Everyday travelers and diehard points and miles aficionados are all too used to seeing airlines suddenly charging more miles for award tickets – they're devaluations, and they're inevitable. But United just did the opposite. That's right: Some award rates, redeeming United miles, just got slightly better.
After repeatedly raising award rates to book flights with partner carriers like Lufthansa, ANA, SWISS, and many more – charging more for those partner-operated flights than it does for its own flights on the exact same routes – United has recently lowered partner award rates around the globe.
For the last few years, the norm for virtually any transatlantic business class redemption on a partner airline like Lufthansa, Turkish, Austrian, or TAP Air Portugal was a flat 88,000 United miles each way. That's back down down to 80,000 miles across the board – a 9% drop.
Is paying 80,000 miles for a one-way business class redemption to Europe the deal of the century? Hardly: You can book the exact same flight for 70,000 points via Air Canada Aeroplan instead, maybe even less when departing from the East Coast. But for loyal United flyers who have tons of United MileagePlus miles (and only MileagePlus miles), this is welcome news.
These reductions don't apply to just one or two partner airlines but virtually all of them, including a welcome addition in Italy: ITA Airways. The Star Alliance recently stole ITA away from the Sky Team alliance. While business class award space flying into Rome (FCO) is scarce, it's now pricing out lower at 80,000 miles each way.
Same goes for flights across the Pacific Ocean on partner carriers like ANA and EVA Air. This ANA business class flight from Tokyo-Narita (NRT) back to Los Angeles (LAX) next month previously cost 110,000 miles. After another 9% drop, it's now pricing out at 100,000 miles each way – as is every transpacific business class award redemption on partner carriers.
All across the globe, we're seeing these award rate reductions. So far as we can tell, economy award rates on United's partner airlines haven't budged at all yet. Here's hoping that changes, too.
Whether this new award pricing will hold or change again tomorrow is anyone's guess. Welcome to the wild, unpredictable world of dynamic award pricing.
Much like Delta with its SkyMiles and even American and its AAdvantage miles, United holds all the cards to change award pricing as it sees fit. The next increase (or decrease) could be just around the corner.
Still, good news is good news! But it begs the question: In an industry where award rates only seem to go up, up, and up – especially over the last few years – why is United going the opposite way?
Breaking Down United's Change of Heart
Airlines aren't in the business of cutting travelers a better deal just for the sake of it. In this case, it's clear that United's calculus has changed.
Carriers like United would love nothing more than to see each and every one of their MileagePlus members redeeming miles for travel on United itself – not Lufthansa, not SWISS, not All Nippon Airways. That logic was at the heart of why United charged higher rates to fly their partner airlines for years.
But now, United has a much more lucrative incentive to steer you towards its own flights – and, more importantly, pick up one of its co-branded Chase credit cards: Even steeper discounts.
For years, the airline has teased special cardholder award availability as a perk of their credit card lineup. But they've taken it even further recently with massive discounts … and advertising those discounts to even non-cardholders. Take a look at this transcontinental redemption from Newark (EWR) to San Francisco (SFO) for a telling example.
With those kinds of discounts, United has all the ammunition it needs to keep MileagePlus members flying United and steer clear of partner airlines, all while growing its base of co-branded cardholders in the process.
Bottom Line
Years after increasing award rates when booking partner airlines with United miles, the airline has slashed award rates across the board – at least in business class.
That means booking a flight on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, or EVA Air will cost you fewer miles than it did just a few days or weeks ago.
