United MileagePlus Program Changes
For award travelers, we know that devaluations are part of the game. You plan for them as best you can and know they are always around the corner. This week, we learned of United MileagePlus program changes. We can call them “changes,” but it is really a massive devaluation for most people. We outline what has changed, who it affects, and how bad it all is. Hopefully, you are unscathed.
Update 4/2/26: These changes are now live. If you're a cardholder, let us know what changes you see to availability.
Program Prior to Announcements
Prior to this week's United MileagePlus program changes, people buying cash fares on United Airlines earned 5X United miles per dollar spent on the fare. This worked out to between 5 miles and 11 miles per dollar spent, depending on your United elite status.
In short:
- general members earned 5 base miles per dollar,
- Premier Silver earned 5X, plus 2X for status, for a total of 7X
- Premier Gold earned 5X, plus 3X for status, for a total of 8X
- Premier Platinum earned 5X, plus 4X for status, for a total of 9X
- Premier 1K earned 5X, plus 6X for status, for a total of 11X
This chart explains all of the current earnings:
Changes Beginning April 2, 2026
After April 2, 2026, earning rates on all non-Basic Economy revenue fares go down for everyone that is not a United Airlines cardholder, regardless if you are a non-elite or a Premier 1K member. For United Airlines cardholders, however, earn rates go up across the board. Note: a United Airlines debit card and a United Gateway card do not qualify a person as a “cardholder” unless you spend $10,000+ on the card in a calendar year.
The new earn rates (again, on all non-Basic Economy fares) are as follows:
| Status | MileagePlus Earn Rate | Cardholder Earn Rate |
| General Member | 3X | 6X |
| Premier Silver | 5X | 8X |
| Premier Gold | 6X | 9X |
| Premier Platinum | 7X | 10X |
| Premier 1K | 9X | 12X |
To summarize these changes, the worst case scenario for each level is twice as bad as any possible upside of the best case scenario. Let me explain. A general member used to earn 5X. The worst case scenario for a general member (non-cardholder) is now 3X, or 2X less, for a devaluation of 40% less miles earned. The best case scenario for a general member (cardholder) is now 6X, or 1X more, for an increase of 20% more miles earned. This rings true at each level:
- Premier Silver: worst case scenario 5X now, versus 7X before (28.5% devaluation), best case scenario 8X, versus 7X (14.25% increase)
- Premier Gold: worst case scenario 6X now, versus 8X before (25% devaluation), best case scenario 9X, versus 8X (12.5% increase)
- Premier Platinum: worst case scenario 7X now, versus 9X before (22.2% devaluation), best case scenario 10X, versus 9X (11.1% increase)
- Premier 1K: worst case scenario 9X now, versus 11X before (18.2% devaluation), best case scenario 12X, versus 11X (9.1% increase)
Overall, the winners of the United MileagePlus program changes are cardholders. The losers are, well, absolutely everyone else, including every single level of United Airlines elites. Luckily, United Airlines allows a cardholder to link your MileagePlus account to those of your minor children (with a limit of 8 accounts), so they can earn miles at the same rates as you do.
Additional Program Changes for Cardholders
In addition to the earning rates announced for revenue fares, United MileagePlus creatively devalued its award program. No, it did not increase the miles needed from Point A to Point B. Rather, it announced that, effective April 2, 2026, United cardholders receive at least 10% savings on award flights and cardholders that are also premier members receive at least 15% savings. These savings only apply to United and United Express flights and do not apply to taxes and fees.
Additionally, United announced that it is offering “additional inventory of Saver Award seats in United Polaris business class” for cardholders. This is merely stating what has been in place for a few months: most “saver awards” (i.e. the cheapest awards on a particular route) are only available to cardholders and/or elite members. If you are neither of those, or are wanting to book via a partner award program, you're out of luck. While you might understand this from a business perspective, it completely defeats the idea of a partnership, partner programs, or an alliance. If I were another Star Alliance member, I would be baffled with United's selfish and unilateral decision to undermine Star Alliance partners' ability to book United saver award.
To avoid these negative changes, you can hold any of the following cards and get additional earnings and access to awards:
- United Gateway (with $10,000+ spend in a calendar year)
- United Explorer
- United Quest
- United Club
- United Business
- United Club Business
United MileagePlus Program Changes: ToP Thoughts
For me, it didn't take much time to process these United MileagePlus program changes. When someone (or some thing) tells you who it is, believe it. United Airlines is telling everyone that they care about one thing: its co-branded credit card program. It is penalizing everyone, including all of its elite members, if you do not hold a United Airlines credit card with an annual fee (or the debit card/United Gateway card with $10,000+ spend in a calendar year). This is a seismic shift to link MileagePlus to credit cards, as, seemingly, nothing else matters in the future. While we can all shift our strategy to obtain a United Airlines card in the future, that option is severely limited by the 5/24 rule.
If you have a United credit card, this is a good thing for you. For everyone else, you better get a United credit card or plan to watch from the sidelines. What is your plan? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know.
