileagePlus account names with those transmitted as part of the TSA Secure Flight program.

For me, the only discrepancy between the two is the use of my full middle name (as used in my Secure Flight profile) vs. just the initial (as on my MileagePlus account). I was given a choice of which to use going forward and I selected the full middle name option, as that is indeed what matches my driver’s license and passport and will now be required going forward as my MileagePlus name.

For others, the change will require those MileagePlus account holders named Bob Smith, such as the example provided by UA Insider on Flyertalk, to become Robert Smith (if Robert is their legal name).

As I’m mid-trip, the only thing I worry about having made my selection is whether my current travel as Darren K. Booth will credit properly to my “new” MileagePlus account bearing my full middle name. In retrospect, perhaps I should’ve waited to make the change until after this trip since the language in the screen capture above reads, “To ensure that you receive mileage credit and other MileagePlus benefits, the name on your MileagePlus account must exactly match your travel documentation.” But I think I recall the middle name vs. middle initial not being part of “exact” in the past. I dunno, fingers crossed.

Others on the Flyertalk thread are bringing up additional concerns, such as the impact to PreCheck, use of a suffix and being presented with three options to choose from, two of which are identical (?!).

Hopefully UA Insider will answer some of those questions and update the post.

Related posts:

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United’s Premier Accelerator Rates Have Dropped… But Still Pricey

United to Prioritize Meals Again for 1Ks

I never really paid attention to United’s Award and Premier Accelerator program until just recently. If you’re not familiar with it, the program allows you to purchase redeemable MileagePlus miles with the option to add Premier Accelerator giving you an equivalent amount of Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs).

The offer appears on each of your ticketed reservations on United.com and is also displayed during the check-in process. Since my mileage balance is always healthy and I haven’t needed to worry about hitting my desired elite level in previous years, I’ve always passed on the offers not paying much attention to them.

I may be changing up my travel this year and in the past month I started looking more closely at the PQM offers and reading up on them a bit on Flyertalk. It appears the pricing fluctuates quite frequently with lower rates typically offered at the beginning of each year and prior to hitting a new elite level.

Here’s an offer I received last week for an upcoming reservation:

The $1,260 displayed would provide 60,000 redeemable miles. At 2.1 cents-per-mile (CPM), that’s actually not a terrible rate when compared to purchasing miles outright using the Buy Miles program. It would cost me $2,257.60 to get 60k miles there. And 2.1 CPM ends up being about double the rate I’d earn redeemable miles on a normal mileage run. But I’d rather just fly and earn miles the “fun” way, so I probably wouldn’t ever buy miles under this program. It’s an option to consider, though, instead of Buy Miles if you’re looking to top-off your account.

But more glaring in that offer is the rate for Premier Accelerator. Wow! Only an additional $15,000 to get 60k PQMs?! Premier Accelerator isn’t separate from Award Accelerator, so you’d have to buy both to get the PQMs. At a total of $16,260, that’d be 27.1 CPM for 60k PQMs. Waaaay out of my threshold of tolerance.

Today, though, I logged in to find the following offer on the same reservation:

The price for Premier Accelerator dropped by nearly $10,000 to an all-in level of 10.6 CPM to buy 60k PQMs. That’s still pricey, but it dropped significantly. And it’s still well more than I’d probably ever pay if I had several thousand dollars just sitting around with no other purpose. This rate, however, seems to be the lowest CPM United has gone as of recently for purchasing PQMs.

As an elite, the mileage amounts offered (usually two options) are generally a specific number rounded off to the thousand and based somewhat on the total amount of miles flown on the reservation in question. Non-elites, I’ve read on Flyertalk, seem to get offers either doubling or tripling the miles flown on the corresponding reservation. And it appears people have been successful in booking a refundable ticket, buying the Premier Accelerator and canceling the reservation getting their money back for the ticket and keeping the PQMs. That’s something to consider if you’re in a bind for “cheaper” redeemable miles and PQMs.

Would you or have you purchased Award and Premier Accelerator?

[Edited 5/21/13: Visit my Mileage & Point Earning Credit Card page for current offer details as the below information may no longer be valid.]

I visited a friend last week who doesn’t fly a huge amount each year and he asked me what I thought about United’s Mileage Plus Explorer credit card. United is aggressively promoting the card (and yes… I’m featuring it here now, too), but he wondered if he should hold off applying for the current offer he saw to wait for a better one.

First, I had him log in to his MileagePlus account and then click on the Chase MileagePlus Explorer credit card offer on United’s website. It often will yield a higher bonus mile offer for new applicants than the one promoted by United elsewhere (onboard, in the United Club, airport kiosks, etc).

After he did this, it directed him to the current bonus offer of 30,000 miles – actually 35,000 miles by adding a second cardholder to the account and making a purchase. Many have reported success in getting a 50,000-mile offer this way (as well as a statement credit), but sadly he didn’t. And the links I had previously for the 50k offer all seem to have expired (redirect to the 30k offer). My login only gives the United Club card as I already have a former iteration of the Explorer card. There are reports, though, that once you apply for the current offer, you can contact Chase and ask for the upgraded 50k offer.

The offer of 30,000 bonus miles is as follows:

• 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in the first three months
• 5,000 additional bonus miles after adding an authorized user and making a purchase on that card during the first three months as a cardmember
• 10,000 bonus miles each calendar year you spend $25,000 on the card
• $0 introductory annual fee, $95 thereafter

And the benefits the card carries are as follows:

• Free checked bag for the primary cardholder and one companion on the same reservation so long as the ticket was purchased on the card
• Priority boarding for the cardholder and companions on the same reservation, which I believe is Boarding Group 4 right behind Premiers
• Two United Club passes every calendar year
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on United tickets purchased with United directly
• Earn 1 mile per $1 spent elsewhere
• Earn unlimited miles on the card, which never expire so long as you’re a cardmember
• Other travel perks including hotel room upgrades and car rental protection

He’s primarily a domestic flier, which is good, because this card does charge foreign transaction fees. And the Mileage Plus Club Card didn’t interest him as he doesn’t fly enough to warrant the hefty annual fee after the first year, feeling the two club passes with this card are fine for him. And his flying is normally spread out on Delta, United and US Airways.

I told him the next time this card might see a better offer is at the turn of the year, as Chase seems to make (mostly) quarterly tweaks to their card offers.

So is it a good deal? It really depends on your flying pattern, but for my friend, it does pay off having the card and “buying” the benefits of Premier Silver status, effectively. He decided to apply for the card as the bonus miles will push him over the miles he needs for an international business class ticket. And I’ll be helping him plan it on a Star Alliance carrier (he didn’t know he could use United miles this way!)

Visit my Mileage & Point Earning Credit Card page for other airline and hotel programs offering bonuses.

United has been allowing the extension of expiring Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades (at your request) during the past several months. And I had one of each expiring tomorrow that were extended through December 31, 2012.

My call to the MileagePlus Service Center took less than a minute and after providing my PIN, they immediately showed extended on United’s website.

(Side note: I’ve found the agents staffing the South Dakota service center particularly pleasant and engaging over the years, always thanking me for my business. This agent simply answered, “MileagePlus” and after I asked for an extension, 20 seconds of silence ended with, “What’s your PIN?” Another 15 seconds passed and the agent simply said, “Okay, they’re extended through 12/31/12. Is there anything else I can help you with?” While there’s nothing wrong with how the call went, it was quite a change from all of my previous phone calls directly to MileagePlus. Did I get a former OnePass rep?)

Anyway, there are reports on Flyertalk that some people haven’t had as easy of a time getting their upgrades extended. Member ULMFlyer posted:

Just called the GS line to extend a GPU that expires today. Agent put me on a conference call with the MP desk. And the MP desk told me they can’t extend my GPU until December because I am an original OnePass member and the system only allows them to extend GPUs from original MP members. WHT?? Is this info true and I didn’t see it upthread?

After another member advised to ask to speak to a MP Supervisor, ULMFlyer came back with:

Got the same spiel from a supervisor. Said GPUs originally earned in OnePass accounts cannot be extended by the system. Mentioned your case and was told it must’ve been because you must also have had an MP account that was merged with your OnePass. Whatever, this is too much trouble for a GPU. I have neither the patience nor the time to deal with this company anymore. Thanks to FT, I’ve got 16 SWUs with AA.

And Flyertalker g_leyser had a completely different experience:

I have 2 more GPUs expiring in November. I called MP to get them extended one month to 12/12. Agent told me I can only extend them during the month they expire, so I have to call back on November 1st. I was in no mood to argue. I’ll just call back.

Anyone else have issues, or were your extensions as easy as mine? As always, often the tried and true method for success is to simply hang up and call back.