As The DOT Investigates Mileage Programs, United Makes Mostly Positive Award Chart Changes

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United miles have been on a steady decline since 2013. That decline has accelerated in recent years as the airline copied Delta in removing their award charts from public view and devaluing miles without warning time and time again.

Earlier this month, the DOT launched an investigation into mileage programs devaluations, and hidden pricing. Frankly, they can just browse through the DansDeals archives for much of the information that they seek. It sounds more like political grandstanding and I don’t expect much, if anything, to come of that investigation. Sadly, the airlines that ditched award charts aren’t going to go back to the days of publishing them.

But maybe airlines will think twice about implementing a major devaluation while the investigation is ongoing?

United most recently devalued their miles in May.

The latest chart shakeup is interesting. Short-haul flights on Air Canada under 1,500 miles in distance between the origin and destination become slightly cheaper in coach, dropping from 20K miles to 17.5K miles. Business goes up from 33K to 45K miles. Longer haul Air Canada flights climb from 20K to 22.5K, while business skyrockets from 33K to 65K miles.

However, more interesting is that United has removed the partner airline surcharge in coach and business class for award travel outside of the US and Canada, if you are a United cardholder. That makes partner saver award flights generally cost the same as United saver award flights, something that hasn’t been the case for several years. There are occasional discounts on United flights, but the partner price now equals the typical United price.

In general, you can save miles by booking awards with Star Alliance programs like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca Lifemiles, but what’s nice about booking with United is that there are no cancellation or change fees. Plus, if you book partner award flights with United miles and there is a schedule change, you can get rebooked onto a United flight.

Here is the updated United hidden award chart, the previous one can be found here.

Getting into the weeds here, but there are now a lot of fare class subsets in United saver award pricing!

Off the top of my head, those include:

1. X class saver United economy awards that are made available to partner airlines.
2. X class expanded saver United economy awards that are not made available to partner airlines and can only be booked with United miles.
3. X class saver United partner economy awards that are priced 10% higher than United awards.
4. X class saver United partner economy awards that are priced the same as United awards for United cardholders.
5. XN class expanded saver United economy awards that are only available to United cardholders or elites with United miles.
6. XN class expanded saver United economy awards that are 10% off for United Club cardholders on domestic flights with United miles.
7. I class saver United business awards that are made available to partner airlines.
8. I class expanded saver United business awards that are not made available to partner airlines and can only be booked with United miles.
9. I class saver United partner business awards that are priced 10% higher than United awards.
10. I class saver United partner business awards that are priced the same as United awards for United cardholders.
11. IN class expanded saver United business awards that are only bookable by United Platinum or higher elite members with United miles.
12. O class saver United partner first class awards.

• The New United Gateway℠ Card has a limited time 30K signup bonus for spending $1K in 3 months, earns 2 miles per dollar on United purchases, gas stations, transit and commuting, including ride share services, taxicabs, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, and more. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The New United℠ Explorer Card has a limited time 80K signup bonus for spending $3K in 3 months, earns 2 miles per dollar on hotels and dining as well as on United purchases, $5 monthly rideshare credit, $50 twice annual hotel credit, $25 twice annual Travelbank credit for Avis/Budget rentals, $100 annual JSX flight credit, $10 monthly Instacart credit, $100 TravelBank credit for spending $10K annually, 10K miles discount for spending $20K annually, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, expanded award availability, free checked bag worldwide, free carry-on bag, priority boarding, 2 annual United Club passes, up to 1K PQPs, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS, and more. $0 intro annual fee, then $150. Read more here.
• The New United Quest℠ Card has a limited time 90K miles+500 PQP signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 miles per dollar on United purchases and 2 miles per dollar on travel, dining, and streaming, $200 annual TravelBank credit, $8 monthly ($12 in December) rideshare credit, $150 annual hotel credit, $40 twice annual Travelbank credit for Avis/Budget rentals, $150 annual JSX flight credit, $10 and $5 monthly Instacart credits, 10K annual miles discount, another 10K mile discount for spending $20K annually, 2 Global Economy Plus upgrades for spending $40K annually, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, expanded award availability, 2 free checked bags worldwide, free carry-on bag, priority boarding, up to 18K PQPs, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS, and more. $350 annual fee. Read more here.
• The New United Club℠ Card has a limited time 95K signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, earns 4 miles per dollar on United purchases and 2 miles per dollar on travel and dining, United Club membership, $12 monthly ($18 in December) rideshare credit, $200 annual hotel credit, $50 twice annual Travelbank credit for Avis/Budget rentals, $200 annual JSX flight credit, Instacart+ membership, two $10 monthly Instacart credits, 10K mile discount for spending $20K annually, another 10K mile discount for spending $40K annually, 2 Global Economy Plus upgrades for spending $40K annually, 10% off domestic coach saver awards, IHG Platinum status, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, expanded award availability, 2 free checked bags worldwide, free carry-on bag, priority boarding, up to 28K PQPs, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS, and more. $695 annual fee. Read more here.
• The New United℠ Business Card has a limited time 125K signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, earns 2 miles per dollar on United, restaurants, gas stations, office supply stores, local transit, taxis, tolls, mass transit, and ride share services, 5,000 bonus miles every card anniversary if you have this United business card and any United consumer card, $125 annual TravelBank credit if you make 5 United purchases of $100 or more on the card, $8 monthly ($12 in December) rideshare credit, $50 twice annual hotel credit, $25 twice annual Travelbank credit for Avis/Budget rentals, $100 annual JSX flight credit, $10 monthly Instacart credit, 2 Continental US Economy Plus upgrades for spending $25K annually, $25 annual FareLock credit, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, expanded award availability, free checked bag worldwide, free carry-on bag, priority boarding, 2 annual United Club passes, up to 4K PQPs, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS, and more. $150 annual fee. Read more here.
• The New United Business Club Card(Click on apply now to reach this card application) has a limited time 125K miles signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, United Club membership, earns 2 miles per dollar on United and 1.5 miles per dollar on all other purchases, $12 monthly ($18 in December) rideshare credit, $200 annual hotel credit, $50 twice annual Travelbank credit for Avis/Budget rentals, $200 annual JSX flight credit, Instacart+ membership, two $10 monthly Instacart credits, 2 Global Economy Plus upgrades for spending $40K annually, $50 annual FareLock credits, 25% rebate on inflight WiFi, food, and drink purchases, expanded award availability, 2 free checked bags worldwide, free carry-on bag, priority boarding, 2 annual United Club passes, up to 28K PQPs, Doordash membership and $10 quarterly non-restaurant credit, Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS, $695 annual fee. Read more here. All information about the New United Business Club Card has been collected independently by DansDeals.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 100K signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $5K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $750 signup bonus in the form of 75K points for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a $350 signup bonus in the form of 35K points for spending $3K in 3 months and another $400 signup bonus in the form of 40K bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points. This card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus for spending $500 in 3 months, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here. All information about the Chase Freedom Flex Card has been collected independently by DansDeals.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a 25K signup bonus for spending $500 in 3 months, 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

What do you think of these changes?