United MileagePlus Downgrades Million Miler Companion Benefit

To be fair, most MM companions (and family in general) of those spending 20k plus on United aren't even giving United much actual business since they have such a surplus of miles.

Dirty pool on United's part, probably prompted by the 'companion' gamers / exploiters. They should have limited companions to spouse, domestic partner and/or verified household member. Not coworker with a same address.

Ruined a nice 'thanks' benefit for keeping going with spend on United.

I see two possible motivations,

1) Cull the herd of 'free rider' companions who get the benny's of higher status of the primary flyer, at the expense of the other lower or equal status road warriors. In my case, I'm a 2M and my wife is 1M and we are both 1K. So we gave our companion benefits to our children (as is allowed under the current rules as they're under 18). So they have the possibility to take away opportunities for real flyers. Although to be honest, we never get upgraded anyway.

2) I also wonder if this is a way to incent 1M flyers to get back in the plane and fly United. On FlyerTalk, you see lots of people who achieve the 1M threshold and then become free agents. If you can get the benefits at 2M, you might be inclined to fly United more.

I’m a UA MM. As described above, I’m a free agent after achieving it. My wife gets Gold benefits. I think this is a decent policy. United has WAY too many elites. It’s a joke to be 70th on the upgrade list. I sit in PE with 1ks and neither of us have a chance at an upgrade.

My home base is SAN so I’m Gold on Alaska because of all the non stops out of SAN. I would still be flying United but prefer direct over connect. We enjoy our Gold when we choose United but this policy doesn’t really affect me even as a MM.

Will Companions still get benefits of the Elite if on the same PNR? Will the companion still follow the member on the upgrade list and get same benefits while flying?

That's something every premier gets as a benefit for companions on the same PNR. Million miler not needed for that.

Yeah I wonder why United never cracked down on that, there's not THAT many million milers that it would be totally unfeasable.

This is a loss to dedicated frequent fliers. I lloved this benefit for my spouse to achieve status. We will be using other airlines a bit more now. United’s loss.

THIS is the content we’re here for!

This feels more like closing a loophole than a real devaluation. The old policy is more generous than you’d expect from the terms on face, unless you dig into the details.

UA Gold is already a great status. Plat is only useful for IN access. 1K is meaningless without the PlusPoints

Yeah UA 1MM here. I think it’s a bit hyperbolic to call it a massive devaluation. My wife having Star Alliance Gold is very helpful. Especially as a family of 4 that are often on mix and match PNRs. Overall, it’s fine. Feels more like an adjustment/correction. YMMV.

I can't recall the details of how it works, but I've read where a long line of folks can daisy chain off of someone who is a 1MM and at a Global Service level, and the entire chain then gets GS status. That could have been a motivation for UA to make this change.

People have been saying this for years, every time there is some sort of devaluation. Truth of the matter is you won't be missed. The planes are just as full as they have ever been, record numbers of people flying at times. It's all part of their calculus.

As a UA MM and GS, this is devaluation of the program full stop for a GS. 1K and GS are earned by your butt in a seat & money spent with the airline appreciating you are flying and spending money buying tickets. Not like AA where you can buy groceries and Pilates classes to earn EP without stepping foot on an aircraft making it impossible to get an upgrade as a ACTUAL FLYING EP. Unfortunately, UA is in devalue mode and it will be a race to the bottom.

To earn GS you spend a lot of time on an airplane away from your travel companion, so the ability of them to join you later on a business trip you're on knowing they'll be well taken care of as GS whilst travelling has now vanished as well as their ability yo enter the UA Club as GS when they are flying alone.

I've only got a couple more years of corporate flying as a GS so this devaluation will start after I retire so, until then my travel companion will be enjoying this benefit. Although very sad for all other GS MM's that have a ways to go to get to 2M or more...

Ik here for more than 10 years and I've never got IN access. Can you use those damn PlusPoints (I have over 700 which I lose every year) to buy IN access? That would be great! Genuine question that I don't want to wait 20 minutes on the phone to get answered. Thanks.

When I reached 2M several years ago, I received a lifetime United Club membership. I wonder how long that will be "lifetime."

#1-Gold gets us into Star Alliance lounges worldwide. That's our most valued benefit.
#2-I am Gold 100K with Alaska, and heading toward 1MM there. This change by United will make me fly more on American and Alaska flights domestically. But I still prefer *A over OW lounges internationally.

It's amazing how much GS has been devalued surgically. The lack of 'PN' space is apalling, among other things.

How many did (ab)use the system like this? Surely some, but is it meaningful looking at the big picture?

Really unhappy about this change. My wife and I are both Million Milers, she is also a 1K and I share that 1K status. As a MM I already have Gold status for life, so now being her companiion is of absolutely no value to me, and I can't share my status because we are the only ones in the household. I would like to see an exception where both spouses are Million Milers.

Could the author please explain the change more clearly? Reading this article gives me a headache. Please write more clearly next time!