Update: The technical glitches with mileage pooling have been resolved and you can once again create a pool.
Originally posted on 3/21:
United Launches Miles Pooling!
A few airlines, such as BA and JetBlue, allow people to pool their miles together. United will now join that club. It’s a great feature to have as it allows you to use miles from all of your family member accounts, even if some only have a small amount of miles.
You can open a pool here and manage your pool and give it a custom name here.
Important: Once miles are put in the pool for 24 hours you can’t reclaim them into your account without dissolving the pool and you can’t use them for partner award flights!
Here are the basic rules for United’s mileage pooling:
- The pool leader must be at least 18.
- You can add up to 4 more members, adults or kids of any age, to the pool. You can add any friends or family members to the pool.
- The pool leader can invite members and decide their redemption rights. When inviting someone to the pool, the leader will be asked if the invited member has the rights to redeem miles for their own travel.
- The pool leader can grant or revoke the ability of any pool member to redeem miles at any time.
- Once in the pool, you can decide how many, if any, miles to add into the shared pool.
- You can only redeem pooled miles for United flights, not for partner flights seat upgrades, WiFi, etc.
- When redeeming miles, you will have an option on the payment page to use your miles or the pool miles.
- If a flight is canceled, the miles are returned to the pool.
- You can’t contribute or redeem pooled miles within 72 hours of joining a pool.
- When you add miles to the pool, they can be used after 24 hours. During the 24 hour period you can cancel the pool contribution, but after 24 hours they are permanently part of the pool.
- There is no limit to how many miles you can have in a pool.
- If a member departs the pool, they lose access to their pooled miles and won’t receive any miles back
- You can only be in one pool at a time.
- A new member may not join the pool for the next 90 days after a member has left,
- Members who leave a pool cannot join another miles pool for the next 90 days.
- If the pool is dissolved by the pool leader or if the pool leader leaves the pool, the mileage balance is distributed equally among all pool members and the pool is closed.
- The pool leader can’t remove a member from a pool, only the member can leave a pool, or the entire pool can be dissolved by the leader.
- Miles from a pool can’t be transferred to an individual member.
- Pooling miles has no effect on elite status.
- Only miles can be pooled, TravelBank funds and PQPs can’t be pooled.
Will you make a United mileage pool?
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55 Comments On "[Available Again] WOW! United Launches Miles Pooling, But Beware Of The Caveats!"
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1) When a pool is dissolved, do the miles become regular miles which can be used for partner awards?
2) When using pooled miles, do you get the Quest card rebate?
1. Yes, but they will be split up equally among all pool members in that case. Though I suppose pool members can remove themselves from the pool and they would then all go to the pool leader.
That’s a backdoor way to combine miles into one account. 🙂
If anyone tries that method, let us know how it goes!
2. I doubt it, but I’ll reach out to United to ask.
For 1 that would be a good way to combine family accounts if we had DP that it works and we can the use it for partner awards from one account.
Per the rules, it should work. But yes, we need some data points.
So this seems like a pretty way to combine accounts legitimately while avoiding selling points. Pretty good compromise, United.
worked!
Do you mind hinting what that backdoor is please ?
But again that backdoor would limit the miles only to be redeemed for united flights ?
No, the backdoor is to dissolve the pool when only the leader is in it, in which case it reverts to regular miles.
Then it will revert to regular miles which could be used for partner awards?
I understand that once miles are pooled they’re in your account separately from your regular miles even if if no one else joined the pool yet.
Read through the rules above.
I’m trying it out. We can only know in four days though as once a member is added, they can only transfer miles to the pool after 72 hours. And 24 hours more for the miles to be deposited…
Worked for anyone?
Good point about the quest….Would love to know
So would I, @jking . Will the Quest “partial miles refund” benefit not work when using pooled miles… even if the pool controller AND the passenger each has his/her own primary Quest card? That would be a major benefit devaluation of the Quest card, no?
Can we pool exiting points from my kids accounts , or only new points earned ?
Yes, you can add any existing miles to a pool.
Let’s jump right into the pool. No benefit for me at least.
No family members with a few “orphaned” miles?
Nice !
Does the status go after what the pool leader status is?
The pool has no effect on status.
Finally! Though a nice list of rules
And, can you use expanded cardmember availability with pooled miles?
Availability will follow the member redeeming the miles, so yes in that case.
Wow. That’s worth mentioning in the post.
What happens if me and my wife join the pool then she leaves, then I the leader close the pool… do I get all miles back in my reg account and be reddemed for partners?
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/wow-united-launches-miles-pooling/comment-page-1/#comment-1697009
Should work. If you try, let us know.
Technically this is a way to transfer your points to someone else. You join a pool, add your points and then leave.
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/wow-united-launches-miles-pooling/comment-page-1/#comment-1697009
how did you add your DW so quickly mine keeps saying pending for her even though she accepted the invite
It switched as soon as she accepted.
hmmm my dw had 2 mileage accounts I tried adding both
you think that messed it up?
Feels like this page will be indexed under swimming pools 😉
Swimming in rules.
miles can be redeemed for anyone or only pool members ?
Anyone.
Site not working for me..
So many rules, feels like I’m back in school.
Rough childhood?
Seems your childhood skipped the humor
The link in the post above doesn’t work.
Pooling information disappeared!
I created a pool and successfully added 3 more people. Now all pooling info disappeared from my account. The entire pooling system is nowhere to be found.
From United “We’re working to fix a temporary technical issue affecting both united.com and the United app. You may not be able to log in right now, but check back soon”.
There is no problem logging in. Only pooling information disappeared.
@dan Can another member be added to replace a member who has left the pool?
Seems that this 24 hr delay will get in the way of jumping on a deal that will disappear. Unless the miles have already been pooled in advance, you can’t get the here-today-gone-in-an-hour DDMS specials.
United must have read this post and reconsidered.
Any word from United?
Did they indeed end the pooling plan before it even started?
New message on United website:
We experienced some unexpected technology issues and look forward to bringing back our new miles pooling feature soon.
Pooling is back on!
@dan Sorry, just to clarify, if one person has a higher status and i want to use my miles with his status this would allow me to pool my miles and he can book for me with his status?
Correct, that should work.
Any updates if backdoor in fact works?
@dan, Do I have to wait 24 hours to dissolve so it would split?, or I can dissolve it right after transferring to the pool?
“Pooled miles can be used to book United or United Express award tickets only.”
Which tickets can they not be used for?
Are there tickets that can be purchased w/a personal mileage acct but can’t be purchased from the pool?