When it comes to the future of United MileagePlus, United Airlines is ready.
For months, the airline has been dropping cryptic hints about “really great ideas” for the future of its loyalty program.
The breadcrumbs keep dropping this week.
During the company’s earnings call Wednesday, United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella teased that a major loyalty announcement appears to be coming.
“[We] Nocera will have more to say about this. “We will have some comments to make over the next 10 weeks.”
It’s portentous, to say the least – though it’s nothing to worry about for frequent United fliers who are wondering what this means for their Premier benefits, miles or co-branded credit cards.
But in the meantime, changes are already underway.
Coming soon: United’s ultra-luxurious Polaris offering, stunning new cabins just weeks away
Manchester United loyalty changes
Last week, United announced major leadership changes at the top of MileagePlus.
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Now leading loyalty programs: Jarad Fisher, an executive whose resume includes helping strengthen the partnership between Delta Air Lines and American Express — currently the most profitable airline-bank partnership in the U.S.
Most recently, Fisher helped launch Apple Card in 2019.
That pedigree, coupled with MileagePlus’ apparent “big announcement,” has Wall Street taking notice this week.
One industry analyst predicts that United Airlines may look to the Apple Card rewards setup as inspiration for future MileagePlus.
“We could envision more real-time rewards transparency, similar to Apple’s Daily Cash, designed to enable smoother usage and add value-added redemption options,” TD Cowen’s Tom Fitzgerald wrote in a note Thursday.
Apple Card information is collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
worth noting
Ironically, United’s banking partner JPMorgan announced this month that it plans to become the new issuer of the Apple Card, which is currently issued by Goldman Sachs. The transition is expected to take two years.
United expects huge profits from MileagePlus
For its part, United said it hopes double Its profits from MileagePlus by the end of the decade.
Industry analysts predict that much of the cash inflow will come from renegotiating a co-branded credit card deal with Chase.
Airlines are making billions from bank partnerships, no less than the $8 billion Delta Air Lines just received from American Express in 2025.
The current agreement between Manchester United and Chase (when agreed) was expected to run until 2029.
RELATED: United launches mile-earning debit card with unique savings pairing
But the Chicago-based airline doesn’t appear content to wait that long to make other changes.
“We have a legacy contract with our banking partners that is still ongoing,” Nocera acknowledged Wednesday. “But at the same time, we still have a lot of ideas for growth and revenue.”
It sounds like we’ll be hearing about these ideas over the next few months, so stay tuned.
good to know
United Airlines said Wednesday that its loyalty program revenue will increase 9% in 2025 compared with 2024. For the third consecutive year, United passengers have added more than 1 million co-branded credit cards to their wallets, the airline noted.
One piece of good news that MileagePlus members have learned in recent weeks is that the airline has chosen not to increase eligibility requirements for Premier status in 2026, meaning the path to elite status will remain the same for the next year.
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