United latest carrier to revamp loyalty program
Following Delta Air Lines’ move to a new loyalty program based on dollars spent, United Airlines is the next major carrier to follow suit.
A revamp of United’s MileagePlus program will take effect March 1 and elite-level members will earn between 7 and 11 miles for every dollar spent on air fares, not including taxes, up to a maximum of 75,000 miles per ticket.
Basic level MileagePlus members will earn 5 miles per dollar spent.
The change will better reward frequent flying elite members but is less so for customers who fly occasionally on bargain fares.
The new rules will apply to most tickets for United and United Express flights and also for fares United sells on partner airlines.
According to Thomas O’Toole, United senior vice president of marketing and loyalty, the policy change will "more directly recognize the value of our members when they fly United."
Like all the major players in the airline industry, United is keen to hang on to higher spending frequent flyers, especially business travelers who tend to buy full fare tickets.
Aside from Delta, Virgin America, JetBlue, and Southwest have overhauled their programs in recent years to better reward and to attract higher spending travelers.
United said levels for redeeming miles for reward flights will remain the same but revealed other ways miles can be used.
From next year miles can be used to offset added fees for United Economy Plus seats with extra legroom and checked baggage.
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