United MileagePlus Devaluations

In May, United Airlines' unveiled three small but wholly negative changes to its MileagePlus loyalty program, including axing its famous Excursionist benefit.  United shared the changes on its “What's new with MileagePlus?” webpage. The airline is also changing how it displays upgrade awards, and ending instant upgrades for members on certain fares. Luckily, there are no updates to award rates on United or partner airlines, at least for now. If these United MileagePlus devaluations have one silver lining it is that they will not go into effect until later this year. Take advantage of them while you can if you're planning any upcoming travel on United.

Excursionist Perk Gets The Axe

The first, and maybe largest, of the United MileagePlus loyalty program devaluations is the Excursionist Perk getting the axe. Beginning August 21, 2025, United will no longer offer the this valuable perk on new award bookings. The Excursionist perk has only been around for a few years, but it was a great benefit of the MileagePlus program.

The Excursionist perk is essentially a free one-way award flight within a multi-city itinerary. Say you used United miles to book a flight from Chicago (ORD) to London (LHR), then a flight from London to Paris (CDG), and then a flight from Paris back to the U.S. With the Excursionist perk, the middle flight from London to Paris could cost zero miles.

Any existing award bookings for flights after Aug. 21 that include the Excursionist perk will remain intact so long as you don't make any changes to the reservation. If you make any changes, United will not honor the Excursionist benefit.

Late last year, United changed the rules governing the Excursionist perk, making it harder to take advantage of. So it's not terribly surprising that the airline is finally ending this perk altogether.

United MileagePlus Devaluations: No More Instant Upgrades

Next up on the United MileagePlus devaluations docket is instant upgrades. Also starting Aug. 21, United will stop offering instant upgrades to Premier status members who book full-fare economy tickets in fare classes Y, M, or B. Previously, if upgrade space was available, eligible passengers would receive an immediate upgrade at the time of booking.

Moving forward, passengers with elite status will have to join the Complimentary Premier Upgrade waitlist and wait for an upgrade to clear, or use MileagePlus Miles or PlusPoints to secure one. This loyalty program devaluation will sting for their most loyal flyers.

Dynamic Pricing For Upgrade Awards?

United is also removing the fixed award chart for MileagePlus upgrades from its website as a part of these loyalty program devaluations. This means you'll know longer be able to see exactly how many United miles you need to upgrade to a premium cabin on a given flight.

Without a public award chart, United is free to charge whatever it wants for upgrade awards, so it can charge more or fewer miles based on demand and space.

This change doesn't go into effect until November 24, 2025. After that date, passengers looking to use miles to upgrade will have to search for mileage upgrades either during booking or after, and see how miles it will cost.

United MileagePlus Program Changes: ToP Thoughts

The changes to United's MileagePlus program are relatively small, but they're still a blow to some of the programs best benefits. Losing the Excursionist perk, which was a fun feature if you could use it, particularly stings. That was a unique feature of the program and could offer outsized value at times.

These changes don't go into effect until later this year, so you've still got some time to take advantage of these perks if you're planning to fly United this year or next.

Let us know what you think of these changes over in the ToP Facebook Group.