United makes it easier to upgrade your Ethiopian Airlines flight
United Airlines is using the downtime during the coronavirus to make a bunch of adjustments to its MileagePlus program.
We've seen the carrier extend elite status, remove its partner award chart, make it harder to qualify for status through Star Alliance flights and raise the cost of such awards across the board.
Today, however, the carrier is back with a (small) positive update.
As a member of Star Alliance, United has enabled us to redeem United miles for one-cabin upgrades on many Star Alliance partners. Though there have always been a bunch of terms and conditions associated with these upgrades, one of the most limiting was that you could only process upgrades on All Nippon Airways and Ethiopian Airlines within eight weeks of departure.
For more travel tips and news, sign up for our daily newsletter
No matter how much availability there was more than eight weeks before departure, you couldn’t use your United miles to lock it in.
What's changing
As of July 14, that’s now changing. United now allows upgrade requests on Ethiopian-operated flights between 330 days and 24 hours prior to departure. United’s website has been updated to reflect this policy update.
Though availability is capacity controlled, you now have a much longer window through which to find the space. Pro tip: Use ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) to set an alert.
Related: The best websites for searching Star Alliance award availability
In and of itself, this is great news. However, many of the remaining terms and conditions are still quite restrictive.
For one, you can only upgrade expensive economy tickets. Specifically, this includes Y, G, S or B classes of coach tickets — though United could always opt to make this less restrictive in the future. These one-cabin upgrades are offered from coach to business.
In the below example, the cheapest B class round-trip coach ticket from New York to Addis Ababa costs $1,840. (For reference, the cheapest round-trip business-class ticket on these dates is around $4,500.)
If you’re looking to bump to business class using miles, you’d be out 35,000 miles one-way. This could be a good use of United miles, especially if you’re sitting on a stockpile of transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Plus, Ethiopian is a great option for those looking to fly to Africa, the Middle East and beyond, thanks to the plethora of business-class award availability the carrier releases.
Related: It’s now easier than ever to upgrade your flight to Japan using United miles or certificates
Bottom line
Ethiopian is the last of the Star Alliance carriers to have its upgrade window extended. On May 5, 2020, United made a similar change for flights operated by ANA.
Previously you'd need to wait until eight weeks before departure to upgrade ANA flights, but now UA allows upgrade requests on ANA-operated flights up to a full year before departure (until 24 hours before your flight). Note that if you’re a United Premier Platinum, 1K or Global Services member, you can redeem PlusPoints instead of miles for the upgrade.
Some people have many extra United miles to spare. And if you’re looking to upgrade a flight with Ethiopian Airlines, you’ll now have 11 months in which to confirm the upgrade.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 6X | 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program. |
| 4X | 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. |
| 2X | 2x points on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is a stacked card with a rewards rate that will help you earn bonus points on everyday and business-related purchases. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. Finally, the free night award certificate with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less can get you hundreds of dollars in potential value each year.Pros
- 6x points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases
- Earn a free-night award each card renewal month (up to 35,000 points)
- Receive 15 elite night credits to jump-start status
- Transfer Marriott points to 40+ airlines
Cons
- Airline points transfer ratios are poor
- Must spend $60,000 in a year for second free-night award
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer expires 11/2/22.
- 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program when you book directly. Terms and Conditions Apply.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Card.
- Terms apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Rewards Rate
| 6X | 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program. |
| 4X | 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. |
| 2X | 2x points on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer expires 11/2/22.Earn 100,000 points75,000 pointsAnnual Fee
$125Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.670-850Excellent/Good
Why We Chose It
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is a stacked card with a rewards rate that will help you earn bonus points on everyday and business-related purchases. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. Finally, the free night award certificate with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less can get you hundreds of dollars in potential value each year.Pros
- 6x points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases
- Earn a free-night award each card renewal month (up to 35,000 points)
- Receive 15 elite night credits to jump-start status
- Transfer Marriott points to 40+ airlines
Cons
- Airline points transfer ratios are poor
- Must spend $60,000 in a year for second free-night award
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer expires 11/2/22.
- 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program when you book directly. Terms and Conditions Apply.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Card.
- Terms apply.
- See Rates & Fees