CHICAGO, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To ensure that Mileage Plus(R) continues to provide customers with a valuable loyalty recognition and award program, United Airlines is announcing several new benefits and changes to the Mileage Plus program.
Dedicated Saver Award Seats
To provide members more flight redemption options, United has reserved a percentage of Saver Award seats on every flight to every international and domestic United destination through March 15, 2007, the end of United's current ticket booking window. Saver Awards, available with some restrictions on United-operated flights and United's partner airlines, offer award travel for the fewest required miles.
Short Haul Saver Awards Available for 2006
Effective immediately, and for the remainder of 2006, Mileage Plus is offering the popular Short Haul Saver Awards, which enables Mileage Plus members to take short trips (for example, Chicago-Washington Dulles or San Francisco-Seattle) using up to 40 percent fewer miles. Flights up to 700 miles each way on United, United Express(R) and Ted(SM) within the 48 contiguous states and between the U.S. and Canada qualify. Only 15,000 redeemable miles are required for a roundtrip United Economy(R) Short Haul Saver Award ticket, which normally requires 25,000 miles.
Amount of Miles Required to Redeem for Certain Awards to Change
Effective Oct. 16, 2006, the number of miles required to redeem for many Standard and select Saver Awards will change. As an example, the domestic Economy Standard Award redemption amount will increase from 40,000 to 50,000 miles, matching most other U.S. carriers' current standard award levels. Even with these changes, Mileage Plus award redemption levels remain among the lowest of international carriers with three classes of service.
Standard and Saver Award Booking Fees
Also effective Oct. 16, 2006, Mileage Plus will introduce fees for Standard and Saver Award travel booked less than 14 days in advance. A fee of $75 will apply for travel ticketed six days or less prior to departure and $50 for travel ticketed 7-13 days prior to departure. As always, there will be no fee for travel ticketed 14 days or more prior to departure. Fees will not apply to United's most loyal customers - 1K Mileage Plus and Global Services members.
A new award chart reflecting all changes is available at united.com/awardchanges.
"By committing to reserving Saver Award seats on all flights -- even during the heaviest travel times -- and offering our popular Short Haul program, we are deepening the value of Mileage Plus for all of our members," said Kenneth Feldman, vice president-Loyalty & e-commerce. "These program changes are consistent with the award levels and fees of other major airline programs. And Mileage Plus is offering additional member benefits at a time of significantly increasing operating costs while continuing to provide customers meaningful mileage redemption options for travel and other rewards."
About United
United Airlines operates more than 3,400 flights a day on United, United Express and Ted to more than 200 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia- Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States. United is also a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 790 destinations in 138 countries worldwide. United's 57,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at http://united.com/ .
About United Mileage Plus
United Mileage Plus, with nearly 48 million enrolled members, has been voted the best frequent flyer program by readers of Business Traveler for the past 10 years (Nov. 1996-Nov. 2005), by Travel Savvy magazine (Sept. 2004- Sept. 2005) and by Global Traveler (Nov. 2004-Nov. 2005). It also received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan CEO Choice Award for Best Frequent Flyer Program. Members earn miles by flying on United, Ted(SM), United Express(R) or Star Alliance airlines, or by purchasing products or services through the comprehensive network of over 100 participating Mileage Plus partners at more than 10,000 locations worldwide. Mileage Plus also offers one of the most extensive selections of award travel destinations, including 790 destinations in 138 countries. For more information, a complete list of Mileage Plus partners, or to enroll, visit http://united.com/ .
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