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United Now Posting Award Miles and Elite Credits Right Away

April 04, 2019
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2 min read
United 787-10 Polaris Review
United Now Posting Award Miles and Elite Credits Right Away
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US airlines are pretty good about awarding credit automatically after passengers complete travel, but it's not unusual to expect redeemable miles, elite-qualifying miles and elite-qualifying dollars to post at least a couple days after each flight segment. Delta has been an exception — credits sometimes post within a day of travel — and now United's following suit, with the airline explaining that "miles will now post within minutes of a flight arriving at the gate for United/United Express flights."

I noticed the change this week — on Sunday, I flew from Newark to Hong Kong to try out United's new Premium Plus product. The flight landed on Monday, and miles posted on Wednesday, as expected. Yesterday, however, when I pulled up the United app to see how early my return flight had arrived after stepping off the plane, I noticed that the miles for that second segment had already posted — within minutes of us pulling up to the gate in Newark.

As it turns out, I'm not alone — other flyers have noticed the change as well, including our own Summer Hull, who heads up TPG Family:

Other frequent flyers chimed in as well:

Speedier posting can be especially helpful as the end of the year approaches, since flyers who may just slightly miss the mark might opt to go on a mileage run to close the gap. Having an almost-real-time tally will make it easier for frequent flyers to determine whether or not a "run" may be necessary, and which one to book.

You'll also earn elite status more quickly — a flyer on a weekend trip may start the journey without any perks on Friday, and find themselves eligible for Economy Plus seats, free upgrades and other benefits in time for a Sunday return.

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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)

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  • 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
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  • Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
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  • 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