• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  United Airlines  >  United Perks Plus Changes Offers Peek Behind Curtain
United Airlines

United Perks Plus Changes Offers Peek Behind Curtain

Kyle Stewart Posted onJune 6, 2021September 12, 2021 7 Comments
My dear readers, some links on this site pay us referral fees for sending business and sales. We value your time and money and will not waste it. For our complete advertising policy, click here. The content on this page is not provided by any companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone.

United’s Perks Plus, the airline’s business incentive program, made changes to its redemptions. Those changes give us a rare glimpse behind the curtain of United Airlines’ current performance.


If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.


If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.

United Perks Plus

United, like Delta, American, and Southwest Airlines have business incentive programs that run parrallel to their standard loyalty programs. This is to give companies a reason to book those carriers as a platform decision rather thann each traveling deciding on their own.

The points work differently and are valued inndependently of the standard loyalty program both for earning and redeeming points. United and Delta have extremely inflated points earnings and requirements while American is extremely deflated. For example, American’s Business Extra program requires just 4,400 for a coach award to Europe while United Perks Plus requires 175,000.

These programs are incredibly difficult to understand. To underscore that point, here is the United Perks Plus earning chart for customers in North America.

United Perks Plus complicated earning structure

Reward Chart Changes

Unlike most changes to award charts lately, there is great news in these switches with lots of reductions, some of them substantial. At the lowest levels, however, is where prices have increased the most.

North America (excluding Hawaii) domestically, Canada and to the Caribbean

Perks Plus Domestic and caribbean

North America to Hawaii

Perks Plus Changes Hawaii

North America to Europe

Perks Plus Changes North America to Europe

North America to South America/Micronesia

Perks Plus Changes North America to South America

North America to Asia, India, the Middle East, and Africa

Perks Plus Changes North America to Africa Asia India and Middle East

 United Perks Plus Business Products

These programs also allows for non-ticket redemption and this may spell out exactly what is taking place for United’s business changes most clearly. It’s really hard to sell memberships to lounges that aren’t open, and when they remain closed even when travel picks back up, some customers will realize they don’t represent as much value as they thought. The carrier also competes with itself with Polaris lounges, then faces Priority Pass, American Express, and soon Capital One and Chase.

Perks Plus Changes Business Products

What It Tells Us

Applying some logic, we have to look at the whole of the new Perks Plus award chart to gather intel about the United business changes. Lots of increases at the entry-level tiers with reductions in premium awards point us in a few directions.

More Infrequent Flyers Are Traveling

Every United Mileage Plus member got a headstart this year toward earning United Premier status. For example, all Premier 1K members started the year with a deposit of 3,000 PQPs, enough for silver status (plus eight segments).

United Premier Qualifying Status 2021

If the most frequent flyers (usually flying for business) are already Silver and may not qualify above that level for the year, you can add a lot to the ranks. Lower tiers that received a less substantial headstart would need just a few flights – especially at current prices – to qualify for the level.

Additionally, those who have been cooped up for the year are taking back to the skies but in years past, they might not have qualified for Silver or Gold status due to revenue requirements. With those reduced and a little headstart plus much higher fares,  now the bottom ranks have swelled tremendously. This causes United to disincentivize Perks Plus clients from redeeming for Silver status by increasing the price of redemption.

Premium Products Are Too Expensive, Plentiful

Flying a 777-300ER with 60 seats in Polaris business class might have been too few when Apple was buying nearly as many seats per day from San Francisco to Shanghai prior to the pandemic. Now, however, the carrier simply can’t fill them. The airline is avoiding discounting these seats to the general public (despite it being named as the key advantage of a dynamic award chart) but is acknowledging the surplus of inventory well into the future to their business clients and most frequent flyers.

Oscar Munoz (now retired), Scott Kirby and the rest of the executive team on Wacker Dr. in United’s Chicago headquarters are wise to avoid slashing prices on Polaris at the moment. There’s no demand and when it comes back, the airline doesn’t want to show just how low they will go to fill seats. That’s a fair strategy. But they aren’t selling many of those seats now, and how could they? The airline operates few premium routes internationally at the moment.

Elite Ranks

At the lower end of the elite structure, the carrier is flooded with Silver and seeing an uptick in Gold members. Thus, United can charge a premium of up to 50% of last year’s redemption for the status. However, there’s now a discount on Premier Platinum Status (Premier 1K status is not available through the program.) The most frequent flyers for United (and I suspect others too) are just barely returning to the skies.

Many upper-tier elites have likely already qualified (thanks to expedited elite status premier qualifying gifted points) swelling the lower tiers. However, there simply isn’t enough business travel to get them back on track for the rest of the year. That’s led to limited upper-tier elites, and this is reflected in the lower totals.

This is also demonstrated in the reduced cost for drink tickets (unavailable on 800-mile flights and shorter anyway) lounge passes and membership.

What It Means For The Future

United continues to struggle to get business clients back onto airplanes but the leisure market is clearly keeping the airline busy. The changes United Perks Plus outlined suggest that some sort of new approach to the United Club will have to take place. Personally, I love the American Express Centurion lounges but would pick a Polaris lounge over any of them. However, I would pick Frontera Grill, or an airport Chili’s instead of spending any points or money at a United Club. I suspect I am not alone and the data supports this.

As much as all of the carriers would like to pretend that lowered requirements will get business flyers back in the air and that they will hold their ground on elite qualifications, this adds even further doubt. They simply won’t allow a 100,000 mile/year flyer to become a free agent.

This also suggests that when international flights come back for leisure travelers, business class seats should be available for awards with more frequency since they aren’t selling the seats.

Conclusion

United Perks Plus gave us a brief glimpse and plenty of hints as to the United business changes in 2021. I look forward to returning to the skies, but hopefully, now in a comfy seat at the front with plenty of availability.

What do you think? What do these changes indicate to you? 

Previous Article Airline Alcohol Ban Won’t Stop Incidents
Next Article IATA Boss Willie Walsh Blasts EU Ban On Belarus Flights

About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

Related Posts

  • American Airlines Snitch

    Overheard: American Airlines Flight Attendant Sounds Off On Management

    June 26, 2022
  • Avianca Brasil Star Alliance

    Avianca (Abra) Setting Pace In South America

    May 29, 2022
  • airdrop planes

    AirDropping Pornography On Planes Could Become A Big Issue

    May 8, 2022

7 Comments

  1. Levy Flight Reply
    June 6, 2021 at 3:36 pm

    As an owner of a business that is based on international travel, UA just make life far to complicated to be worth the time. There always seems to be trap door to undercut the product being offered. They need to focus on simplicity, transparency and quality.

  2. david Reply
    June 6, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I’ve flown Polaris on a paid ticket several times this year. The only thing going for it is the seat, which is admittedly nice. But service and service offerings suck. You’d be a fool to pay a premium for that product now.

    • Kyle Stewart Reply
      June 6, 2021 at 4:26 pm

      @david – I actually prefer the American/CX 777-300ER seat for space over the Polaris product. But it’s the lounges that I was referring to. Any disagreement on Polaris’ lounge superiority will be met with deep skepticism and unambiguous disgust.

  3. Peter Callaghan Reply
    June 6, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    No argument here, Polaris lounges are incredible. That said, they are not worth squat when they are closed!

  4. UA-NYC Reply
    June 6, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    UA can’t even be bothered to open lounges outside of the hubs, let alone Polaris

  5. ffi Reply
    June 6, 2021 at 8:30 pm

    Keeping business saver inventory low even close to departure tells us that they would rather fly empty than give loyal fliers (and spenders) any awards to use up their miles.
    This also means that as travel returns, they will do their best to charge high prices for awards.
    Basically tells everyone – MileagePlus is just a mechanism for hoodwinking fools to play their Ponzi game

    Anybody trying to keep flyers loyal would try to give away as many seats close to departure as possible for saver awards and gradually lessen the seats as planes fill in a few months when business travel resumes
    Even domestic award prices are high

  6. AlliW Reply
    June 7, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    Polaris Lounges are run by 3rd party company and unfortunately, remain CLOSED w/ no promised timing to reopen. .

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • Amtrak Southwest Chief Train Derails
    BREAKING: Amtrak Train Derails Near Kansas City June 27, 2022
  • Lufthansa A380 Los Angeles
    Lufthansa Announces Return Of Airbus A380! June 27, 2022
  • Summer Of Love: Irate Passenger Shoves Girlfriend, Attacks Airport Staff June 27, 2022
  • Lemon And Lime Garnishes Return To United Airlines June 27, 2022

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Delta Korean Air First Class Mistake Fare
    Delta Considers $2,700 A Mistake Fare… June 18, 2022
  • Delta Pilots Open Letter
    Delta Air Lines Pilots Offer Direct Appeal To Customers June 18, 2022
  • United Airlines Honolulu Diversion
    Update: United Airlines 787-9 Diverts To Honolulu Due To Disruptive Passenger June 16, 2022
  • Flaunting Woman Struts Up and Down The Aisle On My Austrian Flight June 9, 2022

Archives

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Posting....