When United Airlines switched over to a miles plus co-pay system this year, they touted it as an enhancement for clients.
One advantage to the new system is that almost all airfares are upgradeable and travelers don’t have to play the buy-an-upgradeable-ticket game and then be stuck back in coach anyway.
Previously, upgrades were done strictly with miles, but the lowest discount fares were not eligible. Now most fares are eligible, but the upgrades require money AND miles.
So far, sounds reasonable. But as with many things, the devil is in the details. What seems simple, is not.
My client simply wanted to go from Chicago to Berlin in late May for seven days and use frequent flier miles to upgrade. The lowest discount coach fares ranged from about $1,500 (nonrefundable) to $1,900 roundtrip, including taxes and fees. The $1,900 fare would have been upgradable last year for 50,000 miles and no money.
These international fares under the new United upgrade system require 40,000 miles roundtrip to upgrade and a co-pay of between $700 and $900. These upgrade fees are tied to the fare class — the lower the fare, the higher the co-pay. (In the winter season to Europe, the co-pay can easily be higher than the fare, even including taxes.)
In my client’s case, a higher coach fare, about $2,700, required only 20,000 miles roundtrip, and no co-pay.
My client had the options of paying $2,400-$2,600 total using twice the miles or $2,700 with half the miles. Plus, the higher fare would appear on his credit card statement as one amount, as opposed to two charges — the ticket price and a miscellaneous United charge for the upgrade.
While it didn’t apply in this case, this higher fare, booked in B, is the type of fare that is often eligible for bonus mile promotions and counts towards “Global Service” (the highest elite status).
In this case, deciding on the $2,700 fare was pretty much a no-brainer, even in a climate of relatively devalued miles. In addition, for those who have said, forget worrying about miles altogether, my client could have PURCHASED a paid business class discount ticket on the same itinerary for only about $3,600.
This new improved upgrade system certainly involves a lot of number vs. miles crunching before being able to make a decision.
When comparing upgrades for European flights, upgrades on domestic flights are a downright bargain. Flights within the continental United States have co-pays topping out at $100 each way, except for flights to Hawaii.
For travelers to the islands, the upgrade co-pay, tops out at $300 each way — frequently higher than the actual fare from the west coast. The Hawaiian co-pay on the lowest fares, $300 each way, has actually been reduced from than the originally announced $500 co-pay. (Apparently frequent fliers complained loudly and often enough that United adjusted the amounts.)
Note: Fares have been rounded in this post for the sake of simplicity, and the number difference won’t be the same in all markets. But if the point of a mileage award is to make travelers feel like they are actually getting an award, then it seems United is missing the point completely.
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Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
