MileagePlus Flight Upgrades
MileagePlus flight upgrades
MileagePlus® members can upgrade with miles to get more legroom, an enhanced onboard experience and perks on United® or Star Alliance™ flights.
Enroll in MileagePlus today to make your next trip more comfortable.
Types of upgrade awards
There are four different types of upgrade awards available to MileagePlus members.
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards MileagePlus Upgrade Awards | Upgrade your seat with miles on most paid tickets for flights operated by United and United Express®. You can also use miles to upgrade other travelers. If you don't have MileagePlus Premier® status, there may be a co-pay fee for some types of fares. |
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Complimentary Premier Upgrades Complimentary Premier Upgrades | Complimentary Premier Upgrades are free, space-available upgrades for Premier members on select United and United Express flights. Premier members who are cardholders may be able to use this type of upgrade on award flights*. On some flights, you can get a Complimentary Premier Upgrade for one travel companion. |
PlusPoints PlusPoints | PlusPoints are flexible points for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K® members. They can be used to upgrade on United flights and select partner airlines. You can use PlusPoints to upgrade another traveler, even if they’re not on your reservation. |
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards Star Alliance Upgrade Awards | Upgrade your seat with miles on select Star Alliance member airlines. Requests for upgrades can be made after you have purchased your ticket. You can use miles to sponsor a Star Alliance Upgrade Award for up to four people who are traveling on the same itinerary. |
* For more information, read the Complimentary Premier Upgrades terms and conditions.
How to request an upgrade
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
To book a new reservation with a MileagePlus upgrade:
- Sign in to your MileagePlus account
- Enter your search criteria
- Choose “MileagePlus Upgrade Awards” as your award type in the advanced search settings
If you want to request an upgrade for an existing reservation, you have three options:
Sign in to your MileagePlus account and make a request online.
Call the reservations line or the Premier Priority Desk number on your digital membership card.
Talk to an agent at the airport check-in counter or your gate.
After you make your request, your name will be put on a waitlist. New waitlist requests for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards can be made until 24 hours before departure.
PlusPoints
PlusPoints
You can request a PlusPoints upgrade when you book a new flight. Select “PlusPoints upgrades” from the "Upgrade type" drop-down menu in advanced search.
You can also request an upgrade for an existing reservation. Sign in to your MileagePlus account or call the Premier Priority Desk phone number on your digital membership card. You can request a PlusPoints upgrade from the time you get your ticket until your flight check-in cutoff time. After you make your request, your name will be put on a waitlist.
Star Alliance upgrades
Star Alliance upgrades
You can request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award from the time you book your flight until 24 hours before departure. If you plan to travel with a lap infant, call the airline you’re traveling with. Some Star Alliance partners do not allow lap infants in premium cabins, or require that they have special tickets.
Waitlist priority
Waitlist priority
Our system processes upgrade requests until three hours before departure. Any requests made after that will be handled by the gate agents. The waitlists are cleared in the following order:
- United Global Services® requests
- PlusPoints upgrades and MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
- Travelers with Premier status
- Fare class***
- United ClubSM Infinite and UnitedSM Presidential PlusSM cardholders
- United Corporate Preferred participants
- United Chase cardholders with $25,000 in annual spending
- Date and time of request
If your upgrade isn’t confirmed by the time you check in, we’ll add you to the upgrade standby list.
***On flights with United Premium PlusSM , we’ll process requests to upgrade to United Business® for customers ticketed in United Premium Plus (fare classes O, A, R) before processing requests for customers ticketed in Economy. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation.