Partners Added To United MileagePlus Pooling
United Airlines introduced mileage pooling back in 2024, becoming the first of the big three US legacy airlines to do so. The feature allows United MileagePlus members to pool their miles with friends and family members. The program began with some limitations, though, including restrictions on partner bookings. Now, that's changed. Earlier this month, the airline quietly expanded this feature to include partner bookings. ToP Facebook group member Colette M. flagged the change in a post yesterday, which we confirmed in United's official miles pooling terms. Let's take a look at the partners added to United MileagePlus pooling—and how to factor this into your award flight searches.
Which Partners Are Now Included?
When this feature launched, it was only eligible for United- and United Express-operated flights. The partners added to United MileagePlus pooling have now officially expanded flight availability for this feature. The following partners can now be booked with pooled miles on select flights, representing a solid portion of United's roster of Star Alliance and other partners. This opens the door for pooling your miles for trips booked through airlines like ANA, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and more:
- Aer Lingus
- Aegean
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Dolomiti
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- Airlink
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian
- Azul
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Cape Air
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Discover Airlines
- Edelweiss
- Egypt Air
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Eurowings
- EVA Airways
- Flydubai
- Hawaiian Airlines
- ITA Airways
- JetBlue
- Juneyao Air
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Lufthansa City Airlines
- Lufthansa Express Buses
- Olympic Air
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Air Lines
- TAP Air Portugal
- THAI Airways International
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Australia
Restrictions To Note
On Hawaiian Airlines, pooled miles can only be used for interisland flights. For Emirates, members must redeem miles on a United Newark (EWR) to Dubai (DXB) flight to qualify, according to a United agent we spoke with.
How MileagePlus Pooling Works
MileagePlus members can start a free pool in their accounts to share miles with friends and family for reservations. Here's how to set this up:
- MileagePlus members (must be age 18 and older) can become the pool “leader” and create a free pool.
- Login to your MileagePlus account at United.com. Select “Create a miles pool.” Accept the terms and conditions to start the pool.
- Invite up to four other MileagePlus accountholders to join. Family, friends or “close travel companions,” including children, can join.
- When logged in to their own MileagePlus accounts on United.com, those members will be instructed on how to contribute miles to the pool.
- There are no limits on the amount of miles that can be contributed.
- Only miles can be contributed, not PQP or TravelBank cash.
- Pooled miles can then be used to book award flights. A pool's designated leader manages the pool and can authorize its members to redeem miles. Pool leaders and anyone given redemption privileges can redeem the pooled miles for anyone—even if that person is not part of the pool.
Pool Rules
As great of a feature as this is—especially considering the partners added to United MileagePlus pooling—there are some important terms to note. If you plan to use it, pay careful attention to the required wait times.
Members can only be part of one pool at a time. Here's what happens when someone leaves:
- A member can leave a pool at any time. But when doing so, they lose access to any miles they have placed in that pool. Those miles will remain available for the other pool members to share.
- Members who leave a pool cannot join another one for 90 days.
- No new members can join a pool until after 90 days from when a member has left.
- If a pool leader leaves, it dissolves the pool. All remaining miles will be split evenly between the remaining members.
- Members cannot be removed from a pool; they only leave a pool if they choose to or if that pool is dissolved.
Important timelines for using miles:
- Pool leaders can contribute miles immediately.
- All other pool members must wait 72 hours after joining before they can use or contribute miles.
- After transferring miles, all members—including the leader—must wait 24 hours for those miles to become available for booking reservations.
- You can remove or reverse mileage transfers as long as you are within 24 hours.
- Unfortunately, you can not currently use FareLock to hold miles pool reservations.
How status applies:
- Premier benefits will be based on the traveler’s status. Premier qualifying points (PQP) will be awarded to the traveler only, and award availability is dependent on the status of the member who books the award ticket. See more below on cardmember status.
Ticket type restrictions:
You can't use pooled miles on Money + Miles tickets. See full terms here.
Cardmember Status Now Plays A Role
Ideally, a United cardholder will be the pool member making the reservations with the pooled miles. As we've discussed extensively on the ToP blog, United MileagePlus program changes that rolled out earlier this year now give cardmembers access to award flight discounts. Members with an eligible United card will get that award discount when they book using the pool miles. Members who are not cardholders will not get that discount—even if they use miles contributed by a United cardholder.
Partners Added To United MileagePlus Pooling: ToP Thoughts
United MileagePlus pooling simultaneously made the program more user-friendly and valuable. Now, the partners added to United MileagePlus pooling further improve the perk. But note a few things before transferring miles. This is still a new feature, so we'll have to monitor how availability actually shakes out for flights bookable with pooled miles. Make sure you are well-versed in the wait times, particularly the 24-hour period after the initial transfer during which you won't be able to book a flight. There's always a chance flight availability could disappear during that window. That said, United is not the worst place to have miles stranded. H/T to ToP Facebook group member Colette M. and the other members who chimed in about this new feature. Have you been using the MileagePlus pooling program, and if not, does this make you more likely to do so? Let us know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
