United has become the first U.S. legacy carrier to allow their MileagePlus® loyalty program members to pool miles. Now, a group of up to five members can combine some or all of their miles, making it easier than ever to earn award travel benefits.
On Thursday (March 21, 2024), United Airlines announced that their MileagePlus® loyalty program members can now pool miles, becoming the first U.S. legacy carrier to offer this valuable benefit. Up to five MileagePlus members can now pool all or some of their miles, regardless of relationship, making it easier than ever to earn award travel benefits. Available on the carrier’s website, members can share and redeem miles in one linked account.
In Thursday’s announcement, United MileagePlus’ Chief Operating Officer, Luc Bondar, said,
“We’re always looking for new ways to provide the most value to all of our loyalty members and are proud to be the first major U.S. airline to allow our members to pool their miles with their loved ones and friends. MileagePlus miles pooling further reinforces United's position as the leader in family and group travel and gives our members more flexibility to use their miles while making it easier to connect to the destinations and moments that matter most, with the people that matter most.”
Any MileagePlus member 18 years of age or older can now become the ‘pool leader’ and create a pool for free after logging into their account on United.com. Then, they can invite up to four of their family, friends or travel companions of any age to join the pool, providing they have an active MileagePlus account (there is no minimum age to join). When logged in to their MileagePlus account, members will then be instructed on how to contribute to and redeem pooled miles for award flights on United and United Express. For example, if a group of friends is planning a trip this summer, and each friend has their own personal MileagePlus account, they can now combine some or all of their miles in one central pool to purchase or offset the cost of flights.
An individual MileagePlus member’s Premier® status will not be impacted by contributing miles to a pool. However, only members who travel on a ticket using pooled miles will earn any eligible Premier qualifying points (PQP), not the member who contributed them. Members cannot pool PQP, Premier qualifying points (PQF), PlusPoints or TravelBank cash.
At United Airlines, ‘Good Leads the Way.’ The airline operates the most comprehensive network among North American carriers with U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. As measured by available seat miles (ASMs), United is now the world’s largest airline. Shares in the company’s parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., are publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘UAL.’
Source: United Airlines/PRNewswire