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MileagePlus program members can experience added comfort in our premium cabins with the following upgrade types.
Upgrade types
- MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
Members can use award miles to upgrade to a premium cabin on any United-, United Express®- or Copa Airlines-operated flight, with minimal fare restrictions.
- Complimentary Premier Upgrades
MileagePlus Premier® members have access to upgrades on a space-available basis on select United-operated flights. Premier members are also eligible for instant upgrades as early as time of ticketing on select Economy tickets.
- Regional Premier Upgrades
These one-way, one-cabin upgrades are confirmable as early as time of ticketing on select United- and Copa-operated flights within certain regions.
- Global Premier Upgrades
These one-way, one-cabin upgrades are available for flights operated by United or Copa, and select flights operated by ANA and Lufthansa.
- Star Alliance Upgrade Awards
Members can use their miles to upgrade on select flights with Star Alliance® network partners.
- Travelers also have access to the premium cabin experience through United Travel Options.
MileagePlus upgrade regions and eligible fares
See below for information regarding upgrade availability and eligible fares on flights across our worldwide network. MileagePlus Upgrade Awards can be used on any United-, United Express- or Copa-operated flight, with no fare restrictions except for tickets containing a Basic Economy fare.
MileagePlus upgrade regions and eligible fares
MileagePlus upgrade regions for United-operated flights |
Complimentary Premier Upgrades |
Regional Premier Upgrades |
Global Premier Upgrades |
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards |
Continental U.S. (except for premium transcontinental routes)*** |
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** |
Premium transcontinental routes Flights between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR) and San Francisco (SFO), and Boston (BOS) and San Francisco (SFO) *** |
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West Coast Hawaii Flights between Hawaii and Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) |
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** |
Long Haul Hawaii Flights between Hawaii and Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), or Washington (IAD) |
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Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America |
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** |
South America |
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* |
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Europe, Middle East, Africa |
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* |
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Australia, New Zealand |
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* |
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Asia, Japan |
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* |
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Oceania (except Tahiti) |
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** |
Honolulu (HNL) to Guam (GUM) |
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* |
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Tahiti |
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* |
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Notes:
Footnotes
Regions and route exceptions are subject to change at any time. Upgrades are subject to capacity controls, which may limit the number of seats available.
Upgrade confirmation priority
Instant upgrades at time of ticketing Premier members traveling on full-fare economy Y and discount full-fare economy B fares are eligible for an instant upgrade at time of ticketing on select flights. Premier 1K members traveling on M fares are also eligible. Instant upgrades are subject to capacity controls.
Waitlist priority on all flights If upgrade space is not available when requesting a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, Regional Premier Upgrade or Global Premier Upgrade, travelers may be placed on a waitlist. 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, then fare class, then time of request.1 New waitlist requests for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards, Regional Premier Upgrades, and Global Premier Upgrades can be made until 24 hours prior to departure.
Priority within four days on flights eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades On certain flights, automatic processing of upgrades, including Complimentary Premier Upgrades, may begin as early as 96 hours (four days) in advance. The confirmation windows for Complimentary Premier Upgrades, by published Premier status, are:
Confirmation windows for Complimentary Premier Upgrades
Premier status |
Confirmation (as early as) |
Premier 1K® |
96 hours / 4 days |
Premier Platinum |
72 hours / 3 days |
Premier Gold |
48 hours / 2 days |
Premier Silver |
Day of departure |
The following is the order of priority for upgrades, within four days of departure, on flights that are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades:
- Premier 1K members on eligible Y-, B- and M-class fares: Premier 1K Instant upgrades that weren't confirmed in advance are prioritized by fare class
- All travelers on waitlisted Global Premier Upgrades, Regional Premier Upgrades and MileagePlus Upgrade Awards: Prioritized by Premier status of the traveler, then fare class and then time of request1
- All remaining Premier members: Prioritized by Premier status of the traveler, then fare class and then award travel2
Priority within 24 hours New waitlist requests for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards, Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades can be made until 24 hours prior to departure. 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, per the priority listed above, until three hours before flight departure, at which point our gate agents will handle all remaining upgrade requests. Learn more about the upgrade standby list.
Sponsoring upgrades and companion policy
A MileagePlus member may request an upgrade for another traveler using a MileagePlus Upgrade Award, a Global Premier Upgrade or a Regional Premier Upgrade, even if they are not traveling on the same reservation.
Waitlist confirmation priority is based on the Premier status of the traveler. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation.
In addition, one companion traveling on the same reservation as a Premier member is eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades on select flights, and may be confirmed with the same priority as the Premier member, even on the day of departure. This benefit does not apply to companions traveling on award tickets.
Premier members who are primary cardholders 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 MileagePlus Explorer Card
- United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
- United MileagePlus Club Card
- United MileagePlus Club Business Card
- United MileagePlus Presidential PlusSM Card
- United MileagePlus Presidential Plus Business Card
Complimentary Premier Upgrades on award tickets will be prioritized as indicated in the "Upgrade Confirmation Priority" section above, and prioritized after the lowest paid fare class within each Premier level. This benefit does not apply to companions traveling on award tickets.
Footnotes
MileagePlus rules: The accrual of miles and Premier® qualifying credits, redemption of awards and provision of benefits through the United MileagePlus program, including the Premier Program, are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the MileagePlus program.
See the complete rules and details of the MileagePlus program
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