Today United announced some major changes to earning MileagePlus elite status as of 2023. There’s another change that was just revealed, which I wanted to cover in a separate post.
In this post:
United no longer has award change & redeposit fees
Effective immediately, United MileagePlus has eliminated redeposit fees on MileagePlus award tickets. This means that regardless of your elite status, you can now speculatively lock in award tickets, and then redeposit them at no cost. This applies regardless of whether you’re originating with the United States or abroad.
While United was the first US airline to eliminate change fees on revenue tickets after the start of the pandemic, the airline wasn’t quite as generous with MileagePlus awards. Prior to this latest change, United had a rather complicated policy, based on whether it was 31 or more days before departure, and based on whether travel originated in the United States or not.
Up until now, the airline has allowed award ticket changes at no cost, though award ticket redeposits have cost up to $125 when done within 30 days of departure. There was a trick to get this waived by moving the itinerary further into the future, but that was ultimately an unnecessarily hassle.
United is catching up with American & Delta here
United is very much playing catch up with American and Delta here:
- American AAdvantage eliminated award change and redeposit fees in November 2020; that was exciting, since AAdvantage is the only one of the “big three” US airline frequent flyer programs that actually has industry-leading award redemption rates in some regions
- Delta SkyMiles doesn’t charge award ticket change and redeposit fees for tickets originating in North America, except for basic economy tickets; since SkyMiles is more or less a revenue-based frequent flyer program at this point, the policy between cash and award tickets matches, though it’s unfortunate that these fees aren’t waived when originating outside of North America
I’ve found the ability to redeem miles without change fees to be a game-changer, especially with how hard award availability can be to come by. It’s nice to be able to lock in something at the time of booking, and then change it as the departure date approaches.
In the case of United MileagePlus, I’d say this is an especially exciting change, since the two best Star Alliance programs for award redemptions (Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles) do charge fees for award ticket redeposits. This could be a reason to book through United, even if award fees are higher.
Bottom line
United MileagePlus has eliminated all award change and redeposit fees. While the airline eliminated award change fees in 2020, redeposits within 30 days of departure have cost up to $125 per passenger. I’m happy to see this change, as it means that the biggest frequent flyer programs in the United States all no longer have award redeposit fees, at least under most circumstances.
What do you make of this MileagePlus change?
Is there a cap on the number of miles UAL can charge if you change the return ticket on a mileage plus award ticket? Do you have the option to pay an additional fee instead of being assessed additional miles? If so, is there a cap on the fee? Thank you! (trying to get thru to UAL on the phone is hopeless)
Very informative article. Does anyone know what the absolute limit is with United to cancel an award ticket and redeposit miles with no fee? I am travelling to Europe in a few days and there is a possibility that I am not allowed to fly (problem with the passport). if that were the case, could I still redeposit the miles merely two or three hours before the flight or will that be considered a "no show" and I will be charged the $125 fee? Thanks a lot!
Does this mean that United also fully refunds the taxes and fees paid upon booking an award ticket if cancelled?
On United's website, it says for flights beginning Jan 2023. Not clear, confused.
So Southwest no longer has the advantage it once had for domestic flights when it came to spec or backup bookings with points. Any airline will now do... If I think a flight might be over and they will need vols I book a back up itinerary on another airline just behind it so I can take the bump money and run, even if the flight offered is the the next day!
It makes sense for revenue tickets, but award tickets often only have a couple seats available. So if someone snags them many months out, then cancels at the last minute, it deprives others of the opportunity to book those.
This was particularly problematic when you have people with millions of miles book many speculative tickets
First, this is definitely a great change as these sorts of fees are quite annoying and feel like extortion (vs. fees for added value).
However, I wish United would think about other ways to enhance and differentiate their loyalty tiers as they remove fees that previously provided differentiation.
For example, the lack of a 24-hour / same-day change fee for 1K used to be a huge perk as I frequently switched flights the day before...
First, this is definitely a great change as these sorts of fees are quite annoying and feel like extortion (vs. fees for added value).
However, I wish United would think about other ways to enhance and differentiate their loyalty tiers as they remove fees that previously provided differentiation.
For example, the lack of a 24-hour / same-day change fee for 1K used to be a huge perk as I frequently switched flights the day before or day of departure. Once they eliminated the fee and expanded this perk, I now almost never am able to take advantage of it because if there was any space available, someone else had potentially already scooped it up. Certainly higher loads etc. have also contributed but I noticed an immediate degradation in availability when the policy changed.
Instead they are removing differentiation between status levels and increasing the hurdles to maintain them with no added benefits.
The main differentiation between status levels at this point feels like the number of minutes you wait on hold for a customer service rep...
I'm Global Services today but will drop to 1K next year and I'm basically expecting it to feel like Silver with pre-boarding privileges..
I don't know about globally, but the 30 day penalty window for mile redeposit on domestic travel has definitely been waived for me for the last year, despite their stated policy.
I think Delta also waives redeposit fees for awards that originate in Mexico, no? (North America). I have a paste of a Twitter message that confirms that, but am now not sure if I was given correct info. Thanks Ben
I'm unclear whether the changes at United will apply to award travel originating outside the USA. If so, does it apply to both changes and redeposits?
@ Sean M. -- Yep, it applies globally to changes and redeposits.
Lucky Delta definitely states they charge these fees (not sure if they actually do):
In addition to eliminating change fees for tickets originating in the United States and Canada to anywhere in the world,* we have also eliminated the redeposit fee for Award Tickets and mileage upgrades. There are no change fees for travel within the U.S. (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), international travel originating in the U.S. and Canada and...
Lucky Delta definitely states they charge these fees (not sure if they actually do):
In addition to eliminating change fees for tickets originating in the United States and Canada to anywhere in the world,* we have also eliminated the redeposit fee for Award Tickets and mileage upgrades. There are no change fees for travel within the U.S. (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), international travel originating in the U.S. and Canada and travel between the Caribbean and the U.S..* You may redeposit miles any time prior to departure. A redeposit fee of $150 will still apply for Award Tickets and mileage upgrades for travel originating outside of North America.
@ mdande7 -- Good catch, thanks, I should have clarified that. Post updated now.
I hope this is for all tickets, not just those originating in the US. I often redeem miles internationally and this exception has been annoying and confusing.
That said, at least United made it somewhat transparent... Delta exempts international tickets from free change/redeposit, but nowhere on their website do they actually list what the fee would be in these cases...
Last time I checked - a couple of weeks ago - Delta still charges $150 for miles redeposit fee for tickets originating outside of the US. This was listed somewhere on their website after some digging.
@ Ryan -- Indeed, unlike with Delta, this applies globally.
Does this also apply to partner airline awards booked on United? For instance, if I book an award in economy on ANA until a business class seat is available, can I then cancel my award economy ticket on ANA if/when a business award opens up?