United Airlines Flight Change Fees & Policies (Same Day) [2020]

Sometimes your plans change or the unexpected happens and you need to make a modification to your flight dates and booking. Unfortunately, in many cases this requires you to shell out some serious cash just to make a simple change. However, there are some ways to reduce your change fees or even avoid them altogether depending on your situation.

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about United Airlines flight change fees and the special rules and restrictions that apply as well as some of the policy exceptions. I’ll also talk a little about same-day changes and how that process works.

Update: I also have the latest update from United Airlines regarding change fees and the coronavirus.

What is the United Airlines flight change fee?

United Airlines will allow you to change certain eligible flights but if your fare is not unrestricted you will be forced to pay a fee that will depend on your route. Most flights will not allow you to make a change for free.

For domestic flights, you will likely be paying about $200 for the flight change and for some United international flights you could be paying up to $400.

Reservations that are eligible to be changed can be changed online or through the United mobile app by selecting “Change flight” from the reservation. You will see any applicable fare difference and/or change fees when you search for new flights

By the way, if you’re looking to cut down on your travel fees, consider getting a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It offers an early spend bonus worth $500 in travel after meeting the minimum spend and is great to cancel out all sorts of travel expenses.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Basic economy restriction

If you have purchased a basic economy ticket you will not be allowed to make changes to that itinerary. Basic economy tickets are the cheapest type of tickets but they also come with the fewest amount of benefits (no free carry-on, etc.) and other restrictions.

Therefore, you always want to be careful about purchasing a basic economy fare, taking a full look at what you might be missing out on.

United 24 hour exception

If you have booked a flight that is seven days away from departure, you will be able to cancel your United flight for free or make a change to it with no fee as long as you do so within 24 hours of booking.

Here is exactly what Unites states:

Under our 24-hour flexible booking policy, if your ticket was purchased through United in the last 24 hours and you completed your purchase one week or more before the original scheduled departure flight, it may qualify for waiver of change or cancellation fees.

Basic economy tickets are also allowed this type of 24 hour refund.

If your airline ticket is eligible for the 24 hour cancellation policy, then you should be able to cancel your flight free of charge online by simply going to the Manage Reservation section.

Requests for refunds will be credited back in the original form of payment, with the exception of purchases made with a United Gift Certificate, which will be credited back in the form of electronic travel certificates.

How to get the change fee waived

In certain instances, you can’t avoid the change fee that United Airlines will impose. Here are some of the exceptions that United allows for when getting the change fees waived:

In the event that your travel plans change as a result of illness or jury duty, you will be required to pay the applicable change fee at the time of that change. Once this change fee is applied, you may submit a request to have the fee refunded.

In order to get the change fees refunded you will need to submit the necessary documentation. And here is the type of documentation that you will need to submit:

Illness situations:

Change fee refunds require a letter (on letterhead) from a licensed physician confirming that travel was not recommended due to the customer’s illness. Ticket refunds require a letter (on letterhead) from a licensed physician confirming that travel was not recommended within the validity of the ticket (one year of ticket’s issued date) due to illness. If the request is due to the illness of an immediate family member, the request must contain the family member’s name and relationship to you.

Jury duty refund requests:

Refunds require a copy of the jury summons. The letter from your doctor does not have to be very long at all. I recently got some change fees refunded with a doctor’s letter and this is what the doctor’s letter looked like: [Letterhead][Doctor’s contact information][My contact information]Date of service: To whom it may concern:Daniel is a patient under my care for a recent illness. The illness prevented him from traveling on his scheduled itinerary from [blank to blank] per my instructions. Please let me know if you have any questions.Sincerely,[Doctor signature]

So just make sure that there is a connection between your illness and your instructions not to travel.

Coronavirus 2020 update

If you’re scheduled to travel now through April 30, 2020 – domestically or internationally, to any destination – and would like to change your plans, there is no fee to do so, regardless of when you purchased your ticket

How to request a change fee refund

If you would like to request a United Airlines refund then you can do that here. You will need to supply some basic contact information and then you will need to enter some of your flight details, such as your eTicket number or Reservation number. You can often find these in the emails that United sent you.

You will then need to explain the reason for your refund request. When I requested my refund I just provided a simple explanation of what happened. For example I simply put:

“I was scheduled to take flight X on X day. However, due to an illness I was not able to take that flight and was forced to make a change. I am now requesting a refund for the associated change fee.”

You will then need to upload your document. Only the following file types will be accepted: .doc, .docx, .jpeg, .png, .xlsx, .xls, .pdf, .txt, and .csv. File size should not exceed 2 MB. It can take up to seven business days for them to process your request. Also, the refund should hit your credit card statement within one billing cycle.

If you want to read more about getting refunds for different types of United purchases you can do that here.

Customer service phone number

If you have any questions about pursuing a refund or a change fee then you can reach out to United customer service — their phone number is: 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331).

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

United same-day changes & fees

If you are needing to make a change to your itinerary and you are very close to the departure date, then you might be able to make a change at a reduced rate or perhaps even for free depending on your elite status.

Here are the fees for United same-day changes:

Membership level	Service charges
MileagePlus non–Premier members	$75
MileagePlus Premier Silver members	$75
MileagePlus Premier Gold members	$0
MileagePlus Premier Platinum and MileagePlus Premier 1K members	$0

In order to make same-day changes for United Airlines flight, you will need to abide by the following restrictions:

Only United flights

The itinerary must be operated by United or United express and also your ticket number must begin with 016.

Origin and destination

Changes are only available for that the exact origin and destination airport. The connection points may be changed however provided that the new routing is permitted by the type of fare that you purchased.

So this means that if your original flight had a connection in Houston but your desired flight will have a connection in Chicago this could be possible as long as the type of fare that you purchased permits it.

If your itinerary has three or more flights and you want to make a change that can only be confirmed by calling the United Customer Contact Center or by speaking with a United representative at the airport.

Note: You may not change routing when standing by.

If you want to change the departure or arrival airport then you will likely be subject to the standard change fees.

Time restrictions

The option to make a same-day flight change will be available within 24 hours before your originally scheduled flight. Keep in mind that the requested flight must be departing within 24 hours from the time the request is made and can include any fare class though you will be required to pay the difference in fare. You also must make all changes prior to your original scheduled flight.

This means that it could be possible to change your flights to the day before or even after your original flight so long as you do so within the specified time period.

When the original ticketed fare class is available on the requested flight within 24 hours of departure, the same-day flight change fee (instead of the change fee stated in the fare rules) will apply.
When the original ticketed fare class is not available on the requested flight within 24 hours of departure, the same-day flight change fee (instead of the change fee stated in the fare rules) will apply, as well as any additional payments or refunds for the difference in fare.

Standy request

If there are no seats available in the purchased fare class, you can still standby. In such a case the same day change fee will apply but you will not be charged unless you are actually assigned a seat on your alternate flight.

When choosing to do a standby you are not allowed any changes in routing. You can make a standby request on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. And once you are added to this standby flight list you can check your real-time status here or on a mobile device.

You cannot avoid the same day change discounted fee by doing a standby unless you have a ticket that has no penalties for making changes or you are standing by do to involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.

Upgraded tickets will automatically be added to the upgrade standby list at your applicable upgrade priority.

Check-in and checked baggage

If you have already checked in for your original flight it is still possible to make a same day flight change.

If you had already checked a bag on your original flight then you will need to complete any change requests at least 60 minutes before your new fights departure in order to allow United Airlines sufficient time to move your baggage over to the new flight.

Same-day changes to award tickets

The same day change fee does apply to award tickets as well. However, you can avoid these fees if you are a United MileagePlus Premier member at the Gold level or above.

Final word

United has some pretty standard change fees. I’ve had to deal with getting refunds for change fees on a couple of occasions and each time the process was pretty painless so hopefully it will not be difficult for you.

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.

Southwest Wanna Get Away Fare Complete Guide: (Cancellation & Refunds) [2020]

Southwest Wanna Get Away fares are some of the most popular types of airline tickets and I have been flying them for a long time.

The main reason I love them is that the prices for these type of tickets can be extremely cheap — sometimes under $40! They also have customer-friendly change rules and a generous baggage policy.

However, there are some important considerations that you want to know about before purchasing a Wanna Get Away fare like what the cancellation/refund policy is and how cheap the fares can be. In this comprehensive article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Wanna Get Away fares!

What is a Southwest Wanna Get Away ticket?

Southwest Wanna Get Away tickets are the cheapest type of tickets that you can purchase with Southwest.

These cheaper fares are great to save you money (especially during flash sales) but they have the least flexible cancellation policy out of any of the other type of Southwest ticket.

Basically, these are nonrefundable tickets although there are ways to still make changes and cancellations and get your money back in the form of credits.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Southwest fare types

Before jumping too deep into Wanna Get Away fares, a quick review of the different types of Southwest fare types will be helpful. Here are the different type of Southwest fares that you can book:

Business Select
Anytime
Wanna Get Away
Senior fares

Business Select and Anytime fares are different than Wanna Get Away fares because you can receive a full cash refund when you cancel your ticket. However, both of these ticket types are usually much more expensive than Wanna Get Away fares.

Business Select also comes with some additional perks:

Guaranteed A1-A15 boarding
Fly By lane access
Free premium drink
12 Rapid Rewards per dollar spent
Fully refundable fare
Standby

You can read more about the Business Select perks here.

While Business Select and Anytime fares are much more expensive they also allow you to earn more Rapid Rewards with your ticket purchase.

Typically, you will earn Southwest Rapid Rewards at the following rates

6X per dollar for Wanna Get Away fares
10X per dollar for Anytime fares
12X per dollar for Business Select

Once you have taken enough flights for earned enough Rapid Rewards, You can earn A-list, which will allow you to earn even more Rapid Rewards. Here are the earning rates for A-List.

7.5X per dollar for Wanna Get Away fares
12.5X per dollar for Anytime fares
15X per dollar for Business Select

And here are the rates for A-List Preferred

12X per dollar for Wanna Get Away fares
20X per dollar for Anytime fares
24X per dollar for Business Select

You can read more about here you can read more about Southwest A-List here.

Wanna Get Away pricing

Wanna Get Away fares can be very cheap, but they are not always the cheapest. Take a look at some of the examples below where I compare Southwest Airlines to the cheapest legacy carrier for that route.

I priced a nonstop roundtrip from Houston to Los Angeles and here were the prices:

Southwest Airlines: $204
American Airlines: $148

That is a pretty big price difference.

I tested another sample booking from Houston to New York and here are the prices:

Southwest Airlines: $227
Delta Airlines: $227

So in this case it was a tie with Delta.

I tested another sample booking from Houston to Fort Lauderdale and here are the prices:

Southwest Airlines: $221
United Airlines: $237

So the sample bookings just go to show that Wanna Get Away fares sometimes might be the same, cheaper, or even more expensive when compared to legacy carriers.

But baggage fees are something to consider when evaluating the price of a ticket with Southwest. Checking a bag on a roundtrip will often cost you $60 and so Southwest will save you that much simply by choosing to fly with them. So don’t forget to factor in the baggage fee savings when flying Southwest!

If we factored in $60 baggage fees into the prices above they would look like this:

Houston to Los Angeles:

Southwest Airlines: $204
American Airlines: $208

Houston to New York:

Southwest Airlines: $227
Delta Airlines: $287

Houston to Fort Lauderdale:

Southwest Airlines: $221
United Airlines: $297

So clearly Southwest would be much cheaper and that is only considering checking in one bag.

And then we can look at what would happen if we had to change our flight. Take a look at how the prices would differ with the airline change fees factored in.

Houston to Los Angeles:

Southwest Airlines: $204
American Airlines: $408

Houston to New York:

Southwest Airlines: $227
Delta Airlines: $487

Houston to Fort Lauderdale:

Southwest Airlines: $221
United Airlines: $497

Those are now very dramatic price differences and it just goes to show you how Southwest can end up saving you more money in some cases.

Special flash deals

Sometimes you can catch special flash deals where one-way fares can be very cheap, like between $39 to $69.

These flash sales can offer a tremendous amount of value but typically they do come with certain types of limitations or restrictions which require you to purchase tickets on specific dates for specific routes.

The routes for the super cheap flights often are very short like flying from Los Angeles to Sacramento, but sometimes you will be surprised by cheaper longer routes, which usually cap at around $129.

Here are some examples of the flash deals via Thrillist:

Sacramento to San Diego (and vice versa) for $49
San Francisco to Las Vegas (and vice versa) for $51
Los Angeles to Las Vegas (and vice versa) for $61
Milwaukee to Nashville (and vice versa) for $62
Providence to Washington, DC (and vice versa) for $62
Atlanta to Boston (and vice versa) for $72
Fort Lauderdale to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands for $71
Portland to Los Angeles (and vice versa) for $72
Fort Lauderdale to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos for $74
Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas for $77

Sometimes the applicable dates are not very ideal like requiring you to travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday. But if the timing is right for you these flash deals can be a steal. You can still find deals on the weekend, they will just usually be a little bit more expensive.

You can also search for low fares with this calendar.

Last minute flights

One thing to watch out for is that Wanna Get Away fares can actually be very pricey if purchased last minute. Many times you will find $100+ cheaper rates with other legacy carriers like United or Delta when looking to purchase last-minute flights.

For example, I looked at booking a flight one week out from Houston to Los Angeles in December. American Airlines was charging $175 for the round-trip while Southwest was charging $275. So just be mindful of that.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Wanna Get Away changes and cancellations

As mentioned above as mentioned above, Wanna Get Away fares are not refundable. Thus, you should only book them when you are highly confident of your travel dates and times.

The good news is that Southwest has a very generous change policy. Basically, you can change your flights for free as long as you make those changes one hour prior to departure. This is great whenever the price of your airfare drops because you can simply change your flight and get a credit for the difference, whether you booked with cash or points.

If you miss the change deadline you’ll need to cancel your flight.

If you cancel your Wanna Get Away fare you won’t receive a refund but you can get a credit (travel funds) applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only. This means that you can’t cancel and then do a name change and expect to use those travel funds for the new passengers.

However, there is a way to convert your travel funds into something called a LUV Voucher, which can be used for others. That method does require you to pay a fee but you can read more about that here.

10 minutes prior to departure

You also need to make sure that you cancel your ticket at least 10 minutes prior to departure. If you fail to do this then you will lose ALL of your funds.

The terms and conditions state:

Customers who fail to cancel reservations for a Wanna Get Away fare segment at least ten (10) minutes prior to travel and who do not board the flight will be considered a no show, and all remaining unused Wanna Get Away funds will be forfeited

However, if you made a points booking and you failed to cancel, then the points will be redeposited to the purchaser’s Rapid Rewards account.

You can read more about the Southwest cancellation and change policy here.

24 hour exception

If you call or cancel online at Southwest.com within 24 hours of booking, Southwest will offer you the option of refunding the airfare back to the original form of payment, or retaining the credit to be used toward future travel.

This actually a requirement from the Department of Transportation’s consumer rule “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections” (14 CFR 259.5(b)(4), which requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty.

Wanna Get Away baggage policy

In case you did not know, Southwest allows you to check two bags in for free. They are one of the only airlines that has such a generous baggage policy and it applies even whenever you book a cheap Wanna Get Away fare.

Wanna Get Away boarding

Purchasing a Wanna Get Away fare does not really affect your boarding position. While you won’t to be issued one of the Business Select boarding positions, Southwest has a unique boarding policy that allows you to choose your own seat when boarding.

Check-in opens at 24 hours prior to take off and once you check in you are given a boarding position. That boarding position will determine when you enter the plane and you simply find an open seat when you enter the aircraft — there are no assigned seats.

If you are worried about not checking in on time and securing a high boarding position, then what you can do is purchase something called Southwest Earlybird. That will automatically check you in 36 hours prior to departure which typically allows you a good boarding position in a high A group or a lower B group.

Upgrading Wanna Get Away fares

You might be wondering if it is possible to upgrade whenever you purchase a Wanna Get Away fare. The answer to this question is yes and this is something that we have done quite often.

When flying Southwest you can choose to upgrade to Business Select at the time of arrival at the airport. It’s not always available but for leisure routes it usually is available.

The main reason for doing this is that you are able to board in one of the first positions and therefore you can secure a better seat on the plane (perhaps with extra leg room). We like to choose the seats with extra leg room for growth with only two seats so we utilize this type of upgrading a lot.

The price for the upgrade will vary but you won’t generally be looking at anywhere from $30-$50 per segment. Whether or not that is worth it will just depend on your preference for a better seat.

Can you standby?

Although it is not an officially published benefit it is possible to get standby sometimes even whenever you have purchased a Wanna Get Away fare for some flights. You will need to inquire with an agent at the gate or at check-in in order to see about the possibilities for this.

Wanna Get Away + Companion Pass

You might also want to look into getting the Southwest Companion Pass. This pass will allow someone to fly for free with you for up to two calendar years. It’s a pretty phenomenal deal and whenever you constantly fly on cheap Wanna Get Away fares, you can see a lot of the country without breaking your wallet.

To find out more about that pass click here.

Final word

Overall, Wanna Get Away fares are great for allowing you to save money, especially when you can spot a good deal. The key is to be aware of the change in cancellation policies that apply to your ticket. If you are very sure of your travel dates then the cancellation policy should not be much of an issue but if you ever need to change your travel dates remember that you can still get a credit for the changes if there is a change in price.

Cover photo by Tom Hart via Flickr.

Daniel Gillaspia

Frontier Airlines Cancellation & Change Policy Guide [2020]

Frontier is like any other low-cost airline in the USA where the cheap tickets are set up to be à la carte for seat selection, baggage, and priority boarding. However, Frontier probably has one of the best change and cancellation policies of any airline in the USA right behind Southwest.

In this article, I will explain Frontier Airlines’ generous change and cancellation policy in detail and then I will show you how to change or cancel a flight, step-by-step.

Updated September 18th to reflect the new cancellation policy.

Frontier Airlines flight change policy

Frontier has a generous change policy, especially if you’re someone that loves to book months before the flight. As you can see below, Frontier has a better and cheaper change policy than most other airlines:

	Regular ticket	The WORKS	Award ticket
Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure)	$0	$0	$0
60 days or more prior to departure	$0	$0	$0
59 to 14 days prior to departure	$49	$0	$0
13 days to 8 days prior to depature	$119	$0	$0
Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made less than 7 days before departure)	$119	$0	$99
Within 7 days of departure (including same-day standby)	$119	$0 ($119 for same-day)	$99

The WORKS bundle can cost you a hefty penny. Sometimes the price is less than $100 and sometimes it’s more than $100. Each route will determine the price. It can be very valuable to some, but only if you need everything included like carry-on, a checked bag, seat selection, priority boarding, free changes, and refundability.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

24-Hour risk-free Cancellation/Change

Tickets purchased seven days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date are eligible for free changes and cancellations within 24 hours of the flight purchase date. Frontier holds the ticket for 24 hours and then charges you once the 24 hours are up. Therefore, your purchase will post to your credit card statement with a 24-hour delay. However, Frontier will hold the funds on your credit card.

Tickets purchased less than seven days (168 hours) before scheduled departure date aren’t eligible for free changes or cancellations.

This could give you a little more than 24 hours to change or cancel your ticket made directly through Frontier, only if you booked your flight seven days or more before the departure date. Tickets made through travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline, Orbits, etc. will have to go through the travel agency’s 24 hours change and cancellation policy.

Prices

Fees will be per passenger for the whole itinerary unless noted.

Regular tickets change fees are $0 for 0 days or more before departure, $49 for changes made 59 to 14 days prior to departure, and $119 for changes made 13 days or less prior to departure. Same-day standby/change will also be $119.

The WORKS tickets have no change fees until 24 hours before departure, which will then occur a $119 change fee for a same-day standby/change.

Award tickets change fee is $99 for modifications made seven days or less. For changes before eight days or more prior to departure, the change fee will be $0. Modifications can only be done over the phone.

Deadline

Regular tickets changes made within 24 hours and greater than seven days will be free. Changes made 60 days or more prior to departure will be free. Changes made 59 days or less prior to departure will be subject to a fee.

The WORKS tickets changes made anytime before 24 hours prior to departure will be free. Changes made within 24 hours prior to departure will be subject to a fee.

Award tickets changes made eight days or more prior to departure will be free. Changes made within seven days prior to departure will be subject to a fee.

Price changes

Flight changes will be subjected to price differences if the value of the new ticket is higher than the original of a regular ticket or award ticket. You will have to pay the difference in ticket value. Ticket values that are less in price than the original ticket value will receive a credit called Frontier credit.

For example, if you hold a regular ticket that originally cost $500 and change the flight that now costs $400, you will be credited $100. However, if you change the flight that costs $600, you will be charged $100 since the value of the new ticket is higher. (The same concept applies to the WORKS ticket, but instead of credit you get a refund to the original payment method.)

Related reading: Check out the full review of the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard!

Frontier Airlines cancellation and refund policy

Frontier cancellation fees are mostly the same price as their change fees, except for the award ticket redeposit fees. The WORKS is the only way to get a fully refundable ticket with Frontier.

	Regular ticket	The WORKS	Award ticket
Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure)	$0	$0	$0
60 days or more prior to departure	$0	$0	$75
59 to 14 days prior to departure	$49	$0	$75
13 days to 8 days prior to depature	$119	$0	$75
Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made less than 7 days before departure)	$119	$0	$75
Within 7 days of departure (including same day standby)	$119	$0 ($119 for same-day)	$75

24-Hour risk-free Cancellation/Change

Tickets purchased less than seven days (168 hours) before scheduled departure date aren’t eligible for free changes or cancellations.

Prices

Fees will be per passenger for the whole itinerary unless noted.

Regular tickets cancellation fees are $0 for 60 days or more before departure, $49 for changes made 59 to 14 days prior to departure, and $119 for changes made 13 days or less prior to departure. Same-day cancellations will also be $119.

The WORKS tickets have no cancellation fees until 24 hours before departure, which will then occur a $119 cancellation fee for a refund.

Award tickets don’t have any cancellation fees, but there is a fee for redepositing the miles into your account for $75.

Deadline

Regular tickets cancellations made within 24 hours and greater than seven days before departure will be free. Cancellations made 60 days or more prior to departure will be free. Cancellations made 59 or less prior to departure will be subject to a fee.

The WORKS tickets cancellations made anytime before 24 hours prior to departure will be free. Cancellations made within 24 hours prior to departure will be subject to a fee.

Award tickets cancellations made anytime after the 24 hours cancellation window will be subject to an award redeposit fee.

Refunds

Regular tickets refunds are issued as Frontier credit for future flights. Therefore, you can only use the credit for Frontier Airlines in the name of the passenger that the credit was issued to.

The WORKS tickets refunds are issued back to the original payment method. Therefore, if you used a credit card to purchase a WORKS bundled ticket, your credit card will be refunded when you request a refund.

Award tickets miles would be re-deposited back into your account and if you’re eligible any fees charged at booking will be refunded.

No show and missed flights

Frontier Airlines doesn’t have an official no show policy, which means if you don’t show up for your flight, your ticket is gone and cannot be used ever again. You will not get any credit back from the ticket, or you will not get another ticket for a later flight. Of course, agents have the power to rebook you on a later flight with a valid excuse.

Frontier Airlines same-day standby for earlier or later flights

When flying on a regular or the WORKS bundled ticket, you can do a same-day standby for an earlier flight at the airport or call Frontier reservations before arriving at the airport for a confirmed seat on a later flight. The fee is $119 for same-day standby and changes. For Frontier Elites, same-day standby fee is waived.

For award tickets, you have to call in before the flight to make sure there is availability for same-day confirmed changes. The fee is $99, but elites have the fee waived.

Remember, standby is subject to seats being available. So, be aware some flights might not have any seats available.

Same-day standby to alternative airports

If you wish to do same-day flights to alternative airports, you can do so from the list down below. That means if you want to fly into another airport the same day and they are listed in the same bullet down below, you can do so.

For example, if my original destination airport was Orlando (MCO), but I prefer Tampa (TPA), I could change the same day as they are alternative airports, or also known as sister cities.

Birmingham (BHM) and Huntsville (HSV)
Bloomington (BMI) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Boston (BOS), Bradley (BDL) and Providence (PVD)
Boston (BOS), Portsmouth (PSM) and Portland, ME (PWM)
Charleston (CHS) and Myrtle Beach (MYR)
Charleston (CHS) and Savannah (SAV)
Charlotte (CLT) and Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
Chicago Midway (MDW), Chicago-O’Hare Airport (ORD), Chicago Rockford (RFD), Dane County (MSN) and Milwaukee (MKE)
Cincinnati (CVG) and Louisville (SDF)
Colorado Springs (COS) and Denver (DEN)
Columbus (CMH) and Cincinnati (CVG)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL), West Palm Beach (PBI) and Miami (MIA)
Fort Myers (RSW) and Sarasota (SRQ)
Harrisburg (MDT), Trenton (TTN) and Philadelphia (PHL)
Long Island (ISP), Newark (EWR), Trenton (TTN), Philadelphia (PHL) and LaGuardia (LGA)
Los Angeles (LAX) and Orange County/Santa Ana (SNA) and Ontario (ONT)
Madison (MSN) and Milwaukee (MKE)
Ontario, CA (ONT) and Palm Springs (PSP)
Orange County/Santa Ana (SNA) and San Diego (SAN)
Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA)
Phoenix (PHX) and Tucson (TUS)
San Antonio (SAT) and Austin (AUS)
San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC)
Sarasota (SRQ) and Tampa (TPA)
Washington-Dulles (IAD), Washington-National (DCA) and Baltimore-Washington (BWI)

How to change a Frontier flight online

From the homepage, you will want to select “my trip/check-in” to show the box to type in your last name and confirmation code. Proceed to the next screen by pressing search.

If there are multiple people on the same reservation (PNR), just use one of the last names and confirmation codes to bring up the trip itinerary.

You will be directed to the trip confirmation page.

On the trip confirmation page, you will see the option to change flights. Select “change flights.”

A popup to the right side of the screen will appear titled “itinerary changes.” If you have more than one flight on your itinerary, you can select one or multiple flights that you wish to change.

To change a flight, you will have to select a flight. Notice the check that now appears with the boxes to change the origin and destination airports along with the date of departure.

Once you input the new information, press “change” to proceed.

On the next page, you will see the flights available. The prices shown are the price of a new ticket and whatever fare difference to your current one will show on the next page.

After selecting your flight, bundle (only perks bundle is available if you didn’t select the WORKS), and other add-ons you will input your payment information. Then fees associated with your changes will be shown. (Refer to the change policy section outlined above.)

When you confirm your changes, you will see your new trip details in your trip confirmation page along with an email sent right away.

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How to cancel a Frontier flight online

From the homepage, you will want to select “my trip/check-in” to pull up the box to type in your last name and confirmation code. Proceed to the next screen by pressing search.

If there are multiple people on the same reservation (PNR), just use one of the last names and confirmation codes to bring up the trip itinerary.

You will be directed to the trip confirmation page.

On the trip confirmation page, you will see the option to change flights. Select “cancel booking.”

You will be directed to a new page displaying information like fees, if applicable, but I owe no fees as I was canceling the booking made within 24 hours and greater than seven days before departure.

After clicking “confirm changes” you will see your cancel confirmation along with an email sent right away. It will also show any fees you paid if applicable.

Canceling or changing a Frontier flight on the phone

You can cancel or change flights over the phone with Frontier Airlines.

Reservations: +1-801-401-9000
Assistance for the hearing impaired: 711

How to get Frontier fees waived

There are two ways to get some or all of Frontier fees waived, one is fly enough to become an elite with Frontier or another is purchasing the WORKS bundle at booking.

Elite status

Any level of status can get certain fees waived like same-day confirmed fee and reward redemption fees waived.

All you need is to fly 20,000 qualifying miles or 25 segments to become Elite 20k. Benefits include free seat assignment, priority boarding, free carry-on, family pooling, and stretch seating upgrade at check-in. Some of these benefits do help to make your flight a better one.

The WORKS bundle

As I explained above, the WORKS bundle creates a regular ticket into a refundable ticket and can change the ticket whenever you want. Plus, if you refund the ticket, the original payment method gets refunded. On top of that, the money you spent on the WORKS bundle also gets refunded. Changes and cancellations can be done anytime for free 24 hours or more prior to the flight departure.

In contrast, Frontier’s regular tickets policy is 59 days or more prior to departure free changes and cancellations, but you can only be refunded in the form of Frontier credit for future flights with Frontier.

Third-party ticket change or cancel

If you bought your Frontier flight through a travel agency like Expedia you will have to make changes/cancellations through the travel agency that you purchased the ticket through. Change or cancellations might result in additional fees by the travel agency. I recommend always booking with the airline directly unless a third-party agency has a better price with no added fees.

Frontier baggage policy

If you are new to Frontier, baggage isn’t included in the base fare. So, I suggest you to read our article about baggage fees when flying Frontier Airlines so you know what to expect.

Final word

When it comes to cancellation and change policies, Frontier is surprisingly relaxed and not price gouging you compared to the likes of Delta or Alaska. Even their elite program has fee waivers for certain fees that do come in handy. So, I do hope this article helps you better understand Frontier’s policy for changes and cancellations.

Cover photo by Tomás Del Coro via Flickr

Steve Smith

Steve is a senior contributor for UponArriving and spends close to 300 nights a year in hotels while traveling the world and trying to eat as much as he can. Steve has spoken at summits like the FBZ Elite Summit in Austin. He holds top-tier elite status with almost every hotel program as a Marriott Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire, and GHA Black. Utilizing credit card points and miles, Steve takes over 100 flights per year while experiencing some of the top first class and business class cabin in the sky.

Frontier Miles (Early Returns) Benefits Review [2020]

Frontier Airlines is known for being one of the most popular ultra low cost carriers but just like many other airlines, they have a frequent flyer program that you can benefit from if you find yourself flying Frontier a lot. Because this is a low cost carrier that charges you hefty fees for things like seat selection, carry-ons, and checked baggage fees, a lot of the benefits will be able to save you on normal travel expenses when flying.

In this article, I will break down all of the benefits for the Frontier miles frequent flyer program (formerly Frontier Early Returns) and show you how the benefits differ for the different elite levels (20K, 50K, and 100K). I’ll also show you how to obtain these different levels including how to do so without even flying.

What is “Frontier Miles?”

Frontier Miles is the frequent flyer program for Frontier Airlines, formerly known as Frontier Early Returns. The new program does not only have a new name but also has some new features, which I will highlight below.

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What are the Frontier elite levels?

Their are three Elite tears in the Frontier Miles frequent flyer program.

Elite 20K: Earn 20,000 status qualifying miles or fly 25 segments
Elite 50K: Earn 50,000 status qualifying miles or fly 50 segments
Elite 100K: Earn 100,000 status qualifying miles or fly 100 segments

How do you earn Frontier status miles?

You can earn Status Miles by flying Frontier or spending on your Frontier Airlines World Mastercard.

You will earn one mile for every one mile flown, no matter the price of your ticket. This is different from other airlines that allow you to earn more miles for more expensive fares. For example, Southwest Airlines has the following earning rates:

6X per dollar for Wanna Get Away fares
10X per dollar for Anytime fares
12X per dollar for Business Select

Status Miles and are not redeemable for flights or with partners.

Additionally, the following type of miles are NOT considered Status Qualifying Miles: special bonus miles, mileage multipliers, and other promotional miles. This means that all of those additional bonus miles that you will earn from having a higher elite status will not count towards status.

Earn elite status with a credit card

Frontier is a bit unique in that they allow you to spend your way to elite status.

You can do this with their cobranded credit card that is issued by Barclays. With this credit card you can find a sign-up bonus worth up to 40,000 miles which can get you up to two round-trip tickets.

This credit card will also allow you to earn five times the miles per dollar spent on purchases at flyfrontier.com
and three extra miles on restaurant purchases. You will also earn one Frontier mile for every dollar spent on all other categories.

Some of the additional perks of this credit card include:

Zone 2 boarding
0% introductory APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening
No foreign transaction fees
Award redemption fees waived
Complimentary FICO credit score
Keep your miles from expiring with one purchase every six months
$79 annual fee

Frontier elite benefits

Below, I will break down all of the different benefits for the different elite levels.

Elite 20K benefits

Free carry-on

As an elite 20K member, you will be able to bring on a carry-on for free. This benefit only applies to the member.

Just like other low cost carriers, Frontier charges some pretty hefty fees for carry-ons. These fees can range from $30-$60, so it’s really nice that you can save money as an elite member on these carry-on fees.

Flyfrontier.com, at booking

$30 to $35

Flyfrontier.com, after booking and up to 24 hours before departure

$38

Call Center

$40

Web Check-in

$40

Airport ticket counter or self-service kiosk

$45

Departure Gate

$60

Family pooling

Unlock family pooling where you can combine FRONTIER Miles with up to 8 family members and friends to make using miles easy.

This benefit can really make it much easier to use your points since you can simply pool the points within your family. The primary member of the pool will be able to use the points as they wish and also can control who is in the pool, so you want to make sure that someone very responsible is designated as the primary member.

Note that this benefit is also available to the co-branded credit card holders of the Frontier credit card.

Seat assignment

Receive free advanced seat assignment on your flights (note this does not include stretch seating). This benefit is for the member only. Seat selection will cost $6 for a standard seat at the time of booking.

Stretch Seating

Upgrade, for free, to stretch seating (if available) during flight check-in, at the ticket counter or gate. This benefit is for the member only.

Priority boarding

Enjoy priority boarding and Express TSA (at participating airport).

Award fees waived

Award fees are waived when booking in award flight

Travel fees waived

Travel fees are waived, these include: call center reservation fee, unaccompanied minor fee (if the minor is the elite member), same-day confirmed fee and same-day standby fee. This benefit is for members only. Read more about cancellation fees here.

Last seat toward

Use miles to redeem last seat available award tickets. This benefit can be used by any traveler on the Elite member’s booking.

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Elite 50K benefits

Family seating

You and your family & friends get free advanced seat assignments, including stretch! This benefit can be used for up to 8 travelers on the Elite member’s booking.

Earn more miles

Receive 25% additional redeemable mileage bonus on all eligible Frontier flights. The mileage multiplier apples towards redeemable miles and does not apply toward Status Qualifying Miles. This benefit is for the member only.

50% off Discount Den

Elite 50k members enjoy 50% off Discount Den, our fare membership club that allows exclusive access to our lowest fares. Sign Up! This membership would typically cost you $60 per year. However, you should know that this benefit is for the member only. This is similar to the $9 Fare Club offered by Spirit Airlines.

Elite 100K benefits

The works

You and your family & friends enjoy Family Status and all receive the WORKS bundle. The WORKS bundle includes:

Advance Seat Assignment, including Stretch Seating at booking, for the Member and up to 8 other Members traveling on the same reservation with the same confirmation number.
Carry-on baggage for the Member and up to 8 other Members traveling on the same reservation with the same confirmation number.
One checked baggage item for the Member and up to 8 other Members traveling on the same reservation with the same confirmation number.

You’ll also get: priority boarding, flight flexibility and refundability.

Saving on baggage fees for checked luggage can really add up and here are the prices that you would normally be paying if you had to pay out-of-pocket. Prices taken via a chart from Frontier’s website.

Purchase Location	Carry-On Bag	1st Checked Bag	2nd Checked Bag	>3+ Checked Bag
BEST VALUE! Flyfrontier.com, at booking	$30*/35	$25*/30	$45	$80
Flyfrontier.com, after booking and up to 24 hours before departure	$38	$38	$45	$80
Call Center	$40	$40	$45	$85
Web Check-in	$40	$40	$45	$85
Airport ticket counter or self-service kiosk	$45	$45	$50	$85
Departure Gate	$60	$60	N/A	N/A

Earn more miles

Receive 50% additional redeemable mileage bonus on all eligible Frontier flights. Keep in mind that the mileage multiplier applies towards redeemable miles and does not apply toward Status Qualifying Miles. So as a 100K member, you will be earning 1.5 miles per dollar spent.

Discount Den

Get Discount Den for FREE.

Final word

There are a lot of benefits to climbing up the elite status levels with Frontier. If you regularly travel with your family then you can really save a lot of money with free carry-ons and checked bags and also have a more convenient experience with perks like priority boarding in seat selection. I really like that you can spend your way to elite status via a credit card since that is something typically not offered by other airlines.

Daniel Gillaspia

United Airlines Status Match & Challenge Guide [2020]

One of the best shortcuts for getting elite status with any hotel or airline program is to do a status match or status challenge. These are very easy to do and what it amounts to is one loyalty program matching you to an elite tier based on the elite tier that you belong to in another program.

United Airlines is one of these programs that offers a status match and in this article I will tell you everything you need to know about United status matches, including what tiers match to programs like Southwest, Marriott, etc. I’ll also go into detail about the status challenges that you can use in order to hold on to the elite status that you can earn via a status match.

Does United Airlines offer a status match?

United Airlines offers a status match to various tiers of its elite MileagePlus program.

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How the United status match works

This status match for United Airlines is very simple. You simply submit the required form and documents (proof of status) for the status match and then wait to be matched to a respective level of status.

You will then be able to keep the elite status for a short amount of time and then if you want to maintain that status throughout the year you’ll need to meet additional requirements.

I will explain all of these requirements in detail below.

How long do you get to keep status?

If you meet the criteria for the status challenge you will be given United elite status for 90 days. If you want to keep the status for the remainder of the program year you’ll need to earn a certain number of Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or Premier qualifying segments (PQS) on flights operated by United or United Express within a 90-day Offer Period.

Note that if you are unable to complete the PQM or PQS requirement within the 90-day period, your matched MileagePlus Premier status will expire and you may be returned to a lower earned Premier level, or general member status, at United’s discretion.

The number of PQM or PQS you must earn depends on the Premier status level you are matched to in MileagePlus.

Here are the requirements that you will have to meet:

MileagePlus Premier status	PQM or PQS requirements
Premier Silver	Fly 7,000 PQM or 8 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express
Premier Gold	Fly 12,500 PQM or 15 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express
Premier Platinum	Fly 18,000 PQM or 22 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express

Compare those to the normal requirements:

Premier level	PQM and PQS requirement (and PQD requirement for U.S. residents)
Premier Silver	25,000 PQM or 30 PQS (and $3,000)
Premier Gold	50,000 PQM or 60 PQS (and $6,000)
Premier Platinum	75,000 PQM or 90 PQS (and $9,000)
Premier 1K	100,000 PQM or 120 PQS (and $15,000)

What level of status can you get?

The level of elite status that you are given depends on the type of elite status that you have with another airline program.

Here are some examples of the different types of matches you can receive.

Frequent flyer program	Level	Level	Level
Delta Air Lines Medallion level	Silver	Gold	Platinum
American Airlines AAdvantage elite status	Gold	Platinum	Platinum Pro
Level matched to in MileagePlus	Premier Silver	Premier Gold	Premier Platinum

The following data points are taken directly from statusmatcher. I believe that the website is reputable but I have not been able to personally verify the accuracy of the data points so you might want to double check with United before proceeding with a status match.

Also, these things could always change but the data below should give you an idea of what you can expect with a status match to United Airlines. But again, always verify first!

Southwest

A List = United Premier Silver
A List Preferred = United Gold
Companion pass = United Platinum

Note that you probably will have to show actual “butt in the seat” flying miles if you are going to the companion pass route. Simply earning the companion pass with your credit cards is probably not sufficient for a status match.

JetBlue

JetBlue Mosaic = United Silver

Alaska Airlines

MVP = United Premier Silver
MVP gold = United Premier Gold
MVP Gold 7K = United Premier Platinum

LATAM Pass

Gold = United Premier Silver
Platinum = United Premier Gold
Black = United Premier Platinum
Black signature = United Premier 1K

Air France

Ivory = United Premier Silver
Silver = United Premier Gold
Gold = United Premier Platinum
Platinum = United Premier 1K

British Airways

Blue = United Premier Silver
Bronze = United Premier Gold
Silver = United Premier Platinum
Gold = United Premier 1K

Qantas

Bronze = United Premier Silver
Silver = United Premier Gold
Gold = United Premier Platinum
Platinum = United Premier 1K

Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott Bonvoy Titanium = United Premier Silver

How to submit your status match

If you would like to submit your status match then you will need to fill out this form. The form only takes a few seconds to fill out as all you have to do is select the airline information and upload your documents.

There will be a drop-down menu where you can choose from one of many airlines and select the level of elite status that you currently have with them.

Here are all of the airlines that you can choose from:

Aer Lingus
Aero Mexico
Aeroflot
Air Europa
Airberlin
Alaska Airlines
Air France
American Airlines
Alitalia
Aerolineas Argentinas
British Airways
Cathay Pacific Airlines
China Airlines
China Eastern Airlines
China Southern Airlines
CSA Czech Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Dragonair
El Al Israel Airlines
Emirates
Etihad Airways
Finnair
Frontier Airlines
GOL
Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia
IcelandAir
Japan Airlines
Jet Airways
JetBlue
Kenya Airways
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Korean Airlines
LAN Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
Qatar Airways
Royal Jordanian
Siberia Airlines
Southwest Airlines
TAM Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Australia

You will also need to attach a copy of your most recent mileage summary or current year membership card for the frequent flyer program you are matching from. It must clearly identify your current elite status, including your status expiration date. (Please note that many digital cards do not include an expiration date.)

You can then choose your preferred challenge start date. You are allowed to choose a start date that is plus or minus 14 days from the date that you are applying so keep that in mind. Sometimes United does not honor this start date and you might need to follow up with them to request them to honor it.

There is also a box where you can leave additional comments.

United states to allow about 7 to 14 business days for them to process your request.

The offer is not valid for members who have participated in the MileagePlus status match program within the last 5 years. It is quite common for loyalty programs to exclude individuals who have recently participated in a status match program. A lot of times the exclusion may only be for the last two or three years but in this case it is the last five years.

Note that customers who have Star Alliance Silver or Gold status are excluded from this offer.

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No Membership card

You will not receive a membership card for your status challenge during the first 90 days. However, you will still retain many of the the benefits.

Missing benefits

During the 90-day Offer Period, you may not have access to all reciprocal Premier benefits with United’s partner airlines, including access to Star Alliance lounges. So if you were matched to United Gold for example you may not necessarily get access to Star Alliance lounges. It never hurts to try however.

Matched limitations

One thing that is very important to note is that you may only qualify for the status that you were matched to for the remainder of the year when meeting PQM or PQS requirements for the status match.

So let’s say that you were matched to United Silver status but then you went ahead and overachieved and met the (status challenge) PQM or PQS requirements for Gold.

If that were to happen you would still be matched to United Silver status. Now of course you could still go ahead and meet the published requirements for United Gold status but it is just that you will not get the same shortcut that you would’ve gotten if you were originally matched to United Gold status.

This is why it is really important to go into a status match with a plan when it comes to airlines. In some cases, you might want to wait until you could reach a higher tier with your current program and then make that jump over to the status challenge at a later date.

When do you actually get the status?

Customers who earn Premier status through this promotion will have their accounts updated in the system within five to seven business days of completion and posting of the outlined PQM or PQS requirement for the status level matched to in MileagePlus.

Sometimes your status might get updated even quicker than this so my suggestion would be to get the United app and just check in every day or so.

Premier membership materials will arrive within four to six weeks thereafter.

How long will the status last?

The length of your membership will depend on when during the course of the calendar year you complete the status challenge.

If you complete this status match before July 1 first of a given year you should retain that status through January of the next year. However, if you complete the status match after July 1 then you will have status for that year and January of the second following year.

So for example let’s say that you completed the status challenge in October 2019. You would then be able to continue with that status for the remainder of 2019, all of 2020, and then you would have that status through January 2021.

But let’s say that you completed the status challenge in March 2019. In that case you would have status for the remainder of 2019 and through January 2020. So for a lot of people waiting until after July 1 of a year to do this status challenge will make the most sense since you will be able to enjoy the benefits for the longest amount of time.

Final word

United status matches are pretty easy to do and they allow you to match status from a variety of different airlines. If you can complete the challenge within 90 days then you can hold onto that status for up to one year and a half in some cases. So the key is to go in with a plan in terms of when you will meet that status challenge requirements and also how many expected miles and segments you will fly so that you’re matched to the best status level.

Daniel Gillaspia

Delta Gold Medallion Benefits Review (Lounge Access, Qualification, Sky Priority) [2020]

Delta Gold Medallion elite status is the second tier of status in the Medallion SkyMiles program. It offers some of the same perks as Silver Medallion status, but the benefits become more serious at this level like receiving SkyTeam Elite Plus status, lounge access, and slightly better chances of receiving an upgrade to First Class. In this article, I will review the benefits of Gold Medallion status and see if it’s worth it.

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out!

What is Delta Gold Medallion status?

Delta Gold Medallion status is Delta’s lowest tier status that offers SkyTeam Elite Plus status, which gives you Sky Priority and business class lounge access. Gold Medallion status is an upgrade compared to Silver Medallion status for a more enjoyable and seamless ground experience.

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Delta Silver Medallion qualification requirements

To become a Delta Gold Medallion, you will notice that the requirements are double of Silver Medallion status requirements. You will need to complete the following requirements:

50,000 MQMs (Medallion Qualification Miles) or 60 MQSs (Medallion Qualification Segments)
$6,000 MQDs (Medallion Qualification Dollars) or MQD waiver

In comparison, here are the other requirements for all tiers of status for Delta:

Medallion Tier	MQMs or MQSs requirement	MQSs requirement (only for US residents)
Silver	25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs	$3,000 MQDs
Gold	50,000 MQMs or 60 MQSs	$6,000 MQDs
Platinum	75,000 MQMs or 100 MQSs	$9,000 MQDs
Diamond	125,000 MQMs or 140 MQSs	$15,000 MQDs

The MQD requirements for Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, and Platinum Medallion will be waived when you spend at least $25,000 on any of Delta co-branded credit cards. For Diamond Medallion you will have to spend $250,000 on any of Delta’s co-branded credit cards to get the MQD requirement waived.

By the way, if you’re looking to cut down on your travel expenses with a credit card, consider getting a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It offers an early spend bonus worth $500 in travel after meeting the minimum spend and is great to cancel out all sorts of travel expenses.

Delta Status Match Challenge

Delta has a detailed chart for their status match challenge, and if your airline elite program is not on the chart, you can still submit it when you enroll for the status match challenge. You can enroll in the status match challenge here.

Once you enroll, it will usually take 5 business days, but up to 2 weeks if needed. After they have completed their review and determined if you’re qualified, you will have the status for 90 days. If you want to extend your status, you will have to complete a certain amount of requirements during those 90 days. Here are the requirements:

“If you enroll in the challenge between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018 and you complete the requirements, your Medallion Status will be extended through January 31, 2019.
If you enroll in the challenge on or after July 1, 2018 and you complete the requirements, your Medallion Status will be extended through January 31, 2020.” Source: Delta

Delta makes it easy to do their challenge. You can fly any of their partners, and those MQMs, MQSs, and MQDs will count towards extending your status. Plus, the Delta co-branded credit cards will still waive the MQD requirement if you spend $25,000 on their credit cards.

Gold Medallion upgrades and preferred seats

Delta Gold Medallion status gives you a slightly greater chance of receiving an upgrade to First Class or Comfort+. While you won’t be flying First Class every time, the slightly greater odds won’t hurt anyone.

Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades

As a Gold Medallion, you and a companion are eligible for upgrades to First Class and Delta Comfort+ beginning 72 hours prior to departure on Delta marketed flights. On select Aeromexico operated flights you are eligible for upgrades to Clase Premier beginning 72 hours prior to departure. On the day of departure, you are eligible for Delta One operated within the 50 states.

The main difference is getting upgrades 72 hours prior to departure. Meaning it’s possible to receive upgrades to First Class, Clase Premier, and Comfort+ a whole 3 days before your flight. In comparison, Silver Medallions will only be able to receive upgrades 24 hours prior to the flight.

For Delta One flights within the 50 states, you will only be eligible to receive an upgrade 24 hours in advance (the same as Silver Medallion, Gold will have priority over Silvers). Delta One routes like LAX to JFK are very competitive for complimentary upgrades, so don’t bank on it to receive an upgrade as a Gold Medallion. Receiving upgrades for Delta One is very rare.

(Do note: you aren’t able to receive upgrades to Delta Premium Select seats. That means on newly configured international flights without Comfort+ you won’t have access to better seats than preferred seats on planes like the A350.)

Fares that are eligible are all paid fares (except E fares), Award Tickets, Miles + Cash, Pay with Miles tickets, and Companion Certificates.

It’s a little ironic that I have never actually taken a picture of Delta First Class. (Photo credit: Delta)

As a Gold Medallion, your odds of getting upgrades are slightly greater. You won’t be upgraded every time to First Class, and even Platinum Medallions don’t get upgrades every time. As a Gold Medallion myself, I have only flown 3 domestic flights this calendar year that are eligible for upgrades and received one First Class upgrade and 2 Comfort+ upgrades. I would take that with a grain of salt, but compared to my years as a Silver Medallion the odds are better.

Preferred seating

Any Medallion member can pick any seat when booking a main cabin seat including exit rows, seats near the front of the cabin, or bulkhead seats. This is a nice benefit since you are able to select those exit row seats, which sometimes have more legroom than Comfort+ seats.

SkyTeam Elite Plus status

Probably the biggest benefit of Gold Medallion status is SkyTeam Elite Plus status on any SkyTeam member airline, which includes Delta. SkyTeam Elite Plus status gives you benefits like Sky Priority and business class lounge access. SkyTeam Elite Plus is similar to Star Alliance Gold or OneWorld Sapphire.

Here is the full list of benefits:

Business class lounge access
Guaranteed reservations on sold-out flights
Sky Priority recognition
Priority at transfer desks
Priority at immigration and security lanes
Extra baggage handling
Priority baggage handling
Priority check-in
Priority seating
Priority boarding
Priority airport standby

(Bold is SkyTeam Elite Plus status benefits compared to the unbold which is SkyTeam Elite status.)

The most notable benefit is business class lounge access. Any SkyTeam member airline lounge is accessible while flying a SkyTeam airline. You can bring one guest with you to the lounge and enjoy some of those drinks.

Sky Priority

Sky Priority, aka fast track, is a significant benefit that helps save time and makes traveling easier. While flying Delta or another SkyTeam member airline, you get priority at security, immigration, check-in, transfer desks, boarding, and even get your baggage faster.

You can also get priority while flying partners like Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Extra baggage handling

Need to check-in a bag? You will get one bag for free flying any SkyTeam member airline.

On Delta’s partners GOL, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia you will also get one free bag.

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Sky Club and lounge access

Gold Medallions can access Sky Clubs and partner lounges when flying on Delta or airline partners when it’s an international itinerary.

Sky Club access

You can gain access to Sky Clubs when your itinerary includes international flights. Example: if you are flying from Orlando to Tokyo via Detroit, you can access Sky Clubs in Orlando and Detroit. If your flight is Tokyo to Orlando via Detroit, you can access Sky Clubs in Tokyo and Detroit.

However, Delta considers only Europe, Asia, South America, Central America, Africa, Canada, And Mexico international destinations. Caribbean, Guam, Palau, and Saipan aren’t eligible destinations for Sky Club access.

Partner lounge access

You will have lounge access to any of the airlines within the SkyTeam alliance when flying on international itineraries.

You will also have access to GOL, Virgin Atlantic (US lounges only), and Virgin Australia lounges when flying on international itineraries.

Other benefits

As a Gold Medallion you can get other benefits that are worth noting and make traveling much easier like:

Waived same-day confirmed fees
Waived same-day standby fees
Dedicated phone line
Clear membership discount
Hertz Five Star status
Delta Vacation savings
8 miles per dollar spent
Rollover MQMs
Priority waitlist

Waived same-day confirmed and standby fees

Waived same-day standby fees matter a lot to me. If you had to go on standby for an earlier flight, it makes a difference not to pay those fees and get home earlier.

Dedicated Medallion phone line

As a Medallion member, you have access to the Medallion phone line. The Gold Medallion reservations phone number is +1-(800)-325-1551.

Award miles bonus

As a Gold Medallion, you will receive 8 miles per dollar instead of the standard 5 miles per dollar that general SkyMiles members receive.

Since you will be earning more SkyMiles, you should read up the best ways to redeem your Delta SkyMiles.

MQMs rollover

For any Medallion member, your leftover MQMs will rollover to the next calendar year. If you have 60,000 MQMs at the end of the calendar year after qualifying for Gold Medallion (50,000 MQMs requirement), you will have 10,000 MQMs rollovers since those are considered leftovers that couldn’t reach the next status.

As a Medallion member myself, I try to strategize my flights around this benefit. I rather have lots more MQMs rollover than a few.

Clear membership discount

CLEAR is a wonderful service that allows you to cut to the front of regular TSA or TSA-precheck lines. Diamond Medallions can receive CLEAR for free. Silver, Gold, and Platinum Medallion members can get a CLEAR membership for $79 a year. This benefit is only useful if you want to save time and if CLEAR is at your airport.

You can read more about CLEAR here.

Delta Vacations savings

As a Medallion member, you can receive discounts when booking Delta Vacations. The discounts aren’t huge but could make a difference if you find a deal on Delta Vacations.

Priority waitlist

You can get ahead of the waitlist on paid tickets if your class of service is not available when making a reservation.

Delta Gold Medallion vs. United Premier Gold status

There are a few differences between the two programs second tiered status.

The first difference is how early upgrades can be confirmed. Gold Medallion upgrades can clear 72 hours prior to departure, but for Premier Gold it’s 48 hours prior to departure. Gold Medallions are also eligible to receive upgrades to Delta One within the 50 states, unlike Premier Gold.

Both of these don’t mean you’re more likely to receive an upgrade with Gold Medallion over Premier Gold; it just means your upgrade might clear sooner and have the added benefit of getting a rare upgrade for Delta One within the 50 states. (There is a lot of factors for upgrades, so take this with a grain of salt.)

The second difference, Premier Gold members get Marriott Gold status, while Delta doesn’t give any benefits or status for a hotel.

So in the end, both of these programs are very similar. The deciding factor will most likely come down to the route network. For me, Delta works for me since DTW is my base, but if I were based out of IAH than United would be better.

Daniel wrote a great article about United Premier Gold here.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card + Gold Medallion status

Welcome bonus up to 70,000 miles + 10,000 MQMs after meeting the minimum spend requirement
2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
Priority boarding
First checked bag free (learn more)
20% off in-flight purchases
Annual fee $195 (not waived)
1 time economy companion pass
Annual miles and MQMs after spend requirement

The Platinum Delta credit card and Gold Medallion status is a great combination. The card comes in handy for earning MQMs and bonus miles. Spend $25,000 a year and have the MQD requirement waived, earn 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 miles. Spend a total $50,000 a year and have another 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 miles added to your account. The companion pass is a great benefit that I use every year to buy one ticket and get the second one free plus tax.

I recommend reading our guide to applying for Amex cards here.

Final word

Delta Gold Medallion status is a huge step up regarding benefits compared to Silver Medallion. While I wouldn’t bank on getting First Class upgrades, the chances become slightly greater compared to Silver Medallion. However, lounge access and Sky Priority makes a huge difference regarding a nicer flying experience making it more enjoyable and faster to get your way through the airport and relax.

Steve Smith

Alaska Airlines Change and Cancellation Policy [2020]

Alaska Airlines has some of the best mileage programs for no fuel surcharges and inexpensive redemptions for premium cabins. However, if you need to change a ticket or cancel, it might cost you.

In this article, I will discuss Alaska Airlines change and cancellation policies for saver fares, refundable, and non-refundable tickets for economy, premium class, and first class. I will then show you step-by-step how to make a change to your Alaska flights and how to cancel your flights.

Alaska Airlines flight change policy

Alaska Airlines is one of the airlines that are cheaper to change a flight, but still not free. I still think the change fees are expensive, but at least it’s cheaper than airlines like Delta. Sadly it’s still not as cheap as Southwest Airlines which has no fees.

Service/fee type	Standard fee	First class (purchased) passenger	First class (award) passenger	First class (upgrade) passenger	Mileage Plan MVP	Mileage Plan MVP Gold or 75K
Same day confirmed changes	$50	$50	$50	$50	$50	Free
Same day confirmed changes for flights entirely within the state of California or in our shuttle markets	$25	$25	$25	$25	$25	Free
Change/cancellation fee	$125	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	$125	$125	Free
Change fee for changes made to travel wholly within the state of Alaska	Free for purchased tickets $125 for award tickets	Free	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	Free	Free for purchased tickets $125 for award tickets	Free

You may have noticed that main (economy) and first class are shown, but saver is not on the chart. Saver fares aren’t eligible for changes inside or outside of the complimentary 24-hour change/cancellation policy. However, saver fares can cancel within the 24-hour cancellation policy.

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24-hour change/cancellation

Any ticket is eligible for free changes and cancellations within 24 hours of the flight purchase date. Basically, Alaska holds the ticket for 24 hours and then charges you once the 24 hours is up. Therefore, your purchase will post to your credit card statement with a 24 hour delay. However, Alaska will hold the funds on your credit card.

Changing a main or first class ticket can only be changed once during the 24 hour period. You are also responsible for paying the fare difference and taxes.

Do note, tickets made through travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline, Orbits, etc. will have to go through the travel agency’s 24 hours change and cancellation policy.

Prices

Alaska Airlines prices differ based on market, region, flight, and cabin. Please refer to the table above.

Deadline

Saver fares changes are not permitted, but you can cancel the ticket within the 24-hour cancellation policy. Otherwise, you aren’t allowed to make any more modifications to your saver ticket after 24 hours.

Non-refundable tickets changes without fees must be made within the 24-hour change/cancellation policy. Changes made past 24 hours of the ticket purchase are subject to change fees. Changes within 24 hours of the departure are eligible to change the time of the flight leaving the same day with the same departure and arrival airports.

Refundable tickets changes can be made anytime until 24 hours before the departure of your flight. Changes within 24 hours of the departure are eligible to change the time of the flight leaving the same day with the same departure and arrival airports.

Award tickets changes without fees must be made within the 24-hour change/cancellation policy. Changes made past 24 hours of the ticket purchase are subject to change fees. Changes within 24 hours of the departure are eligible to change the time of the flight leaving the same day with the same departure and arrival airports.

Price changes

Flight changes will be subjected to price differences if the value of the new ticket is higher than the original, no matter if you have a refundable or non-refundable ticket, you will have to pay the difference in ticket value. Ticket values that are less in price than the original ticket value, you will receive as an eCredit if your ticket is non-refundable. Refundable tickets will receive a refund of the fare difference.

For example, if you hold a refundable ticket that originally cost $500 and change the flight that now costs $400, you will be refunded $100. However, if you change the flight that costs $600, you will be charged $100 since the value of the new ticket is higher. (The same concept applies to non-refundable tickets, but you have to take into account the change fees.)

Tip: Use the Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card to earn 3X on all your Alaska purchases and get a 50% discount on Alaska Lounge day passes!

Alaska Airlines cancellation and refund policy

Alaska Airlines cancellation fees are a thing compared to Southwest, but still cheaper compared to other airlines. It’s going to be a little similar to fees you see for changing tickets.

Service/fee type	Standard fee	First class (purchased) passenger	First class (award) passenger	First class (upgrade) passenger	Mileage Plan MVP	Mileage Plan MVP Gold or 75K
Change/cancellation fee	$125	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	$125	$125	Free
Cancellation fee for changes made to travel wholly within the state of Alaska	$125	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	Free for refundable first $125 for non-refundable first	$125	$125	Free

You may have noticed that main and first class are shown, but saver is not on the chart. Saver fares can be canceled within the 24-hour cancellation policy, but once it’s out of the 24-hour cancellation policy, you cannot cancel a saver fare ticket.

24-hour change/cancellation

Any ticket is eligible for free changes and cancellations within 24 hours of the flight purchase date. Basically, Alaska holds the ticket for 24 hours and then charges you once the 24 hours is up. Therefore, your purchase will post to your credit card statement with a 24 hours delay. However, Alaska will hold the funds on your credit card.

Changing a main or first class ticket can only be changed once during the 24 hours period. You are also responsible for paying the fare difference and taxes.

Do note, tickets made through travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline, Orbits, etc. will have to go through the travel agency’s 24 hours change and cancellation policy.

Prices

Alaska Airlines prices different from market, region, flight, and cabin. Please refer to the table above.

Deadline

Saver fares allow you to cancel the ticket within the 24-hour cancellation policy. Otherwise, you aren’t allowed to make any more modifications to your saver ticket after 24 hours.

Non-refundable tickets cancellations without fees must be made within the 24-hour cancellation policy. Cancellations made past 24 hours of the ticket purchase are subject to cancellation fees.

Refundable tickets cancellations can be issued anytime up to the flight departure time.

Award tickets cancellations without fees must be made within the 24-hour cancellation policy. Cancellations made past 24 hours of the ticket purchase are subject to cancellation fees.

Refunds

Non-refundable tickets refunds issue as a credit certificate or credit deposit into My wallet. Therefore, you can only use it with Alaska, similar to how one would use a gift card.

Refundable tickets issue as a refund to your original payment method. If you used a credit card, the return would go back to your credit card.

If you have any trip extras or seats that you have purchased as add-ons, some of those will not be refunded, and it depends on each itinerary. Some pre-paid optional services can be refunded like: checked baggage, upgrades (paid or mileage), unaccompanied minor service, pet travel, or therapeutic oxygen.

No-show and missed flights

Alaska’s no-show policy is not lenient at all. If you don’t cancel your ticket before your flight departs, Alaska will apply their no-show policy to your reservation. Meaning, all other flights will be canceled, and you will not get any money credit back if you have a non-refundable ticket.

For refundable tickets, you will get your money back if you do not show.

Alaska Airlines same-day flight changes policy

Within 24 hours of the original departure of your flight, you are able to change your flight to an earlier flight on the same day. Same-day flight changes are only available with non-refundable or refundable tickets in any cabin. Savor fare tickets cannot have same-day flight changes.

The fee is $25 or $50 (check the change section above for fees) for same-day confirmed and same-day standby changes to tickets. Same-day changes are subject to availability for seats in the same cabin. Doing same-day changes won’t always work as it’s based on the availability of open seats.

For example, changing to earlier flights aren’t possible all the time as there might not be an earlier flight or no seats available. However, if there are multiple flights from the airport and you want to change to an earlier flight, the chances are better especially on less business traveled days.

I recommend checking how many seats are available on earlier flights.

The good thing about same-day changes is the fact that you will only be charged the fee if you get a seat. If there is no availability, you won’t be charged for being on same-day standby.

How to change an Alaska flight online

From the homepage, you can type in the confirmation code that you got from booking under the “manage” tab at the top of the website.

If you’re logged into your account, you can select your name at the top of the webpage and access your reservations under “my trips”.

Once on the trip details page, you will select “change” to make any changes to the flight.

On the change a reservation page, you will be shown the options of changing the flight or use the value of this trip to a purchase a new trip. If you wanted to use the value of your ticket on a new purchase, select “Use the value of this trip to purchase a new trip” bubble. That option is great if you want to get rid of your old itinerary and have a totally new one.

Once you click the bubble “make changes to this flight”, you will see the options “keep flight”, “change flight”, and “cancel flight”. Keep flight is self-explanatory, while change flight and cancel flight can change or cancel specific legs on the itinerary.

Since we want to change the flight, you will select “make changes to this trip” and then “change flight”.

Whatever changes you put into your search the next webpage will show the price difference corresponding to your original flight and the new flight.

Once you select the new flights, your new itinerary will be generated with the prices per passenger and the total. Fees and the price differences will be shown on this webpage, but in my example, I have no fare difference as it’s within the 24-hour change/cancellation policy window.

Once you confirm your itinerary, click “proceed to checkout” and that’s when you will provide a method of payment.

You will instantly receive an email confirming the changes and the changes will show up in your trip details.

How to cancel a Delta flight online

From the homepage, you can type in the confirmation code that you got from booking under the “manage” tab at the top of the website.

If you’re logged into your account, you can select your name at the top of the webpage and access your reservations under “my trips”.

Once on the trip details page, you will select “cancel” to make any changes to the flight.

On the next webpage, you will see the flight that you’re about the cancel along with two options. Each option bubble will let you know if you’re eligible for a refund or not.

In this example, select “refund to original form of payment”.

Once you have select confirm, you will be directed to the next screen with your cancellation confirmation along.

As I canceled the flight within the 24-hour cancellation policy window, I was able to avoid the fees. If you had fees, it would show up again on the confirmation page.

You will instantly receive an email with the cancellation confirmation.

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Canceling or changing an Alaska Airlines flight on the phone

You can make changes or cancel a flight over the phone with Alaska.

General reservations phone number: 1-800-252-7522
Accessible services phone number: 1-800-503-0101

How to get Alaska Airlines change and cancellation fees waived

When things go wrong, it’s always best to call. If you have to cancel and want to try to avoid the fees, I really suggest calling.

If you have a specific reason to cancel the flight like you or an immediate family members death or sickness, Alaska might waive the fees. You might have to provide proof. If you don’t fall into either of those categories above, you can call Alaska and ask politely to get the fees waived. That will usually be up to the representative’s digression, but sometimes they waive the fees for being nice and having a good reason.

If you’re an MVP Gold or 75K elite member, all fees will be waived. So, you won’t need to pay any change or cancellation fee, no matter what. If you aren’t an Alaska elite but have status with another airline, you can status match to Alaska airlines for that calendar year.

Third-party ticket change or cancel

If you bought your flight through a travel agency like Expedia and want to change/cancel the ticket. Then, additional fees may apply. The third-party ticketer might charge an extra fee. I recommend always booking with the airline directly unless a third-party agency has a better price with no added fees.

Additional Alaska Airlines tips

I find Alaska Airlines miles some of the best miles for redemptions between North America and Asia for premium cabins on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. Here are another 7 reasons why Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a powerhouse program.

If your flight is delayed and need compensation, check out Daniel’s article on flight delay compensation for US carriers like Delta.

Final word

Alaska Airlines is no Southwest Airlines when it comes to free changes and cancellations. However, compared to the big three US airlines, Alaska has cheaper fees with elite benefits that allow one to change and cancel without paying those pesky fees.

Daniel Gillaspia

United Airlines Global Services Review: (Qualifications, Benefits) [2020]

United Airlines Global Services is one of the most rewarding “unpublished” elite statutes available from any airline and its members are rewarded with special perks like better upgrades, more award seats, and special treatment that comes in many forms.

But how do you get United Airlines Global Services and what exactly are the perks?

This review will dive deep into United Global Services and show you what the qualifications and benefits are for the program.

You’ll first see what the spending requirements are and how you can increase your chances of making the cut for Global Services. And then I’ll go into all of the details related to the benefits of the program and show you why it’s such a valuable membership.

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out!

What is United Airlines Global Services?

United Airlines Global Services is the top-tier elite status offered by United Airlines that is available to United’s most profitable customers by invitation only. It offers an array of benefits like better upgrades, award inventory, and special treatment that comes in various forms.

Global Services is not advertised publicly and as you can tell from the chart below, Premier 1K appears to be the top status offered by United.

Premier level	PQM and PQS requirement (and PQD requirement for U.S. residents)
Premier Silver	25,000 PQM or 30 PQS (and $3,000)
Premier Gold	50,000 PQM or 60 PQS (and $6,000)
Premier Platinum	75,000 PQM or 90 PQS (and $9,000)
Premier 1K®	100,000 PQM or 120 PQS (and $15,000)

Note: To be eligible to qualify for any Premier level, you must fly a minimum of four paid flight segments on flights operated by United and/or United Express during a calendar year.

Basic Economy (N) purchases do not count toward the four segment minimum.

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What are the United Global Services qualifications?

United does not officially publish their qualifications for how to get Global Services and there doesn’t appear to be automated invitations. Instead, United will usually “hand pick” its Global Services members.

But what causes them to select certain people?

Here’s what United had to say about Global Services:

Global Services recognizes the extraordinary dedication of our top flyers. We consider a number of factors beyond the usual Premier-qualifying criteria. We look at your travel spend on United-operated flights relative to that of other top Premier flyers over recent consecutive years. Usually, members invited to Global Services tend to consistently purchase premium cabins or fully refundable tickets.

So we do know a few ways that it can be obtained.

Substantial spending

You’re going to need to spend a lot of money on United to get a personal invitation to Global Services. And you’ll need to make sure that you’re spending money on United flights and not codeshares, since those are obviously much less profitable for United.

It’s not clear exactly how much spend is required to get the attention of United but I’ve seen reports with spending at $40,000 a year while others have said you might need to spend around $60,000 or higher.

Also, the spend requirement for your first year might be higher than what will be required in future years. So, for example, your first year might require you to spend $50,000 in a year but subsequent years may only require $40,000 or potentially even less.

But again, United considers much more than the amount of spend you have with them.

United wants to reward its most profitable customers and that means that they are going to be looking for passengers who purchase tickets with higher cost per miles (CPMs).

Buy full-price economy fares

United factors in not only how much money you spend but also which type of fares you purchase.

If you’re flying economy, you’ll want to stick to the most flexible fares which are the most expensive. These are those fully refundable economy fares that are sometimes more expensive than business class tickets.

Again, you can see the emphasis on profitability.

Purchase international business class and first class fares

You can probably get by with buying discounted business class and first class fares but there seems to an emphasis on those who purchase international business class and first class.

If you regularly purchase transpacific or transatlantic business class and/or first class cabins then your needed spend requirement for qualifying will probably be on the lower side.

Work corporate deals with United

There are reports of Global Services going to “VIPs” in companies who handle travel contracts with United Airlines.

Also, if there are several Global Services members from your company, your company might be able to persuade United to give you an invite if you’re close to qualifying.

Annual PassPlus enrollment

There also also reports that people get invitations for purchasing an annual PassPlus enrollment of $50k or greater.

Fly 4,000,000 miles!

The only published way to achieve Global Services is to fly 4,000,000 lifetime miles on United Airlines (actual miles you were inside of the aircraft for).

That’s a ton of miles but some have had flying credits grandfathered in from the Continental Airlines days.

If you do achieve this then you’ll be able to share your Global Services with your spouse or significant other.

Lifetime flight miles	Status award	Annual companion Premier status
One million	Premier Gold
Two million	Premier Platinum
Three million	Premier 1K®
Four million	United Global Services®

Status Challenge

United has offered status challenges to people who have had Global Services in the past.

In those cases you’ll likely need to be at least Premier 1K and you might get something like spending $15,000 over a span of 90 days.

United Global Services benefits

There’s a long list of Global Services benefits but here’s a breakdown of the benefits. Keep in mind that these are not published and so they could change without public notifications.

Welcome Kit

United will send you a sweet Global Services welcome kit. In the past, they offered things like carbon fiber luggage tags, beverage vouchers, and other cool swag.

Dedicated phone number

The Global Services phone line is answered immediately on most occasions and your call is handled by a specially trained Global Services agent who is said to be very helpful. Indeed, a lot of people report this phone line as one of their favorite perks of the program.

During very busy interruption periods (inclement weather), you might not get connected immediately.

The Global Services phone number is not made public.

Dedicated email address

You can send your emails to a dedicated email address for MileagePlus and other inquiries that will usually be answered in a hurry, allowing you to avoid direct human interaction if you’d like.

Dedicated check-in at airports

You should be granted access to dedicated check-in areas and Global Reception centers at major hubs along with priority TSA security access. You are even allowed to bring guests along with you who are traveling on the same itinerary.

Earlier cleared upgrades

Complimentary Premier Upgrades (CPUs) will be cleared beginning 120 hours prior to flight departure for the Global Services member and up to one other traveling on same Passenger Name Record.

This is a fabulous benefit since you’ll know several days in advance that the upgrade has cleared.

(Compare that to the 96 hour window offered by Premier 1K elite status.)

Waitlist priority

Global Services members will receive the highest priority when on waitlists for Upgrades, Award Travel, and Sold-out Flight Availability.

Priority Boarding

Members will be the first to board the planes after people with disabilities, passengers who need more time boarding, families with young children, and often active-duty military.

Depending on your preference, this may or may not be a valuable perk since many elites like to spend more time hanging out in lounges rather than waiting for others to board the plane. But if you’re the type who like to board first, you’ll often be among the first to make your way through the jet bridge.

Get served meals first

As a Global Services member, you’ll be the first served in your cabin.

This is actually a pretty useful benefit because you’ll get dibs on the menu selection first, too. I’ve been stuck with meals I didn’t want because the staff ran out of the best meals due to higher elites selecting them first.

Priority treatment

If things go awry and operations go south (bad delays, equipment mix-ups, etc.), Global Services members will get priority handling of the situation which could include next flight guarantee in case of re-accommodation, overseen by dedicated team of location-based GS Customer Service Agents.

When it comes to perks saving you a lot of time and frustration, this might be one of the most valuable. Many Global Services members appreciate being able to be put on one of the next flights out when operations break down.

Mercedes-Benz Tarmac Transfer

You’ll be offered a Mercedes-Benz tarmac transfer for those close calls with tight connections at major hubs (some have complained this benefit has proven to be elusive). Also, you can’t request this service in advance.

Marriott Platinum Status

As a Global Services members, you’ll receive Marriott Platinum status (currently awaiting data points to see which tier of Platinum this will be in the new Marriott program).

Access to Global First Lounges

United has special Global First Lounges and Global Services members can get access when they are booked in Polaris Business on an international itinerary. However, no guests are allowed to come in.

As a tip, be sure to have your Global Services card on you when going for special lounge access with Global Services because many of these lounges will require it.

United Arrivals Lounge at SFO

You’ll get access to the United Arrivals Lounge at SFO when arriving from an international flight, no matter what type of cabin you were flying in (even economy). But note: no guests are allowed to accompany you.

Arrivals Lounge at LHR T2

You’ll get access to the Arrivals Lounge at LHR T2 when arriving from inbound United Airlines-operated intercontinental flights, regardless of the cabin you’re flying in. No guests allowed.

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Access to Lufthansa First Class Lounges

You’ll get access to Lufthansa First Class Lounges (except the FRA First Class Terminal) when booked in a departing flight in Polaris First. No guests allowed.

Access to Lufthansa/Swiss Welcome (arrival) Lounges

You’ll get access to Lufthansa/Swiss Welcome (arrival) Lounges in FRA and ZRH for same-day inbound United Airlines intercontinental flights, regardless of cabin. No guest allowed.

The benefits below will require calling a Global Services agent. To make sense of the benefits below, you’ll need to have some basic knowledge of fare buckets on United which you can read more about here.

Many of the benefits below can be extremely valuable and will allow you to essentially create your own award inventory in some cases allowing you to use your United miles much easier.

Saver economy awards

Global Services can create saver economy award space (XN) if T inventory is available. United-operated flights only.

Saver business awards

Global Services can create saver business award space (IN) if R inventory is available. United-operated flights only.

Upgrades to business/first

Global Services can upgrade economy awards (XN or YN) into Business / First with a GPU if PN inventory is available, provided both instrument and miles drawn from Global Services member account. United-operated flights only.

Gaining access to PN inventory for upgrades means that you’ll have much better odds of getting upgrades in many cases since standard passengers are usually limited to R inventory.

Upgrades from business to first

Global Services can upgrade business awards (IN or JN) into Polaris First with a GPU if ON inventory is available, provided both instrument and miles drawn from GS member account. United-operated flights only.

Confirmed waitlisted upgrades

Confirm any waitlisted instrument-supported upgrade within 72 hours to flight departure provided at least 2 seats remain for sale afterwards and they are at the top of the waitlist

Saver Polaris First space

Create saver Polaris First (O) space at T-72 hours to flight departure if they are already booked in saver business (IN), provided one seat remains for sale afterwards.

Get a Saver award seat

You’ll be entitled to one saver award seat in the same class of service with their purchase of any premium cabin fare. GS agents can open space if it is not available provided that at least 2 seats remain for sale afterwards. United-operated flights only.

Upgraded companion

Global Services can upgrade a companion with an instrument (GPU/RPU) from Economy to Business / First when flying on a paid premium cabin fare, even if R or PN is not available, as long as J/F >2 after upgrade processed.

This is another one of the favorite Global Services perks since your companion can get upgraded even when R or PN is not available.

The companion needs to be ticketed in W class or higher on international cash fare itineraries, or ticketed in X/XN for upgrades from award tickets.

Global Services can also open economy award space for the companion to allow for the upgrade with instrument.(Note: Only ONE of the two above options can be exercised per premium fare purchased.)

Buy up from Basic Economy

GS can buy up from Basic Economy fares, which is usually forbidden.

H/T: Flyertalk for the research

Global Services compared to others

United Airlines isn’t the only airline with a top-tier elite status.

American Airlines Concierge Key and Delta 360 are both competitors. Most will agree that Global Services offers the most superior benefits.

But that’s not to say that others don’t offer good perks.

American Airlines Concierge Key comes with automatic Executive Platinum status and Key members also get an additional two valuable system-wide upgrade certificate along with Admirals Club membership among other benefit.

Open to many Diamond Medallion high-spenders, Delta 360 offers special gifts and customer service (Delta SkyClub access is already offered to Diamond Medallion high-spenders).

Global Services is not Global Entry

Don’t get Global Services confused with Global Entry which are not related at all.

Global Entry provides you with expedited access when entering back into the US and costs $100 for four years. It is open to the general public so long as you can pass the background check.

Final word

I think that United Global Services offers some pretty incredible perks that make your life much easier in many different ways. It’s easier to sort problems out with the special phone line, easier to use your miles and get upgrades, and easier to travel comfortably through airports with lounge access.

While the spending qualifications might be on the higher side, I think the program has a lot of value to offer.

Daniel Gillaspia

United Airlines Frequent Flyer Program Guide (MileagePlus Elite Levels) [2020]

The United Airlines frequent flyer program, known as MileagePlus, has a lot to offer. But it can be quite overwhelming when trying to understand everything this program has to offer the first time you take a peek at all of its features.

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the MileagePlus program to get you started off on the right foot. I’ll cover how to sign-up and get your frequent flyer number and also some of the intricacies like how to earn elite status and what type of benefits you get with each level of elite status.

Signing up for a United frequent flyer number

It is very easy to sign up for a United frequent flyer number.

Simply go to the United homepage which you can find here. All you will need to do is input a bunch of your basic contact information, such as your name, address, email, and telephone number.

United does put you through a gauntlet of security questions so you will need to be prepared to set those up and remember your five different security questions. After agreeing to the terms and conditions, you will be on your way to receiving your frequent flyer number for United.

If you are trying to find your United frequent flyer number, all you have to do is log in and you should see it immediately under your name, as shown below.

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Earning United MileagePlus miles

There are lots of ways to earn United miles.

Earning by flying

As a standard elite member, you’ll earn 5 miles per $1 spent on United flights but you’ll receive a bonus earning rate as you continue to climb up the United elite level ranks.

Here are the earning rates for the different United elite tiers.

Premier level	Miles earned
Premier Silver	7 miles per $1 spent
Premier Gold	8 miles per $1 spent
Premier Platinum	9 miles per $1 spent
Premier 1K®	11 miles per $1 spent

Credit cards

In addition to flying, one of the most popular methods for racking up tons of United miles would be with the right type of credit cards. You could start by going with a Chase co-branded United card, such as the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card.

This is a great way to rack up a lot of points with a solid sign up bonus. But beyond the sign-up bonus, this card offers some really valuable perks for flying United. You’ll get things like free checked bags for you and a companion and also get priority boarding. Another nice benefit is that you will get two free day passes for United club lounges which you will get each year.

In addition to this card there are three other popular United co-branded cards:

United MileagePlus Club Card
United Airlines Mileage Plus Explorer Business Card
United MileagePlus Club Business Card

You could also look into getting Chase Sapphire cards. These cards will earn you points that can be transferred out from Chase to not just United but also other airlines, such as Southwest Airlines and Singapore Airlines. You can also transfer your points out to hotel partners, such as Hyatt.

One of the best cards for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That card earns 2X on dining and travel so if you spend a lot on those categories you will be earning additional United miles that day as well. Check out the full review here.

If you are more into airline benefits like lounge access then the Chase Sapphire Reserve is definitely a solid option. It has a high annual fee of $550 but it also comes with a $300 airline credit and Priority Pass Select lounge access.

If you are interested in learning more about United Airlines credit card then click here.

Shopping

United has the MileagePlus Shopping portal, which is an online shopping portal that allows you to earn United miles when you make all sorts of different purchases online. You will be able to purchase the same type of products and pay the same prices as the public does, the only difference is that you will be earning additional United miles.

For example, you might be able to earn 3 United miles per $1 spent at Macy’s which is in addition to the points you earn with your credit card.

There is also an app called the MPX app that allows you to earn United miles when you make purchases in-store at that restaurant. Read more about the app here.

Utilizing the MileagePlus Shopping portal and the MPX app are great ways to supplement your miles.

Dining

There is also the MileagePlus Dining portal that allows you to earn United miles when you go dining at various restaurants. All you have to do is link a credit card to the program and then go out to eat and leave a review for that restaurant. The more you eat out, the more United miles you will earn.

Spending United miles

United has a pretty decent award chart in terms of the amount of miles and fees required for awards.

There are Saver Awards and there are Everyday Awards that you can choose from. Saver Awards or going to be much cheaper but harder to find while Everyday Awards are going to be more expensive but easier to find.

Short-haul flights can be a great use of your United miles. United only requires 12,500 miles for a one-way economy ticket to most US destinations but if the distance of the flight is under 700 miles then all you need is 10,000 United miles.

The United Excursionist perk allows you to maximize the value of your United miles by incorporating open jaws and stopovers in the right regions. The perk provides you with a free segment within the region of the globe that you’re traveling so long as that region is different from where you are beginning your journey.

One of the best things about using to United miles for your awards is that you can often avoid high surcharges.

For example, Lufthansa has one of the top first class products out of any airline in the world but one of the major issues with booking Lufthansa awards is that you typically have to pay some very high surcharges for your awards. Luckily with United you can avoid surcharges on Lufthansa and book a first class one-way ticket between Europe and the US for only 110,000 United miles.

Their are many more types of awards that you can avoid surcharges with which makes United very attractive program at times.

United is a great program for booking Star Alliance partners.

Earning elite status with United

In order to earn elite status with United, you will need to earn premier qualifying miles (PQM) or fly premier qualifying segments (PQS). In addition, you will also have to meet the requirement for premier qualifying dollars (PQD).

Premier qualifying miles and segments

PQM are based on the number of paid flight miles traveled and the fare purchased.
PQS are based on the number of paid flown segments traveled and the fare class purchased.

Eligible purchased fare classes	Premier qualifying miles(PQM)	Premier qualifying segments(PQS)
J	300%	1.5
C, D, Z	200%	1.5
P, O, A, R, Y, B	150%	1.5
M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G	100%	1
N	0%	0

Premier qualifying dollars

PQD are determined by the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges.

As long as you spend at least $25,000 on a Chase MileagePlus co-branded credit card, your minimum spending requirement will be waived (except for Premier 1K elite status).

United elite status levels

Here are the requirements for each tier.

Premier level	PQM and PQS requirement (and PQD requirement for U.S. residents)
Premier Silver	25,000 PQM or 30 PQS (and $3,000)
Premier Gold	50,000 PQM or 60 PQS (and $6,000)
Premier Platinum	75,000 PQM or 90 PQS (and $9,000)
Premier 1K®	100,000 PQM or 120 PQS (and $15,000)

You should note that there is also an invitation only elite status called United Global Services. To obtain Global Services, you typically need to spend a lot on United airfare. You can find out more about that status below.

Elite status benefits

Once you obtain elite status with United, you will be able to enjoy all of the following benefits:

Priority check-in
Priority security screening, where offered
Priority boarding privileges
Priority baggage handling
Premier Priority Desk phone line
Access to most sold-out flights

Some of these benefits can be obtained with the United MileagePlus Explore Card mentioned above. Also, it is possible to purchase United Premier Access for a modest amount of money. Thus, you may always want to think about alternative methods for getting these benefits.

United Premier Silver

Complimentary access to Economy Plus
Complimentary Premier Upgrades
Complimentary Premier Upgrades confirmation
Instant upgrades on Y- or B-class full-fare economy tickets

The most notable benefit from United Premier Silver is probably the complementary upgrades to economy plus. In many instances, those are virtually guaranteed which means that most of the time when you fly economy on United you will be able to enjoy more legroom.

You can also get premier upgrades to business class on occasion but those are much more rare as a silver member. Typically, you will need to be flying on a mostly leisure route to expect an upgrade to business class.

United Premier Gold

Complimentary access to Economy Plus
Complimentary Premier Upgrades
Complimentary Premier Upgrades confirmation
Instant upgrades on Y- or B-class full-fare economy tickets
Lounge access when traveling internationally

United Premier Gold offers a lot of the same benefits that United Premier Silver offers but it comes with the addition of granting lounge access when traveling internationally. You can read more about the status here.

United Premier Platinum

Complimentary access to Economy Plus
Complimentary Premier Upgrades
Complimentary Premier Upgrades confirmation
Instant upgrades on Y- or B-class full-fare economy tickets
Lounge access when traveling internationally

United Premier Platinum offers economy plus upgrades for up to eight individuals which is a big step up from the only one additional companion offered by the lower tiers. You can also receive confirmation about your Premier upgrades as early as 72 hours before departure. This tier also offers Regional Premier Upgrades eligibility and the ability to check three bags in for free even when flying economy.

United Premier 1K

Complimentary access to Economy Plus
Complimentary Premier Upgrades
Complimentary Premier Upgrades confirmation (as early as:
Instant upgrades on Y- or B-class full-fare economy tickets
Lounge access when traveling internationally

United Premier 1K offers the same benefits that Platinum receives but allows you to receive confirmation about your Premier upgrades as early as 96 hours before departure. Additional perks include: instant upgrades on M-class economy tickets and Global Premier Upgrades eligibility. 1K members also have a dedicated call line.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

United Global Services

Global Services is a little bit mysterious because United does not publish a whole lot about it. Here’s what United has to say about Global Services:

Global Services recognizes the extraordinary dedication of our top flyers. We consider a number of factors beyond the usual Premier-qualifying criteria. We look at your travel spend on United-operated flights relative to that of other top Premier flyers over recent consecutive years. Usually, members invited to Global Services tend to consistently purchase premium cabins or fully refundable tickets.

There are a lot of special perks for United Global Services members but here is a rundown of some of the key benefits:

Welcome Kit
Dedicated phone number
Dedicated email address
Dedicated check-in at airports
Earlier cleared upgrades
Waitlist priority
Priority Boarding
Get served meals first
Priority treatment
Mercedes-Benz Tarmac Transfer
Marriott Platinum Status
Special lounge access
Upgrade privileges
Award ticket privileges

If you want to read in more detail about all of these special benefits for Global Services then click here.

Star Alliance Frequent flyer partners

United is a member of the Star Alliance. This means that you can earn miles for United even when you are flying on different airline partners. For example, if you were to fly on Air Canada you could attribute those miles to United and vice versa.

Here is a full list of the United frequent flyer partners.

United also has some additional partners which include the following airlines (some of which are just regional).

Aer Lingus
Aeromar
Air Dolomiti
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Cape Air
Edelweiss
Eurowings
Great Lakes Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Silver Airways

After you obtain status with United, you will be granted status with the Star Alliance. For example, when you earn United Premier Gold, you will also be granted Star Alliance Gold status. With Star Alliance Gold status you are able to receive priority services and better baggage allowances with all Star Alliance airlines saving you from luggage fees with certain airlines like Lufthansa.

Final word

There is a lot to unpack for the United frequent flyer program and this article could easily exceed 10,000 words. But hopefully after reviewing this article you have a general idea of how the program works and what some of the benefits are within the program.

Daniel Gillaspia

Are United Baggage Subscriptions Worth It? [2021]

United offers a special plan called a baggage subscription that allows you to save money on baggage fees over the span of one year. These plans are also customizable so you can tailor them to your specific travel needs.

But are these packages really bargains or should you avoid them?

This article will tell you everything you need to know about these packages.

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out!

What are United Baggage subscriptions?

United Baggage subscriptions are customizable annual plans that allow you to save money on your baggage fees by checking your bags for free. The cost of the plan depends on how many bags and passengers you intend the plan on covering as well as the destination that you’re flying to.

How can you customize your subscription?

There are three ways that you can customize your subscription.

Baggage subscription

Choose the ability to check your first standard bag or first and second standard bags for free every time you travel.

Included travelers

Customize the number of companions who are able to receive this benefit when traveling on the same reservation as you.

Region

Select the geographic region where you want to be able to use your subscription.

You can choose from the following regions:

Continental United States (excludes Alaska and Hawaii)
North America and Central America
Intra-Asia and Oceania (excludes flights from Honolulu to Guam)
Global

You can customize your own package here.

What are the prices?

Here are some price packages that you might want to consider.

1 person with one bag (domestic)

$349

1 person with one bag (global)

$799

Now compare those prices to if you had picked up the United MileagePlus Explorer Card. You’d be able to fly with one bag for free for yourself and a companion while only paying $95 for an annual fee (that’s typically waived the first year).

So you’d be saving up to $800 and also get the following benefits:

Sign-up bonus 40,000 to 70,000 miles (depending on the offer)
2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United
Priority Boarding
Anniversary United Club Passes
Miles Don’t Expire
MileagePlus Premier members and traveling on an award ticket can receive Premier Upgrades
No foreign transaction fees

It’s really a no-brainer which option would be more valuable.

2 People with two bags (domestic)

$449

2 People with two bags (global)

$899

Now compare those prices to if you had picked up the United MileagePlus Club Card. You’d be able to fly with two bags for free for yourself and a companion while only paying $450 for an annual fee.

But that’s not all you’d get.

You’d also get a lot of these other benefits:

50,000 mile sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Access to United Clubs and participating Star Alliance lounges
Priority check-in, security screening, and baggage handling
Priority boarding
The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first and second checked bags free
World of Hyatt: Discoverist Status (the same status offered by the Hyatt card)
Hertz President’s Circle Elite Status
Miles Don’t Expire
MileagePlus Premier members and traveling on an award ticket can receive Premier Upgrades
Increased award availability
No foreign transaction fees
$450 annual fee

So you’d be paying one more dollar but you’d also get a lot of great perks like United Club access, Hyatt status, and other perks.

Clearly, the credit card option would be better.

To find out more about United credit cards click here.

Family of five with one bag each (domestic)

$649

With the subscription packages, you can get up to 9 people covered (including yourself). But to make things a little bit more practical, I’ll use the example of a family of five.

Imagine each member checked one bag at $30 each so that’s $300 each trip.

If the family took three roundtrips in one year that’d be a total of $900 so you’re saving around $250 by going with the subscription package.

However, you’d need to take at least three trips to make it worth it, so families who take multiple trips a year could get value out of this benefit. Plus, if you were flying on one of their partners, the subscription doesn’t work as it only works for marketed United and United Express flights. For example, if you flew Lufthansa, you would still have to pay for bags.

Final word

The United baggage subscription packages aren’t as valuable as simply going with United co-branded credit cards for a lot of people. In fact, the credit cards could save you hundreds of dollars. However, when it comes to large families that travel multiple times a year, this subscription plan could save them a lot over time.

Daniel Gillaspia

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