United's Changing Award Booking Process and Fees on October 6
United continues to offer one of the most generous frequent flyer programs when it comes to flexibility, offering stopovers and open jaws on round-trip awards. I've taken advantage of this generosity on numerous occasions, but unfortunately there are some major changes on the horizon. As of October 6, the airline is switching up the process for booking multi-stop itineraries, and it'll be adjusting award fees as well.
Update: We updated this post to include an example of a stopover that can be booked now but won't be available beginning October 6.
So what's changing, exactly? Essentially, the current process of adding stopovers and open jaws to a round-trip award will be no more. Instead, each "trip" will be priced individually, as multiple one-way flights combined into a single itinerary. Fortunately, UA is allowing customers to still add on a free stopover, as something the airline is calling an "Excursionist Perk."
Rather than try to explain what that means, I'll show you a couple of examples, courtesy of United.
Here's a round-trip award to Paris with a stopover in London, booked now, and after October 6:
As you can see, the stopover is still free, and you can book an open jaw as well — say, Chicago to London, London to Paris and Brussels to Newark — but you wouldn't be able to add a free stop in the US upon your return, as you can do now:
This perk also extends to more complicated itineraries:
United is positioning this change as an improvement — which it largely is for most customers who may not be familiar with the airline's current award routing rules. As part of this change, United is publicizing the stopover perk, which will in turn make MileagePlus more valuable for the majority of members — just not you and me. Additionally, the airline says that customers will now be able to book more complicated itineraries online, freeing up agents for other calls.
Here's how United explains the Excursionist Perk:
The Excursionist Perk is a free one-way award within select multi-city itineraries. Members who book an itinerary with three or more one-way awards will be eligible to receive one of those one-way awards for free, if it meets all of these conditions:
- The Excursionist Perk cannot be in the MileagePlus defined region where your travel originates. (For example, if your journey begins in North America, you will only receive the Excursionist Perk if travel is within a region outside of North America.)
- Travel must end in the same MileagePlus defined region where travel originates.
- The origin and destination of the Excursionist Perk is within a single MileagePlus defined region.
- The cabin of service and award type of the free one-way award is the same or lower than the one-way award preceding it.
- If two or more one-way awards qualify for this benefit, only the first occurrence will be free.
As part of this change, United is eliminating around-the-world awards.
And, unfortunately, with this change comes a new fee structure. Here's how it breaks down:
By comparison, here's the current fee structure:
Right off the bat, you'll notice that Premier Platinum members are no longer grouped in with 1K and Global Services members — they now have their own tier. Award changes and cancelations will continue to be free for 1Ks and above, but Platinum members will pay $50 when making a change within 60 days of departure. Silver and Gold members will be paying more in most cases as well, though Silver elites will pay $100 to redeposit an award within 60 days of departure, vs. the $125 redeposit fee they'll pay now. General members will pay less to redeposit an award, but more to make some changes.
Additionally, while higher fees currently kick in when changes are made within 20 days of departure, they'll now be due when you make changes to an award within 60 days of your flight. As the airline explains:
A reduced fee is applied for members making changes to awards 61 or more days prior to original departure date instead of 21 days to encourage members to maintain their travel plans closer to departure. When a customer changes or cancels a ticket closer to departure date, it reduces the chance for that seat to be used by another customer.
Note that awards booked before October 6 will be honored as ticketed, so the current rules will apply across the board, including when it comes to change fees. So if you don't like these new changes, be sure to ticket your award flights by October 5! The airline has many other answers to your questions in an FAQ section on the page outlining these new procedures.
What do you think of these United MileagePlus changes?
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
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You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.