Cool new United feature notifies you if your preferred seat becomes available
United Airlines' mobile app has long been one of the best in the industry, and it's getting even more useful with this new feature.
Beginning Friday, March 22, travelers will be able to sign up for seat notifications and get automatically moved if their preferred seat is not available at the time of booking, as confirmed by a United spokesperson.
When booking (or managing) a flight on the mobile app, you'll be able to request your desired seat while browsing the seat map.
For instance, if you're booking just a few days before departure and only middle seats are left, you can set an alert to be automatically moved to a window or aisle seat if one becomes available.
The app will also allow you to opt into notifications for exit rows and bulkhead (first-row) seats. If your desired seat choice becomes available, the app will automatically reassign your seat and notify you that it processed the seat change.
For example, if you set a seat preference alert three days before your flight, United will start monitoring for your preference, and if it becomes available up to 12 hours before departure and you're next in line, the airline will automatically move you to a new seat and send you a notification about it.
United didn't share how frequently it will check the seat map on your behalf.
Related: Touring United's renovated Chicago headquarters in the Willis Tower
This new app feature will begin rolling out on Friday to a small group of customers, followed in the weeks ahead by a broader rollout to additional flyers. United didn't share which travelers would be in the first tranche of eligible users, but we'll update this story with some firsthand experiences when we get our hands on the feature.
For United travelers, this is a nifty new (and free) service that should incentivize more downloads and engagement with the app. United says that 3 million flyers use its app on a daily basis.
It's also the latest feature that United has debuted to simplify the digital travel experience, building on initiatives such as Live Activities on the latest iPhone devices and a new all-in-one rebooking center for delays and cancellations.
As part of the news, United has become the first and only U.S. airline to offer a seat preference feature.
For those booking tickets on other airlines, there are several third-party tools that can monitor your seat assignment and notify you if better seats become available. This includes ExpertFlyer, which allows you to set seat alerts on most major airlines and sends email and text notifications when seats open up. (ExpertFlyer is owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures.)
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month