Q. When will my miles expire?
A. As of December 31, 2007, miles will expire after 18 months of no activity on your account. For example, if there has been no activity since June of 2006, all miles in your Mileage Plus account will expire on December 31, 2007.
Q. How can I assure that the miles I have won't expire?
A. Any activity on your account whether you earn or redeem miles, keeps your mileage balance intact for the next 18 months. Purchase a ticket and fly on United, United Express, Ted or a Star Alliance airline, book and travel on a United Vacations package, make a purchase with your Mileage Plus Visa or earn miles with any of our Mileage Plus partners (www.united.com/partnerguide) or simply purchase miles directly from www.ualmiles.com and add to your current balance. Redeeming miles for award travel, merchandise, car rentals, hotel stays and more also count as activity on your account.
Q. If I have no account activity for 18 months but have a substantial amount of miles in my account, will these miles still expire?
A. Whether you have 10,000 miles in your account or 100,000 miles, they will expire after 18 months if there is no activity during that time.
Q. If I have no flight activity on United for 18 months but do on Star Alliance, will my miles expire?
A. No. Mileage Plus miles earned on Star Alliance or with our Mileage Plus partners count as activity on your account.
Q. If I have no flight activity for 18 months but earn miles on my Mileage Plus Visa card, will my miles expire?
A. No. Earning miles with your Mileage Plus Visa counts as activity on your account.
Q. If I purchased miles before June 2006 but had no other activity, will these miles also expire?
A. Yes. With no further activity in 18 months, even miles that have been purchased will expire.
Q. Can I transfer my miles before they expire?
A. Yes. You can transfer your miles before they expire. Transferring miles would also count as account activity.
Q. If I redeem all my miles in the 18 months for award travel but the travel is not for a couple of months, is my ticket still valid?
A. Yes. You redeemed your miles for award travel before they expired, therefore, the ticket would be valid.
Q. If miles expire, is my account closed?
A. No. If your miles expire, your account stays open. Any future miles earned will be posted to your existing account and the 18-month activity period starts again.
Q. If my miles expire, is there a way to get them back?
A. Yes. You have the ability to reactivate your Mileage Plus miles that have expired within the last 12 months, for a fee. To get started, visit Mileage Plus reinstatement miles for details.
Q. Miles formerly expired after no activity for 36 months. Why is that policy now shortened to 18 months?
A. This change makes our Mileage Plus program better for customers who are most loyal to United while also reducing our operating costs
By shortening the amount of time a Mileage Plus account can remain inactive, United’s most loyal customers will compete with less people for award seats, making it easier for them to redeem their miles. This change also reduces the airline’s mileage liability for members who have become inactive and lowers the program’s administrative costs.
Q. Do other airlines have similar policies?
A. Yes. For example, Delta and US Airways both recently made changes to their policies.
