United Airlines seems to have recently imposed a significant increase on awards that are booked within 14 days of departure. As reported by Gary over at View from the Wing, prices for close-in awards have risen by as much as 33%, going from 15,000 to 20,000 miles one-way for United States domestic medium- and long-haul flights.
The News
- United Airlines has raised its award prices for flights booked within 14 days of departure.
- Prices appear to have gone from 15k to 20k one-way on most, if not all, domestic medium- and long-haul flights.
Quick Thoughts
United prices its award flights dynamically, so there can be quite a bit of variation on the same route from day to day. However, it seems like prices for flights further than 14 days from departure are normal-ish, while awards within 14 days of departure seemed to have increased around 25-33%.
Gary mentions close-in flights from Denver to/from Newark increasing from 15k one-way to 20k. I’m seeing a bit more fudginess, but the starting price for flights within the next two weeks does indeed seem to be 20k:
Some days are showing prices that are slightly higher than 20k, but none are below that until 12/2 – two weeks out.
The same thing can be seen between Newark and San Francisco, where no seat within the next 14 days can be had for less than 20k:
I rarely book flights using United, but I just happened to be looking at this flight a couple of days ago, and prices for November were starting at 15k…an increase of 33%. The same flight is still 15k via Air Canada, albeit with less availability:
The number of miles isn’t terribly significant; 5,000 miles on a one-way transcontinental flight seems modest. However, 33% is a big devaluation, especially for economy flights.
Over the last couple of years, United’s award competitiveness has been experiencing a death by a thousand paper cuts, and this is just the latest example. It’s been years since I’ve felt any need to maintain a balance in our household MileagePlus accounts; I quite honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve booked a domestic United award using United miles. The frequency of no-notice prices increases like this doesn’t do anything to change my mind.
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United always seems to lead the pack in ensh*itification. This development is concerning, as it will undoubtedly lead to similar changed by other airlines.
I have tried to book with points when DEN-ASE-DEN is over $1400 at peak times for a flight under 30 minutes….but the points are over 60,000 for the flights.. Either way it is not fun..
I basically never book with United points but at as a pathological last minute traveller, this category of devaluation is particularly scary. I hope it doesn’t become a trend.