MileagePlus

Frequent flier programs were introduced in 1979 by Texas International Airlines.[7] Two years later, American Airlines launched their AAdvantage program,[8] and United's Mileage Plus was launched one week later.[9] On June 29, 2011, United officially changed the name of the program from Mileage Plus to MileagePlus.[10]

On July 9, 2011, Tom Stuker became the first member of the MileagePlus program to reach ten million flown miles on United.[11] He earned this distinction flying from Los Angeles to Chicago on flight 942. Jeff Smisek, then president and CEO of United, was on hand to congratulate him.[12] For reaching the ten million mile number, he was given the only United Titanium Card and his name was placed on the side of a United Boeing 747-400.[13] Stuker has since passed the 20 million mile threshold and remains the world's most frequent flyer.[14]

Several controversial changes were introduced to the program in 2012, following the integration of the Continental OnePass program into MileagePlus. This included the reduction in bonus miles for Premier Gold and Premier Platinum members, as well as the inability of Premier Silver members to reserve Economy Plus seats until 24 hours prior to departure.[15] Changes have also occurred to the upgrade process, where upgrades are being sold at check-in for prices as low as $69, even when elites are still being processed on the upgrade waitlist.[16] Million Mile Flyer George Lagen filed, in late May 2012, a class action against United for taking away or demoting "lifetime" benefits promised to pre-merger Million Mile Flyers.[17] A federal judge eventually dismissed the class-action lawsuit on the basis that the contract which regulated "Million Mile Flyer" customers was the same as for all MileagePlus members, which essentially gave the airline the right to unilaterally reduce or discontinue benefits anytime it wanted to.[18]

In addition to United, all 28 members of the Star Alliance as well as a number of other airlines participate in the MileagePlus program to a certain degree. MileagePlus miles can then be both earned and redeemed on United flights, as well as on any partner airline. However, certain booking classes on partner airlines are excluded from mileage accrual.[19]

The airline partners of MileagePlus are:[20]

Partner Airline	Star Alliance Member
Avianca	Yes
Aegean Airlines	Yes
Aer Lingus	No
Air Canada	Yes
Air China	Yes
Air Dolomiti	No
Air India	Yes
Air New Zealand	Yes
All Nippon Airways	Yes
Asiana Airlines	Yes
Austrian Airlines	Yes
Azul Brazilian Airlines	No
Brussels Airlines	Yes
Cape Air	No
Copa Airlines	Yes
Croatia Airlines	Yes
Edelweiss Air	No
EgyptAir	Yes
Ethiopian Airlines	Yes
Eurowings	No
EVA Air	Yes
Hawaiian Airlines	No
Juneyao Airlines	No
LOT Polish Airlines	Yes
Lufthansa	Yes
Scandinavian Airlines	Yes
Shenzhen Airlines	Yes
Silver Airways	No
Singapore Airlines	Yes
South African Airways	Yes
Swiss International Air Lines	Yes
TAP Portugal	Yes
Thai Airways	Yes
Turkish Airlines	Yes

Lufthansa First Class, bookable using MileagePlus award miles

MileagePlus miles (redeemable miles) can be redeemed for travel on any combination of United and United Express carriers, as well as Star Alliance partners and other airline partners.[21] MileagePlus offers Saver and Everyday awards, at different tiers of pricing with different capacity control mechanisms.[22] Saver awards are capacity-controlled awards available for travel on all partner airlines.

The release of saver award seats is dictated by the operating airline, who will make the award inventory available to all its partners, including United MileagePlus.[23] On flights operated by United Airlines, additional saver award inventory is offered to Premier members and United credit card holders, in addition to that offered to general members.[24]

Everyday awards are only available for travel on United and United Express, and have greater availability than Saver Awards.[25] "Everyday" awards may cost two to three times as much as the equivalent "Saver" awards.[26]

As of August 2019, MileagePlus award miles no longer expire. Before that, there had to be activity in the last 1.5 years.[27]

MileagePlus awards are on a one-way basis and do not require round-trip travel.

United's red carpet boarding line at San Francisco, the predecessor of the Premier Access Line

While status levels were not originally part of the MileagePlus program, they were introduced in 1987 to reward customers who had achieved certain qualification thresholds within a given calendar year.[28] All Premier members are eligible for Premier Access, which allows them to use exclusive check-in and security lines, as well as priority boarding and baggage retrieval.[29] Previously, members reached Premier status by earning the required number of Premier Qualifying Miles (PQM) or Premier Qualifying Segments (PQS). Starting in 2014, members living in United States had to meet a minimum annual spending level, tracked as Premier Qualifying Dollars (PQD), on United issued tickets in a calendar year to qualify for a tier.[30] Now, members must earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) and/or Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs). Status can be earned by accumulating PQPs and PQFs, or by attaining a higher PQP threshold.[31]