Upgrading on ANA, Copa or Lufthansa

How to use PlusPoints on these partner airlines

PlusPoints can be used on flights operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) for one-segment, one-cabin upgrades on any multi-cabin international flight operated by ANA and marketed by ANA or United. Upgrades are subject to availability and valid for paid, published fares only. The following ANA fare classes are eligible for PlusPoints upgrades: B, C, D, E, G, J, M, U and Y. PlusPoints can’t be used to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy on ANA-operated flights. Please see the terms and conditions below for specific eligibility rules.

PlusPoints can be used on Lufthansa-operated flights for one-segment, one-cabin upgrades on any multi-cabin international flight operated by Lufthansa and marketed by Lufthansa or United. You may request an upgrade using PlusPoints as early as time of ticketing in order to upgrade from Lufthansa Economy or Business Class to the next higher cabin. Upgrades are subject to availability and valid for paid, published fares only. The following Lufthansa fare classes are eligible for PlusPoints upgrades: B, C, D, E, G, H, J, M, Q, U and Y. U.S. government fares are also not eligible for electronic PlusPoints upgrades on Lufthansa-operated flights. PlusPoints can’t be used to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy on Lufthansa-operated flights. Please see the terms and conditions below for specific eligibility rules.

PlusPoints can be used on flights operated by Copa Airlines for one-segment, one-cabin upgrades on any multi-cabin international flight operated by Copa and marketed by Copa or United. Upgrades are subject to availability and valid for paid, published fares only. The following Copa fare classes are eligible for PlusPoints upgrades: A, B, E, H, K, L, M, O, Q, S, T, U, V, W, Y. Please see the terms and conditions below for specific eligibility rules.

If you plan to travel with a lap infant, please call the airline you are traveling with first. Some Star Alliance partners do not permit lap infants to travel in a premium cabin and if the infant is permitted, special ticketing may be required.

How to request

Once your ticket has been issued, requests to upgrade with PlusPoints can be made through our online request form. You can make upgrade requests for ANA-operated flights beginning 365 days before departure until 24 hours before departure. You can make upgrade requests for Lufthansa-operated flights beginning 331 days before departure until 10 hours before departure.

If upgrade space is available at the time of the request and you choose to confirm the upgrade, United will automatically deduct PlusPoints from your MileagePlus account.

How to request for codeshare flights

If you are traveling on an ANA- or Lufthansa-operated codeshare flight with a United flight number, upgrades may be available and can be requested by calling 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331) within the U.S. and Canada, elsewhere call your local United Customer Contact Center.

Waitlist for ANA and Lufthansa-operated flights

If upgrade space on ANA or Lufthansa is not available at the time of the request, travelers may have the option to be placed on the ANA or Lufthansa upgrade waitlist. United will automatically deduct PlusPoints from your MileagePlus account when you add travelers to the waitlist. The waitlist will clear automatically as upgrade space becomes available on the flight. Please note that the waitlist functionality is controlled by the operating airline and may not be available if the operating airline chooses not to offer it for a particular flight.

If a waitlisted traveler is confirmed in the higher cabin, the ANA or Lufthansa reservation will reflect the upgraded class and United will send a notification to the email address provided at the time of the request. Unconfirmed upgrades will be transferred to ANA or Lufthansa’s check-in system automatically. If you don't get the upgrade at check-in, your PlusPoints will be automatically re-deposited to your account within 24 to 48 hours.

    1. Upgrades are valid only on ANA.
    2. Requests for upgrades can be made after you have purchased your ticket. Upgrades can be requested until 24 hours prior to departure. Your MileagePlus account number and password are required to complete the request.
    3. PlusPoints upgrades 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.
    4. ANA may impose blackout periods where upgrades are not permitted.
    5. You may request PlusPoints upgrades for up to four people traveling on the same reservation. The amount of PlusPoints required is listed per passenger for each itinerary and deducted at time of request; to upgrade additional people, you’ll need to use additional PlusPoints. (If the reservation has more than four travelers, you will need to call the operating carrier.) You do not need to be traveling with the passengers to request the upgrades and you can request upgrades for travelers with a different last name than yours.
    6. While you can only request upgrades for one segment at a time, you may upgrade more than one eligible segment on the itinerary.
    7. Double upgrades from Economy to First are not permitted on three-cabin aircraft.
    8. Standby is not permitted, but waitlisting is permitted.
    9. An upgrade may be confirmed within eight weeks of departure, if a seat is available.
    10. Mileage accrual is based on the original ticketed booking class, not the upgraded class of service.
    11. Requests for seat assignments, special meals and amenities should be made directly with the operating carrier.
    12. If you wish to make changes or cancel your PlusPoints upgrade request, please contact ANA.
    13. If an ANA segment of your itinerary is canceled, the upgrade request for that segment will also be automatically canceled. Your PlusPoints will be automatically redeposited 24 to 48 hours after the cancellation.
    14. PlusPoints upgrades are not available through general selling agents.

    1. Valid carrier: This upgrade may only be used on multi-cabin international Lufthansa flights and is subject to availability. This upgrade is not valid on flights operated by other airlines. Upgrades for codeshare flights** marketed by United but operated by Lufthansa ("LH") may be available and can only be requested by calling 1-800-UNITED1 within the U.S. and Canada, elsewhere call your local United Customer Contact Center.
    2. Valid routing: This upgrade is valid for international Lufthansa-operated flights. Stopovers are not permitted. United will not issue upgrades for Lufthansa-operated flights to U.S. embargoed travel destinations.
    3. Upgradeable fare classes: This upgrade is subject to availability. The following Lufthansa fare classes are not eligible for upgrade: Z, P, V, W, S, T, N, L, K, R, X, I, O, ID, AD and IP. Lufthansa reserves the right to change the eligible fare classes at any time without notice.
    4. Non-upgradeable tickets: The upgrade may not be used on any MileagePlus award ticket, Miles & More award ticket or any other frequent flyer award ticket, industry discount ticket (ID, AD and IP fares), or on tickets purchased on websites where you don’t know the exact flight itinerary or airline until after you’ve paid for the ticket. Please also note that U.S. government fares are not eligible for electronic PlusPoints upgrades on Lufthansa-operated flights.
    5. MileagePlus mileage accrual: Travelers will earn MileagePlus miles based on the fare class purchased, not the upgraded fare class.
    6. Ticketing: Tickets must be issued in the eligible purchased Lufthansa Economy or Lufthansa Business Class fare.
    7. Upgrade rules: For flights that stop en route, upgrades are only permitted when the upgraded seating is available on all portions of the flight.
    8. You may request PlusPoints upgrades for up to four people traveling on the same reservation. The amount of PlusPoints required is listed per passenger for each itinerary and are deducted at time of request; to upgrade additional people, you’ll need to use additional PlusPoints. (If the reservation has more than four travelers, you will need to call the operating carrier.) You do not need to be traveling with the passengers to request the upgrades and you can request upgrades for travelers with a different last name than yours. Multi-traveler reservations require all travelers be upgraded; partial upgrades are not permitted.
    9. While you can only request upgrades for one segment at a time, you may upgrade more than one eligible segment on the itinerary.
    10. Changes/Refunds: The rules of the fare purchased determine the changes or refunds that are allowed. Check with Lufthansa or a travel professional. Changes to a segment that is on the waitlist will result in a waitlist cancellation and re-deposit of PlusPoints to the account from which it was withdrawn. If the date of a flight segment with a confirmed upgrade is changed, the upgrade may be re-confirmed in the higher cabin only if space is available. If space is not available, PlusPoints will be re-deposited. All other changes to the upgraded segment will result in a re-deposit and a new request may be submitted. If your reservation contains multiple flight segments, changes to or cancellations of other flight segments will not affect the confirmed upgrade or waitlist status.
    11. The terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

    1. Upgrades are valid only on Copa Airlines.
    2. Requests for upgrades can be made after you’ve purchased your ticket. Upgrades can be requested until 24 hours prior to departure. Your MileagePlus account number and password are required to complete the request.
    3. PlusPoints upgrades 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.
    4. Copa Airlines may impose blackout periods where upgrades are not permitted.
    5. You may request PlusPoints upgrades for up to four people traveling on the same reservation. The amount of PlusPoints required is listed per passenger for each itinerary and deducted at time of request; to upgrade additional people, you’ll need to use additional PlusPoints. (If the reservation has more than four travelers, you will need to call the operating carrier.) You do not need to be traveling with the passengers to request the upgrades and you can request upgrades for travelers with a different last name than yours.
    6. While you can only request upgrades for one segment at a time, you may upgrade more than one eligible segment on the itinerary.
    7. Double upgrades from Economy to First are not permitted on three-cabin aircraft.
    8. Standby and waitlisting are not permitted.
    9. Mileage accrual is based on the original ticketed booking class, not the upgraded class of service.
    10. Requests for seat assignments, special meals and amenities should be made directly with the operating carrier.
    11. If you wish to make changes or cancel your PlusPoints upgrade request, please contact Copa Airlines.
    12. If a Copa Airlines segment of your itinerary is canceled, the upgrade request for that segment will also be automatically canceled. Your PlusPoints will be automatically redeposited 24 to 48 hours after the cancellation.
    13. PlusPoints upgrades are not available through general selling agents.

**Codeshare flights are marketed and sold by one airline, under their own airline code and flight number, but operated by another airline. The operating airline is specified on your reservation. If the airline code listed before the flight number on your reservation is different than the operating airline, then you are traveling on a codeshare flight (for example, Flight UA8826 operated by Lufthansa).