United just made lap infant awards a whole lot cheaper
Lap infant fees can vary drastically by airline and route. The fees for lap children traveling with adults on award tickets can also vary from paid fares. While the fee can be as low as just the taxes and fees, they can sometimes cost upwards of 10% of the adult fare.
Well, good news: United has just significantly reduced lap infant fares for international awards. As reported by Live and Lets Fly, United has quietly changed its ticketing policies so that lap infants are charged a reasonable, flat rate on international MileagePlus awards, as opposed to a percentage of the adult's fare.
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United's updated lap infant policy
United has always allowed lap infants under the age of two to travel for free on domestic awards (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). However, lap infants cost 10% of the current revenue fare for most international award tickets.
Now, United will charge a flat rate for lap infants on international awards. Specifically, infants traveling internationally without a seat are subject to infant fares between $20 and $250 plus taxes, depending on the route and cabin of service. This could add up to some big savings, especially for those frequently booking international one-way or premium cabin awards. For instance, on an international business class award that usually costs $5,000 the lap infant fee would've been $500 — double the new maximum fee.
Related: Flying with a lap infant — here’s what you need to know
There are two exceptions to this, but they're good. Similar to domestic awards, there's no fee for lap infants on awards between the U.S. and Canada, or from Mexico to the U.S. or Canada. Rather, you'll only need to pay the taxes on the ticket, which are usually a nominal amount.
There are no changes for lap infants on paid tickets. Lap infants continue to be free on domestic flights, costing just the taxes on flights between the U.S. and Canada, or from Mexico to the U.S. or Canada and 10% of the adult fare at the time of infant ticketing for all other international destinations.
Related: 8 tips for flying with kids in business class
Bottom line
Overall, these changes make the United MileagePlus program much more appealing for traveling families than many of its competitors. By comparison, American Airlines and Delta continue to charge 10% of the adult fare, plus taxes and fees. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines indefinitely stopped issuing lap infant tickets for international partner award tickets. So, until further notice, Mileage Plan members need to book seats for infants at the standard mileage rate on these bookings.
Still, there are some foreign frequent flyer programs that can be cheaper than the U.S. ones. For instance, Air Canada Aeroplan charges some of the lowest fees for traveling with a lap infant. Infant awards are free for travel wholly within Canada and between Canada and the United States and cost just CA$25 ($19) or 2,500 points for all other itineraries.
Only time will tell whether the other big U.S. carriers follow suit, but for now, kudos to United for quietly making this customer-friendly change.
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- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
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- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
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Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees