Exclusive: United Airlines announces major changes to the point upgrade

United is following its commitment to make the add-point more flexible, but the cost of increased utility (steep) costs.

The Chicago-based airline rolls out its highly anticipated update with the latest news on how top elite members use it on Thursday. The airline is sharing updates via customer emails and it also briefly introduces it specifically to TPG before the changes.

The good news is that travelers who don’t seem to get a point upgrade can clear the purpose of this upgrade currency. But don’t expect this newfound flexibility to be cheap – or easy to understand at first glance.

Upgrade less clear? More passengers are just paying for those top-notch seats, airlines say

Here’s everything you need to know.

Exchange fluspoints for Perks

Back in October, Manchester United announced for the first time that it would use a new method to use the plus point, which has historically been limited to upgrading flights booked with Manchester United and selected partners.

And now, starting from the 2025 status year, flyers can use plus dots as the following privileges:

• Travel Bank Cash
• Reward Mileage
• Prime Minister Qualifying Competition
• Gift to Prime Minister
• Prime Minister Qualification Flight

Note that these new swap options are limited to plus points obtained in 2025 and beyond, meaning those with last year’s plus points will only use them specifically for upgrades.

Each revitalization requires a different number of points, which I will outline below. You can mix and match dotted exchanges between different privileges, but keep in mind some limitations.

First, you can only exchange 600 qualified plus points on each expiration date, which means you are eligible for status every year and can be exchanged on up to 600 plus points. You must use the rest of the upgrades.

That said, Jill Doyle, managing director of the LileagePlus program, explained to TPG that not many members earn more than 600 times a year. “A small part of our plan goes beyond that,” she said.

Note that each individual PERK also has the maximum number of points that can be swapped per year. More information about below.

The second major limitation is that the timeline for exchanging points far exceeds your point expiration date.

First look at: United Airlines’ new Polaris economic seat

Every year you earn extra points, you must exchange it for a allowance by March 31 before expiration. For example, if you earn plus points in 2025, they will expire on January 31, 2027, but the exchange will close on March 31, 2026. This means that your plus points can be used for upgrades over the eight months between March 31, 2026 and January 31, 2027.

The final limit is perhaps the most punitive.

Even if Manchester United is offering larger usage plus points for flyers, you still need to decide how many points to do before the end of the year. I think this will help limit a lot of last-minute exchanges in late January when travelers realize how many extra points they have expired, but still feel like it’s not the best restriction for flyers.

“In order to make it a truly viable product, we have to come up with some parameters in it, which helps our plans,” Doyle said. Reading between the two lines, United seems to be worried that too much communication will indeed happen at the end of the year.

You can handle the AFLOINPS exchange by visiting the website and doing it locally in the United Mobile application.

Travel Bank Cash

If you want to exchange Travelbank cash, it is the redemption rate:

• 10 plus points: $20 Travel Bank Cash
• 20 plus points: $40 Travelbank Cash
• 40 plus points: $80 Travelbank Cash
• 80 plus points: $160 Travelbank Cash
• 100 plus points: $200 Travel Bank Cash

Please note that you cannot exchange more than 100 items in the qualifying year for Travelbank cash.

You can apply TravelBank cash to most joint flight purchases, which works similar to gift cards. It is stored directly in your MileagePlus account and will be one year from the date of deposit.

Landing gear in the kitchen? Visit Manchester United’s renovated Chicago headquarters in Willista

Reward Mileage

If you want to add points in mileage exchanges of miles, then it is the redemption rate:

• 10 plus points: 1,500 miles Pros miles
• 20 plus points: 3,000 miles Pler miles
• 40 plus points: 6,000 miles Pler miles
• 80 plus points: 12,000 miles of Pler mileage
• 100 plus points: 15,000 miles of Pler mileage

Please note that you cannot exchange more than 100 or more times for a qualifying year each year for miles. Miles Prorussian mileage will not expire and reward miles will be posted in the Prime Minister’s member’s account within three days of selection.

Prime Minister Qualifying Competition

If you want to exchange total eligibility points, it is the redemption rate:

• 10 points: 100 PQPs
• 20 points: 200 pqps
• 40 points: 400 PQP
• 80 plus points: 800 PQPS
• 100 points: 1,000 PQPs
• 160 plus points: 1,600 PQPS

Please note that you cannot redeemed more than 160 PQPS for eligible conditions. PQPs obtained from the exchange will be deposited directly into the Prime Minister’s account – they cannot be gifted or transferred.

Exchanges conducted before December 31, 2025 can be applied to the qualifying year for 2025 or 2026, while exchanges conducted between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2026 will be automatically applied to the qualifying year for 2026.

Stay in touch: United Airlines details 6 mainframe entertainment updates including brand new control tower map

Gift to Prime Minister

If you want to exchange points for gifts in advanced state, it is the redemption rate:

• 40 points: Prime Minister’s Silver Status
• 100 points: Prime Minister’s golden state
• 440 points: Prime Minister’s Platinum Status
• 600 points: Prime Minister 1K status

Note that you can only choose up to three main silver gifts, up to two main gold gifts, and gifts that only have Premier Platinum and/or Premier 1K per year.

Talented identities will be valid until the date when the plus points expires and members who receive the Prime Minister’s gift will not be able to obtain the plus points unless they also meet the published eligibility criteria.

Prime Minister Qualification Flight

If you want to exchange for a Prime Minister’s qualified flight, the redemption rate is:

• 160 plus points: 2 PQFS
• 320 plus points: 4 PQFS

Please note that you cannot change PQF to a qualifying year of more than 320 times. PQFs obtained from the exchange will be deposited directly into the Prime Minister’s member’s account – they cannot be gifted or transferred.

Whether selected in 2025 or 2026, all PQFs obtained from the Exchange will be valid for the 2026 eligibility year.

Is this a lot?

The cost of adding points upgrades varies depending on the route purchased and the cabin category. Although they can offer great value when they help you successfully clean up to higher cabins, in recent years many flyers have complained that they find themselves stuck on upgrade lists with no chance of cleaning up, especially during peak trips.

Then many travelers have their plus points expired every year, which is obviously not a good way for United to reward their top flyers (although I don’t think the airline would mind some of the damage here).

These new exchange options are certainly better than none, and should provide travelers with more ways to use their own perspectives than to let them expire.

That said, between the heavy terms and conditions, especially the restrictions on the exchange and the restrictions on the regret rate that must be completed in early 2026, which may not represent many deals for many quality members who can upgrade with bonus points.

For example, exchanging 40 additional travel bank or bonus miles would generate $80 in travel bank credit or 6,000 mile Pler miles worth $81, according to TPG’s valuation.

Meanwhile, 40 plus points for long-distance upgrades from economy to Polaris Business Class could be as high as $1,500, and more.

When I came up with this example for Doyle, she chose to emphasize the utility addition of the exchange plan, rather than the basic value of the actual point addition. “But if you don’t get value from it [PlusPoints because you] She said: “Never upgrade, we give you a different option. That’s where we are trying to rely on is the value of the customer, not the nailing. [PlusPoints] For specific values ​​that may be bad. ”

However, this difference in value is so obvious, especially for a common flyer, which makes me wonder if this move is a harbinger of adding dots.

Doyle put pressure on other changes that might occur, saying simply, “I can’t share much.” However, it seems that this may be the first phase of the multi-pipe process that adjusts the dotted value.

Of course, only time will prove this, but if I were a bet, I would say that the days of enjoying a 40-point upgrade to business on a qualified long-haul flight may end earlier than later.

Related readings: