MileagePlus

A United Airlines Boeing 777-200

MileagePlus is the frequent flyer program of the US airline United Airlines .

history

The foundation of the program results from the Airline Deregulation Act of the USA of 1978 and the increased competitive pressure that came with it . In response to the establishment of the frequent flyer program AAdvantage the American Airlines on May 1, 1981, a week it was later Mileage Plus started. The programs were very similar in many ways. In contrast to AAdvantage, Mileage Plus participants received a 5,000-mile bonus upon registration, and miles did not expire. In this respect, the plus in the name Mileage Plus should be understood as an allusion to the advantages.

After the merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines in 2011, it has been the new United's frequent flyer program since June 29, 2011 under the name MileagePlus instead of Mileage Plus . On March 3, 2012, the OnePass frequent flyer program of Continental Airlines, as well as the Panamanian Copa Airlines and its subsidiary Copa Airlines Colombia from Colombia , was integrated into MileagePlus.

Participating airlines

In addition to United Airlines , Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia also belong to the frequent flyer program. Depending on the booking class, miles can also be collected and redeemed from Star Alliance partners .

The MileagePlus partner airlines are shown in the table below:

Partner airline	Member of the Star Alliance
Adria Airways	Yes
Aegean Airlines	Yes
Aer Lingus	No
Aeromar	No
Air Canada	Yes
Air China	Yes
Air New Zealand	Yes
All Nippon Airways	Yes
Asiana Airlines	Yes
Austrian Airlines	Yes
Avianca	Yes
Brussels Airlines	Yes
Cape Air	No
Croatia Airlines	Yes
Egypt Air	Yes
Ethiopian Airlines	Yes
EVA Air	Yes
Germanwings	No
Great Lakes Airlines	No
Hawaiian Airlines	No
Island Air	No
LOT Polish Airlines	Yes
Lufthansa	Yes
Scandinavian Airlines	Yes
Shenzhen Airlines	Yes
Singapore Airlines	Yes
South African Airways	Yes
Swiss International Air Lines	Yes
TACA Airlines	Yes
TAM Airlines	Yes
TAP Portugal	Yes
Thai Airways	Yes
Turkish Airlines	Yes
US Airways ( until 2013 )	Yes

Status level

United MileagePlus Premier Platinum and Premier 1K status cards and luggage tags

In order to reward frequent flyers and create incentives for loyalty, United Air Lines introduced various status levels in 1987. After reaching a status level, the participant receives various privileges, such as a higher number of checked baggage items free of charge, the waiver of certain fees, bookings on flights that are otherwise fully booked, the use of a preferred check-in , access to lounges in different categories, faster miles -Collection or free upgrades.

In order to achieve a status level, a certain number of status miles had to be flown within a calendar year by 2020, so-called Premier Qualifying Miles (PQM). Alternatively, the status could also be achieved through a defined number of flight segments, the Premier Qualifying Segments (PQS). From 2014, customers with US residents also had to convert a minimum amount (Premier Qualifying Dollars = PQD) to qualify.

Since 2020, the number of flights completed (Premier Qualifying Flights PQF) and the value of the tickets purchased (offset as Premier Qualifying Points PQP per dollar on the basic tariff) have been used to classify frequent flyer status, the flight distance no longer plays a role . The status can be achieved by a combination of PQF and PQP or by PQP alone, see table below.

Since the merger with Continental Airlines, the names of the status levels are a combination of the names for frequent flyers of the old United and Continental:

Status level	(formerly UA)	(formerly CO)	PQF + PQP	PQP
member	member	member	-	-
Premier Silver	premier	Silver	12 + 4,000	5,000
Premier gold	Premier Executive	gold	24 + 8,000	10,000
Premier Platinum	-	Platinum	36 + 12,000	15,000
Premier 1K	Premier Executive 100K	-	54 + 18,000	24,000
Global Services	Global Services	-	k. A.	k. A.

Premier Silver

Benefits of Premier Silver status include the use of preferred check-in, free upgrades to the Economy Plus booking class on flights with United from 24 hours before departure as well as Star Alliance Silver status and a bonus of 25% on award miles. Silver members are allowed to board the aircraft as group 2 (of 5). This status level corresponds to Star Alliance Silver.

Premier gold

Advantages of the Premier Gold Status include all advantages of the Silver Status, as well as Star Alliance Gold Status and lounge access, as well as a 50% bonus on award miles. Gold members are allowed to board the aircraft as group 1 (of 5). This and all higher status levels correspond to Star Alliance Gold.

Premier Platinum

Advantages of the Premier Platinum Status include all the advantages of the Gold Status, as well as a higher upgrade priority, two regional upgrade vouchers and a bonus of 75% on award miles. Based on the former OnePass program from Continental Airlines, this status level was introduced in 2012. Platinum members are allowed to board the aircraft as group 1 (of 5).

Premier 1K

Advantages of the Premier 1K status include all the advantages of the Platinum status, as well as a higher upgrade priority, six international upgrade vouchers redeemable on flights with United and Lufthansa , two further regional upgrade vouchers and a bonus of 100% on award miles. Another advantage is the free registration for the Global Entry Program. Premier 1K frequent flyers are allowed to board the aircraft during the so-called pre-boarding (preferential boarding), which is otherwise only allowed for Global Services members and generally only for disabled people and the elderly, military personnel and families with small children.

Global Services

The top category Global Services has existed since 2003 as a separate status for United's top-selling frequent flyers. United does not publish any eligibility criteria for GS status , with one exception, see the Million Milers section below. United frequent flyers who can show a combination of a particularly large number of miles traveled on non-discounted premium tickets, particularly distant destinations or particularly high sales, especially through company accounts, are invited by United to join the group of Global Services members (" By invitation only " - by invitation only ) who enjoys special privileges. Special employees are available on the ground for GS members. There is also a limousine service on the apron directly to the aircraft at selected airports. GS frequent flyers are also generally allowed to board the aircraft during so-called pre-boarding (preferential boarding), which at United is generally only allowed for disabled people and the elderly, military personnel and families with small children.

Million milers

With the Million Miler Program , United rewards long-term frequent flyers for their loyalty with lifelong status (including global services ), even if they no longer meet the criteria actually required for the respective status.

accumulated miles	Lifetime status
1 million	Premier gold
2 million	Premier Platinum
3 million	Premier 1K
4 million	Global Services

Trivia

• As the first participant in the MileagePlus program, the American businessman Tom Stuker reached the mark of 10 million flown miles on July 9, 2011 on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago . As part of the frequent flyer program as a million miler (highest regular category: four million miles), he has so far been awarded the unique Titanium status as Global Services frequent flyer for life. To thank United named a Boeing 747 (retired in 2017) and a Boeing 777 after Stuker. In mid-2019, Stuker had accumulated 21 million airline miles on United Airlines.
• The first such customer loyalty program was launched in 1979 by Texas International Airlines .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A History of US Airline Deregulation (English) accessed on September 25, 2013
2. ↑ A History of loyalty programs ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on September 26, 2013 
3. ↑ Mileage Plus: Loyalty program for the new United in 2012 (English) accessed on September 26, 2013
4. ↑ Sudden Big Changes to Mileage Plus airline partner mileage accrual (English). Retrieved September 26, 2013
5. ↑ Airline Partners and Global Alliances (English), accessed on September 26, 2013
6. ↑ Premier Access (English) accessed on September 26, 2013
7. ↑ High Flyers ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on September 26, 2013 
8. ↑ United Adding New Revenue Requirements: Premier Qualifying Dollars (English), accessed on September 26, 2013
9. ↑ Premier Status united.com, accessed March 6, 2020
10. ↑ Premier Benefits and More , accessed September 26, 2013.
11. ↑ United adds spending threshold to elite-status qualifying , accessed September 26, 2013.
12. ^ The New York Times - A Flier Status Elite Enough to Eclipse Mere Platinum (English), accessed May 10, 2005
13. ↑ wsj.com - Inside United's Secret Club for Top Fliers (English), accessed on August 22, 2013
14. ^ United.com - Million Miler program (English). Retrieved August 19, 2015
15. ↑ United Airlines Frequent Flyer Hits 10 Million (English) accessed September 26, 2013
16. ↑ Traveler flies high with 10 million miles cnn.com, July 12, 2012
17. ↑ The 21-million-mile man: Tom Stuker is the world's most frequent flyer nzherald.co.nz, August 6, 2019
18. ↑ Loyalty Programs, Frequency Programs, and Cheese ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on September 26, 2013