United Airlines - Redeem Miles for Upgrades on Star Alliance Carriers

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Home > Mileage Plus > Mileage Plus Upgrade Awards > Star Alliance Upgrade Awards

Star Alliance Upgrade Awards

TAP Portugal – As of March 13, Star Alliance Upgrade Awards for travel on TAP Portugal are no longer available, until further notice. We will advise when travel on TAP is available for Star Alliance Upgrade Awards again. This does not impact Star Alliance Upgrade Awards on any of our other Star Alliance partners.

Redeem your Mileage Plus miles for upgrade awards on Star Alliance carriers

As a valued Mileage Plus® member you can redeem the miles you’ve earned for upgrade awards on many of our Star Alliance^TM partners. Redeem your Mileage Plus miles for a one segment, one cabin upgrade on flights operated by participating Star Alliance carriers. Arrive at the airport relaxed and ready to enjoy all the benefits of the upgrade, from priority check-in and lounge access to a more personal level of service onboard. Upgrades are based on the availability of the operating carrier.
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See the list of participating airlines

Frequently Asked Questions

With new Star Alliance Upgrade Awards, you can enjoy:

One segment, one cabin upgrades from eligible fares to the next class of service
The convenience of electronic upgrades, eliminating the need for paper certificates
Confirmed upgrade seating in advance (based on the availability of the operating carrier

The following awards chart lists the miles required for Star Alliance Upgrade Awards to and from all the regions flown by United®, United Express® or our Star Alliance member airlines. View the current Star Alliance Upgrade Awards chart

Note: On April 27, 2010, we’ll be making minor changes to the chart to accommodate new regions of service and bring some of our mileage requirements in line with our competition. If you book your award ticket on or after April 27, 2010, the information on the new chart will apply. Preview the new chart

You will need the free Adobe Reader to view and print the chart. While viewing the chart in Acrobat Reader, please be sure to choose Save from the File menu.

Requesting a Star Alliance Upgrade Award

Requests can be made after you have purchased your ticket, but must be made at least 24 hours prior to departure to allow for the partner carrier to respond to the upgrade request. To request an upgrade award call United Reservations directly. In the United States call 1-800-241-6522. For a list of numbers to United’s International Reservations offices visit United worldwide contacts⁺.
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⁺Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are not available through general selling agents.

Participating Star Alliance partners

ANA
Air China
Air New Zealand
Asiana
Austrian
Brussels Airlines
Continental
LOT Polish Airlines

Lufthansa
SAS
Shanghai Airlines
Singapore
SWISS
TAP Portugal
THAI
Turkish Airlines

Additional Star Alliance member airlines will be added in the future.
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Discontinuation of Lufthansa Paper Certificate Mileage Upgrade Awards

As of July 1, 2009 paper certificates for mileage upgrades on Lufthansa are no longer being issued. Certificates that were issued on or before June 30, 2009 under this program will be valid for travel for one year from the date of issuance.
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Systemwide Upgrades may still be exchanged for paper certificates that can be used on Lufthansa operated flights. For more information, visit Systemwide Upgrades.

Star Alliance Upgrade Award quick reference guide

Upgrade availability	Upgrade seats are dependent on each carrier's upgrade availability and may not be available on all flights.
Valid carrier	Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are valid on participating carriers only. See above for an updated list. Only flights marketed and operated by the same airline are permitted.
Valid travel regions and miles required	Required mileage amounts vary depending on your origin and destination and booking class. See Star Alliance Upgrade Award chart (21 KB) for details. All upgrades are for one segment.
Upgradeable booking classes	• Business class (C,D) • Economy class (Y,B) Upgrades are also valid from the following booking classes on select carriers: - ANA (J, Z and E class) - Lufthansa (J class) - SAS (S class) - Singapore (S, Z and J class)
Upgrade service classes	• Economy to Business (on carriers that offer only Economy and Business cabins on two cabin aircraft) • Economy to First (on carriers that have only Economy and First cabins on two cabin aircraft) • Business to First (on carriers that have three cabin aircraft) * Double upgrades from Economy to First are not permitted on three cabin aircraft.
Non-upgradeable booking classes and tickets	• Only those booking classes listed above are upgradeable • Award and free tickets • Tickets purchased through Priceline and Hotwire, where the airline is not disclosed until after payment
Blackout dates	Some carriers may impose blackout periods where upgrades are not permitted
Requesting an upgrade	Call United Reservations no later than 24 hours before departure and provide your travel details on the partner airline. In the United States, call 1-800-241-6522. For a list of numbers for United’s International Reservations offices visit United worldwide contacts⁺. Requests may be made beginning 331 days before departure on most carriers. For travel on: ANA requests may be made 56 days before departure Air New Zealand requests may be made 28 days before departure Shanghai requests may be made up to 30 days before departure. ⁺Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are not available through general selling agents.
Sponsoring upgrade for another traveler	You may redeem miles to sponsor a Star Alliance Upgrade Award for up to four people who are traveling on the same itinerary. You do not need to be traveling with the passengers to request the Upgrade Awards and now you can request upgrades for travelers with a different last name than yours. Mileage Plus members outside of the United States will need to call United’s Reservations office in the USA to request an upgrade for someone with a different last name. The number in the USA is 800-864-8331 (International charges may apply to the call from outside of the USA).
Mileage accrual	Miles earned will be based on the original ticketed booking class, not the upgraded class of service.

Terms and Conditions for Star Alliance Upgrade Awards
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