All about upgrades

Added comfort especially for MileagePlus members

MileagePlus® upgrades are a valuable feature of your membership that can make your flight experience that much more comfortable and luxurious. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about upgrading your flight.

FAQs and terms and conditions

MileagePlus Upgrade Awards

  • Yes, you can waitlist for an upgrade using a MileagePlus Upgrade Award on most tickets. MileagePlus Upgrade Awards cannot be used when flying on award tickets or deeply discounted promotional tickets, or tickets containing a Basic Economy fare or fare labeled “first bag charge, no changes.” Upgrade availability changes as conditions change, so we encourage you to request an upgrade even if one is not currently available. If a seat upgrade becomes available, waitlisted customers are confirmed automatically based on the Premier ® status of the traveler first, followed by fare class, Chase United MileagePlus Club cardholders, United Corporate Preferred participants, and lastly, by the date and time of the request. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation. Please note that when you request the upgrade, the miles will be deducted from your account, and any applicable co-pay will be collected. If none of your flight segments are upgraded, we will automatically refund your miles and co-pay after your travel. For more details on the automatic refund, refer to the answer below regarding the refund policy.

    If we haven't confirmed your upgrade by the time you check in for your flight, you will be added to the upgrades list at check-in, so there's nothing that you need to do after submitting your original request. Our upgrade systems process requests until three hours before flight departure, at which point our gate agents will handle all remaining upgrade requests.

  • If you request an upgrade using a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, and none of your travel segments are upgraded, then we will automatically redeposit your miles and co-pay. In most instances, a MileagePlus Upgrade Award will be considered used if any segment of your travel is upgraded. However, if your travel includes requested upgrades to United Polaris® business class, and none of the international premium segments are upgraded, then your MileagePlus Upgrade Award will not be considered used, even if you are upgraded to United First® or United Business® on another segment. In these instances, we will fully redeposit your miles and co-pay. When applicable, these refunds will occur 7 to 10 days after travel.

    If you're only moved to a United Premium Plus® seat but requested an upgrade to the United Polaris business class cabin, we'll refund the full United Polaris business class cabin price and charge the United Premium Plus price.

    If you are eligible to receive a refund of miles and/or co-pay for a MileagePlus Upgrade Award and have not received the refund within two billing cycles of your scheduled flight, you can contact the MileagePlus Service Center for assistance.*

    *Some restrictions apply. Call the United Customer Contact Center for complete details.

  • We will deduct the miles from your account and collect any applicable co-pay at the time when you request the MileagePlus Upgrade Award.

  • No, MileagePlus Upgrade Awards cannot be used when flying on award tickets or deeply discounted promotional tickets, or on tickets containing a Basic Economy fare. Money + Miles tickets are not upgradable with MileagePlus Upgrade Awards.

  • The price of a MileagePlus Upgrade Award is based on the region of travel, seat type requested, fare class and Premier status of the redeeming account at the time of the request.

  • The earlier you request a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, the higher your chances of being moved or upgraded — so we encourage you to request a MileagePlus Upgrade Award when booking your ticket or as soon as possible after booking. To request a MileagePlus Upgrade Award when booking, go to the Advanced Search page and check “MileagePlus Upgrade Award” under the “How would you like your flight results displayed?” section. This will show you whether MileagePlus Upgrade Award space is currently available for flights to your destination. If space is available on your desired flight, you can book that flight and have your request instantly confirmed.

  • Premier members will not be charged a co-pay for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards on routes within the U.S. (excluding Hawaii and premium transcontinental routes*) and Canada, and from the U.S. (excluding Hawaii) and Canada to Hawaii (except between Hawaii and the following airports: Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston Intercontinental, New York/Newark or Washington Dulles), Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. Premier members will also not be charged a co-pay for flights within Oceania (except between Honolulu and Guam).

    Non-Premier members traveling on the routes listed above are also exempt from the co-pay when a Premier member sponsors the upgrade with miles from his or her MileagePlus account.

    *Premium transcontinental routes include flights between: New York (Newark or John F. Kennedy) and Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Complimentary Premier Upgrades

  • You’re automatically eligible for a Complimentary Premier Upgrade as long as you are a Premier member (the higher your status, the earlier you become eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades and are flying on an eligible ticket on any eligible United-operated flight. Complimentary Premier Upgrade benefits include one companion, but if your reservation has more non-Premier travelers than Premier members, you will need to move one or more non-Premier travelers into a separate reservation in order to be eligible for a Complimentary Premier Upgrade. Premier members who are primary United Chase cardmembers for certain Chase-issued MileagePlus credit cards are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades when traveling on award tickets on United-operated flights. The following credit cards qualify for this benefit:

    • United℠ Explorer Card
    • United Explorer℠ Business Card
    • United℠ Business Card
    • United Quest℠ Card
    • United Club℠ Card
    • United Club℠ Business Card
    • United Club℠ Infinite Card
    • United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Card
    • United Presidential Plus Business Card

  • Yes. If you are a Premier member traveling on full-fare economy Y- and B-class fare within an eligible region, you may be eligible for instant upgrades as early as time of ticketing subject to upgrade availability. Premier 1K® members are also eligible for instant upgrades when purchasing M-class fares.

  • MileagePlus Upgrade Awards and PlusPoints upgrades are processed before Complimentary Premier Upgrades. If you would like a better chance of getting an upgrade, you may want to consider requesting an upgrade using these options. Otherwise, the higher the fare class you buy, the better chance you have in clearing an upgrade when compared to Premier members at your status level who have bought a lower fare class.

  • Complimentary Premier Upgrade availability is forecasted based on how many upgrade seats we expect to have on each flight, not how many seats appear available in the seat map at the time the request is made. When we have seats available, we clear upgrades in waitlist order.

PlusPoints

Learn more – PlusPoints FAQs & Terms and Conditions

Star Alliance Upgrade Awards

  • No. Star AllianceTM Upgrade Award availability depends on each airline’s upgrade availability and may be unavailable even if all other requirements are met.

  • Yes. You can find all additional eligible fare classes in the Star Alliance Upgrade Awards section.

  • No. Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are only available on flights marketed and operated by the same partner airline.

  • No. Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are valid on participating airlines only. Additionally, Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are not eligible on the following:

    • Intra-Scandinavian flights to and from Finland on SAS
    • Intra-Japan flights and flights on ANA operated by Air Japan
    • All A350, A380 and 777-300ER aircraft flights on Singapore Airlines

  • MileagePlus Upgrade Awards

    • You can request upgrades online or by calling the United Customer Contact Center until 24 hours prior to departure. You will need your MileagePlus account number and PIN/password to complete the transaction. You can also request an upgrade starting 24 hours before your departure at most airports by checking with a United check-in counter representative or gate agent.
    • You can request MileagePlus Upgrade Awards when flying on any fare class and for most fare types.* For most discounted fares, an upgrade co-pay fee will apply. MileagePlus Upgrade Awards cannot be used when flying on award tickets or deeply discounted promotional tickets, tickets containing a Basic Economy fare or Economy (first bag charge/no changes allowed) fares, or tickets purchased on websites where you don’t know the exact flight itinerary or airline until after you’ve paid for the ticket.
    • Premier qualifying points (PQP) are based on the cash portion of the co-pay fee.
    • Starting January 1, 2023, PQP will also be earned on the miles portion of the MUA at a rate of 1 PQP for every 100 MileagePlus miles redeemed.
    • PQP will only be accrued once an MUA has been flown and may take up to one week after departure to post to your account.
    • PQP earned from miles redeemed and PQP earned from the co-pay fee will post to your account separately and may post at different times.
    • MileagePlus Upgrade Awards have limited availability and are subject to capacity controls.
    • Miles and co-pay are deducted from your account at time of request or when you are placed on the waitlist.
    • Waitlisting is permitted. Travelers placed on a waitlist are prioritized according to the Premier status of the traveler. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation. Waitlists are processed based on Premier status of the traveler, followed by fare class, then Chase United MileagePlus Club cardholders, then United Corporate Preferred participants, and lastly by the date and time of request. All waitlists expire 24 hours before trip departure.
    • Standby is permitted. Waitlisted customers will automatically be added to the Upgrades list at check-in. Our upgrade systems process requests until three hours before flight departure, at which point our gate agents will handle all remaining upgrade requests.
    • If a seat is available, the upgrade will be confirmed at time of reservation. Waitlisted customers are confirmed automatically once a seat becomes available.
    • MileagePlus Upgrade Awards may be requested at united.com or by calling the United Customer Contact Center.
    • Open-jaw trips, stopovers and circle trips are permitted only in accordance with the rules of the fare purchased.
    • Mileage accrual for MileagePlus and other participating loyalty programs will be based on the original fare class purchased.
    • Flight changes are permitted in accordance with the rules of the fare purchased.
    • MileagePlus Upgrade Awards have no cash value except for applicable taxes, fees and surcharges.
    • To cancel or change your MileagePlus Upgrade Award, please call your United Customer Contact Center.
    • If you cancel or change your flight, you also need to call your United Customer Contact Center, as the MileagePlus Upgrade Award will not be automatically canceled or changed.
    • If you request to cancel your MileagePlus Upgrade Award, any miles and associated upgrade co-pays will be refunded, though a re-credit fee may apply.
    • If you request to change a flight with a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, we can apply the MileagePlus Upgrade Award to the new itinerary, subject to upgrade availability on that itinerary. Additional miles and co-pay may be required.
    • If you request an upgrade using a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, and none of your travel segments are upgraded, we will redeposit your miles and co-pay. In most instances, a MileagePlus Upgrade Award will be considered used if any segment of your travel is upgraded. However, if your travel includes requested upgrades to United Polaris® business class and none of the segments are upgraded, then your MileagePlus Upgrade Award will not be considered used, even if you are upgraded to United First® or United Business® on another segment. In these instances, we will fully redeposit your miles and co-pay. When applicable, these refunds will occur 7 to 10 days after travel.
    • If you're only moved to a United Premium Plus℠ seat and requested an upgrade to the United Polaris business class cabin, we'll refund the difference in co-pay and miles after departure.
    • The government may collect additional taxes for travel in an upgraded seat.
    • Co-pay may not be applied to future travel and may change without notice.

    Complimentary Premier Upgrades

    • Complimentary Premier Upgrades are eligible for one-cabin upgrades on select flights from United Economy® to the next cabin of service.
    • Only select flights operated by United and United Express® are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades.
    • Upgrades are subject to capacity controls, which may limit the number of seats available.
    • Upgrades are not available on flights that have already been upgraded, or on tickets containing Basic Economy fares, Economy (first bag charge/no changes allowed) fares, certain fares such as industry discount, and tickets purchased on websites where you don’t know the exact flight itinerary or airline until after you’ve paid for the ticket.
    • The number of MileagePlus award miles, Premier qualifying miles and Premier qualifying segments earned are based on the fare class of the ticket originally purchased, not the upgraded class.
    • Other restrictions may apply. Terms and other information are subject to change without notice.

    Star Alliance Upgrade Awards

    • Requests for upgrades can be made after you have purchased your ticket. Upgrades may be requested until 24 hours before departure. Your MileagePlus account number and password are required to complete the request.
    • Upgrades are valid only on participating Star Alliance™ airlines. Codeshare flights not eligible.
    • Star Alliance Upgrade Awards may not be requested when you travel on industry discount, agency discount, deeply discounted promotional tickets, award tickets using miles, or tickets purchased on websites where you don’t know the exact flight itinerary or airline until after you’ve paid for the ticket.
    • Some airlines may impose blackout periods where upgrades are not permitted.
    • Star Alliance Upgrade Awards may only be requested for up to four travelers per reservation.
    • Miles are deducted from your MileagePlus account automatically at time of reservation.
    • Required mileage is per person.
    • Each individual segment requires a separate Star Alliance Upgrade Award. For example, if you are flying on an eligible fare from Madrid to Frankfurt to London, two awards are required.
    • Double upgrades from Economy to First are not permitted on three-cabin aircraft.
    • Standby is not permitted.
    • Waitlisting is not permitted except for on ANA.
    • An upgrade may be confirmed as early as time of ticketing, if a seat is available.
    • Mileage accrual is based on the original ticketed booking class, not the upgraded class of service.
    • Requests for seat assignments, special meals and amenities should be made directly with the operating carrier.
    • The number of miles required to upgrade is based on when the request is submitted and is subject to change.
    • If you wish to make changes or cancel your Star Alliance Upgrade Award request, please contact the operating carrier.
    • If a segment of your Star Alliance itinerary is canceled, the upgrade request will also be automatically canceled. Miles will be automatically redeposited 24 to 48 hours after the cancellation.
    • Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are not available through general selling agents.