United is introducing PlusPoints, which is a new currency system for upgrades that will go into effect on Dec. RPUs can be used on most flights within the U. GPUs, which are the most valuable of upgrades, are usable on all flights, including long-haul international flights. Usable on nearly all paid tickets except Basic Economy. Expire at the end of January two years after they were earned i. Can be redeemed online upon booking and confirmed immediately if there is upgrade space.
If no availability exists, the upgrade will be waitlisted and clear in order of priority. The likelihood of a confirmed upgrade depends on your status, how many passengers paid for upgrades and their status levels , the fare class of your ticket i. PlusPoints is looking to make upgrades easier and more flexible. On Dec. Upon reaching Premier Platinum status, members will receive 40 PlusPoints. This chart from United compares the current system with the new system. In the new system, United defines "short-haul flights" very specifically as flights without United Polaris business, including flights within the U.
It also includes flights between the U. Short-haul flights will be priced at 20 PlusPoints, which is equivalent to the conversion rate of one RPU.
Long-haul flight upgrade pricing will vary by cabin:. Currently, GPUs can be used to upgrade from any paid United economy fare. Now, you will be able to upgrade from these discounted fare classes to Polaris business class for a whopping 80 points on long-haul flights.
Although this is a steep ask, the cost difference between these two types of fares is significant. The new system appears to be a lot more flexible and in some instances cheaper. The infographic below illustrates the versatility that the new system provides:. You can tailor your upgrades in a variety of configurations, including only domestic or international flights. If the domestic waitlists clear and the international segments do not, however, you will be charged the appropriate number of PlusPoints for a domestic upgrade.
Learn more about how this redemption works right here. PlusPoints are easily the most versatile upgrade currency in the industry. Terms Apply. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. Many of the credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.
This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. Zach Honig. Screenshot courtesy of United You can filter flights by departure time, stops, connecting airports, and — most important of all — whether or not an upgrade is confirmable at booking.
Screenshot courtesy of United Redeeming PlusPoints for domestic flights United requires 20 PlusPoints for all domestic and regional upgrades, with one exception.
Screenshot courtesy of United Unfortunately, domestic confirmed upgrade space remains especially difficult to come by, especially on transcon flights. Screenshot courtesy of United Notably, the domestic segments did not add to the PlusPoints total, which came to points for the round-trip: Screenshot courtesy of United If the domestic waitlists clear and the international segments do not, however, you will be charged the appropriate number of PlusPoints for a domestic upgrade.
Screenshot courtesy of United Bottom line PlusPoints are easily the most versatile upgrade currency in the industry. This credit will be the difference between your request price and the price of the upgrades you actually received. You will not be able to turn off the ability to request more upgrades than you have PlusPoints.
Requested upgrades cannot be prioritized and will be confirmed and deducted as upgrade space becomes available on any flight segment within the request. From time to time, our 1K members are able to use additional PlusPoints to receive a confirmed upgrade on select international long-haul flights. Because Skip Waitlist allows customers to confirm an upgrade when upgrades would otherwise be waitlist only, there are important restrictions to remember prior to requesting your upgrade.
These requests must be placed at least 30 days from departure and cannot be changed or refunded. Skip Waitlist upgrades are not transferrable to other flights, and although companions can be sponsored with a Skip Waitlist upgrade, the PlusPoints account holder must always be traveling.
If you have a Skip Waitlist upgrade and you wish to change your itinerary or flights, a new upgrade request will require additional PlusPoints. Skip Waitlist will only be available from time to time on select international long-haul flights.
Availability for Skip Waitlist varies based on a variety of factors, but you must be a 1K member with sufficient PlusPoints and be placing your request at least 30 days from departure. Once you request a Skip Waitlist upgrade on an itinerary, that upgrade is confirmed immediately and cannot be cancelled or moved to another flight. If you change flights, you will not be refunded the PlusPoints for your Skip Waitlist upgrade. No, your upgrades do not affect your Premier status qualification.
However, earning Premier status does affect your PlusPoints. Upon receiving Platinum status, you will receive 40 PlusPoints. Upon receiving 1K status, you will receive additional PlusPoints. After earning 1K status, you can continue flying to earn extra PlusPoints. Despite the global disruption to travel that began in , United is still the only U. United also offers the most generous allotment of upgrades to our highest published level, Premier 1K. All upgrades on partner flights will cost 40 PlusPoints, and your PlusPoints for partner flights will always be deducted at the time of request.
Only PlusPoints are deducted at time of confirmation. Miles and copay for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards are due when an upgrade request is placed. Before PlusPoints were introduced, Platinum members never had an opportunity to use their Premier benefits to upgrade on international long-haul flights. Remember: It is not possible to add segments to an upgrade request after it has been placed.
Additional upgrade requests would require additional PlusPoints. Skip Waitlist allows you to confirm a premium seat when upgrade inventory is closed. This benefit is exclusive to members with 1K status, which is why those members have to be flying to use this benefit. All other PlusPoints upgrades allow the Premier member to sponsor another traveler without being on the reservation.
Because Skip Waitlist allows you to reserve a premium seat when upgrades otherwise would not be available, a Skip Waitlist upgrade cannot be re-confirmed on other flights in the event you wish to change your itinerary, and PlusPoints will not be refunded if you decide to forgo a Skip Waitlist upgrade after placing it.
PlusPoints upgrades can be requested all the way until the cut-off time to check in for your flight. Waitlists for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards will continue to be accepted until 24 hours before departure.
You can request a short-haul upgrade from United Premium Plus to United Business for that amount, or you can earn additional PlusPoints either by reaching 1K status or by continuing to fly after earning 1K status. Yes, PlusPoints expire. After earning PlusPoints with Platinum or 1K status, your PlusPoints will expire at the end of the program year for which your status was earned. All PlusPoints issued in or that expire on or after January 1, , will automatically be extended six months, giving you more time to use them.
All PlusPoints earned from or activity currently expire after January 1, , and will be extended days. This day extension even applies toward PlusPoints previously extended through July 31, , since those PlusPoints expire on or after January 1,
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