mymiles2go

United Airlines Forum Glossary
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=530635

Current with suggested links as of 8:15AM EST on 06/11/10

If folks could add recommended links to the bottom - I'll just keep adding them to this list.

(Moderators' Note: Thanks SO much for taking this on. And thanks for adding new links into your opening note as folks give them to you!

List o' links:

New Wiki for United Airlines: Still a bit young - but great if folks can update/edit it!
http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...nited_Airlines

All Current Promo's:

New Business/First Class Aircraft Links
Want to know if your flight is on a new interior aircraft? See the below:
Booking Tickets/Confirming Tickets
Upgrade Related Information
Earning/Spending Miles on Partners & Star Alliance
Bump Links
Seating/Boarding Related
Got a problem? Go here:
United Employee Questions and Answers Threads
We are fortunate enough to have several United employees who choose to participate as members on FlyerTalk and are willing to answer questions in an unofficial capacity.Misc.

Various other quick notes of useful value (Not in any particular single thread):

Tip #1: Changing Status Levels
If you change status levels (going from Premier to Premier Exec, etc), it takes about 2-3 days for it to become effective in the system. At that point you MUST call back United and have them "re-enter" your MP number into any future PNR's (Records/Travel itins) that you have for the system to reflect your new status level.

Update: You no longer have to do this. Your status will be reflected in your PNR within 2-7 days (seems like there is a weekly sweep, didnt figure out which day). Your BPs will then print with your status irregardless of when the reservation was made. HOWEVER, if you requested a 500 miler upgrade BEFORE your status changes, you must have it backed out and reentered in order to be allowed to clear at your new window (can't do online AFAIK). If you are lucky the CSR may clear you right there on the phone to be nice

Tip #2 Setting "expert" mode on united.com:

1. Go to united.com homepage
2. From the upper right menu bar, select "My Profile"
3. Log in.
4. Click on the edit button for "My Travel Preferences"
5. In the "Display Preferences" screen, change your setting for "Availibility format" to "an expert"
6. Save your changes
7. Congratulations. You can now see availability by booking code.

Tip #3 Setting United.com to display fares that qualify:
1. Go to united.com login to your MP account and click on flights (get to "Create itinerary: Shop for flights")
2. enter your from, to and designed dates, 20 flights (more on that later), "search by schedule", 2+ connections, and the MPW124 code. Do NOT enter anything in the upgrade eligibility field.
3. It will show you some flights, but probably not the ones you really want.
Go to the top of the browser in the address bar where it shows the URL it just used. change the air_avail=20 to air_avail=200. This will increase the number of flights it checks and makes the website actually work. Hit enter after adding that one "0" to the URL.
4. When the complete search comes back, select your flights from the ones that have the "Every day low fares" AND the "promotion eligible" tags. I am pretty sure that "every day low faires" means that "w" is available on international flights, maybe domestic too.
5. Price the selection. It will come back with a "promotion eligible price" and then below, lower price options that do not qualify.

Tip #4:How to search for fares that qualify for a promo code on United.com:

Try going back to the United home page, clicking "Planning Travel," then "Full Flight Search" and doing your search again. You may have to re-enter your MP # / password at this point. This often works for me. Also, you can try closing your browser & deleting cookies.

UAL.com does mess up in all sorts of odd ways--such as picking V & Q for some legs (when W are available on the routing) and then T on others, even with the promo code in place.

Tip #5: Snail mail address for letters of commendation or complaint about United Airlines employees:

Ms. Sara A. Fields
SVP People
United Airlines
1200 E. Algonquin Rd.
Elk Grove Township, IL 60007

At least one FTer has reported that emails sent to UA (via 1KVoice or another email address) about employees may not ever make it to WHQ or to employees' personnel files, so if you want to be sure something arrives in United's HR department, lick a stamp. On May 3, 2006 United announced that it had begun the search for the successor to Sara Fields as she was being given different responsibilities dealing with corporate governance, executive leadership, development and succession planning. Chances are that letters addressed to her with her "SVP People" title will still make it to the correct department.

Tip #6: Need to fax something into MP to get credit for it? This fax number does the trick every time: 605-343-0215 (Verified as of 9/19/2008). Also note that name changes can be done this way as well - as opposed to mailing in them via snail mail, these take just 72 hours.

Tip/Reminder #7: Reminder about QUP/YUP Fares:
QUPs and YUPs are first class fares, and not free upgrades. Do not allow an agent (gate, reservations or ticket counter) to tell you otherwise!

Tip #8: 1K members are able to book one-way awards for half the mileage. This special exception is only for the 1K passenger and his or her travelling companions (not for mileage awards sponsored by the 1K). Most agents have no idea about this benefit, so ask them to review profile: MPI100K

Note - This no longer appears to be valid. See: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=775452

Mileage Plus Levels

Mileage Plus Premier Associate

[Also known as 3P] is the newest lowest elite tier. You can only become 3P through invitation of another Elite member or through a "soft landing". Your status is valid for the full calendar year and the next January after your have earned status. [so if you earned status in 2009, your status would be good until the last day of January 2011].

Benefits include:

• Star Alliance Silver status.
• 36 Hour Upgrade Window when using 500 mile certificates or Y/B fare complimentary upgrade.
• Discounted price when purchasing 500-Mile upgrades [$200 for four vs. $325].
• Allowed to pre-book Economy Plus seating on UA flights.
• Zone 1 Boarding Priority when flying in Economy on UA flights.
• Priority boarding when flying in Economy on Star Alliance flights.
• Priority check-in with UA and Star Alliance airlines.
• Priority upgrade waitlist when there are no available upgrade seats on a UA flight.
• Priority reservations waitlist when the flight or eligible fare you want on any Star Alliance member airline is sold out.
• Priority standby at the airport (where allowed by law) for any Star Alliance flight if you are traveling without a confirmed reservation.
• Access to a private, toll-free domestic reservations number.

Mileage Plus Premier
[Also known as 2P] is the next elite tier. You earn 2P status with 25,000 Elite Qualifying Miles [EQMs] or 30 Elite Qualifying Segments [EQS] in a calendar year (January 1st through December 31st). Your status is valid for the full calendar year and the next January after your have earned status. [so if you earned status in 2009, your status would be good until the last day of January 2011].

Benefits include:

• Star Alliance Silver status.
• 25% Redeemable (RDM) Mileage Bonus on UA and US flights as well as transatlantic segments flown on LH.
• 48 Hour Upgrade Window when using 500 mile certificates or Y/B fare complimentary upgrade.
• Earn four 500-mile upgrade certificates for every 10,000 miles flown on UA.
• Discounted price when purchasing 500-Mile upgrades [$200 for four vs. $325].
• Allowed to pre-book Economy Plus seating on UA flights.
• Zone 1 Boarding Priority when flying in Economy on UA flights.
• Priority boarding when flying in Economy on Star Alliance flights.
• Priority check-in with UA and Star Alliance airlines.
• Priority upgrade waitlist when there are no available upgrade seats on a UA flight.
• Priority reservations waitlist when the flight or eligible fare you want on any Star Alliance member airline is sold out.
• Priority standby at the airport (where allowed by law) for any Star Alliance flight if you are traveling without a confirmed reservation.
• Discounted rate on United Red Carpet Club memberships [$400 vs. $500].
• Access to a private, toll-free domestic reservations number.

Mileage Plus Premier Executive

Mileage Plus Premier Executive [also known as 1P is the middle elite tier. You earn 1P status with 50,000 Elite Qualifying Miles [EQMs] or 60 Elite Qualifying Segments [EQS] in a calendar year (January 1st through December 31st). Your status is valid for the full calendar year and the next January after your have earned status. [so if you earned status in 2009, your status would be good until the last day of January 2011].

Benefits include:

• Star Alliance Gold status.
• 100% Redeemable (RDM) Mileage Bonus on UA and US flights as well as transatlantic segments flown on LH.
• 72 Hour Upgrade Window when using 500 mile certificates or Y/B fare complimentary upgrade.
• Earn four 500-mile upgrade certificates for every 10,000 miles flown on UA.
• Discounted price when purchasing 500-Mile upgrades [$200 for four vs. $325].
• Allowed to pre-book Exit Row seating on UA flights [I have also been able to do so on US flights].
• Allowed to pre-book Economy Plus seating on UA flights.
• Zone 1 Boarding Priority when flying in Economy on UA flights.
• Priority boarding when flying in Economy on Star Alliance flights.
• Priority check-in with UA and Star Alliance airlines.
• Priority upgrade waitlist when there are no available upgrade seats on a UA flight.
• Access to any Star Alliance Gold lounge when traveling on an international itinerary.
• Additional baggage allowance (three checked bags or 20kg additional weight) on any Star Alliance flight.
• Priority reservations waitlist when the flight or eligible fare you want on any Star Alliance member airline is sold out.
• Priority standby at the airport (where allowed by law) for any Star Alliance flight if you are traveling without a confirmed reservation.
• Discounted rate on United Red Carpet Club memberships [$350 vs. $500].
• Access to a private, toll-free domestic reservations number.

Mileage Plus 1K

Mileage Plus 1K [also known as 1K is the highest elite tier. You earn 1K status with 100,000 Elite Qualifying Miles [EQMs] or 100 Elite Qualifying Segments [EQS] in a calendar year (January 1st through December 31st). Your status is valid for the full calendar year and the next January after your have earned status. [so if you earned status in 2009, your status would be good until the last day of January 2011].

Benefits include:

• Star Alliance Gold status.
• 100% Redeemable (RDM) Mileage Bonus on UA and US flights as well as transatlantic segments flown on LH.
• 100 Hour Upgrade Window when using 500 mile certificates or Y/B fare complimentary upgrade.
• Earn six SystemWide Upgrades (SWU) and two additional SWUs for every 50,000 EQMs/50EQS earned over 100,000. These upgrades may be used on any UA flight, and are good with any fare basis on Region 1 itineraries and V or higher fare bases on Region 2 itineraries.
• Earn two Confirmed Region 1 Upgrades (CR1) per quarter if 10,000 or more miles are flown on UA during that quarter.
• Earn four 500-mile upgrade certificates for every 10,000 miles flown on UA.
• Discounted price when purchasing 500-Mile upgrades [$200 for four vs. $325].
• Allowed to pre-book Exit Row seating on UA flights [I have also been able to do so on US flights].
• Allowed to pre-book Economy Plus seating on UA flights.
• Zone 1 Boarding Priority when flying in Economy on UA flights.
• Priority boarding when flying in Economy on Star Alliance flights.
• Priority check-in with UA and Star Alliance airlines.
• Priority upgrade waitlist when there are no available upgrade seats on a UA flight.
• Access to any Star Alliance Gold lounge when traveling on an international itinerary.
• Additional baggage allowance (three checked bags or 20kg additional weight) on any Star Alliance flight.
• Priority reservations waitlist when the flight or eligible fare you want on any Star Alliance member airline is sold out.
• Priority standby at the airport (where allowed by law) for any Star Alliance flight if you are traveling without a confirmed reservation.
• Discounted rate on United Red Carpet Club memberships [$300 vs. $500].
• Access to a private, toll-free domestic reservations number.
• Access to a private website.

United Global Services

While not an official part of the Mileage Plus program, UGS does offer some MP benefits.

United Global Services was launched in 2003 as a way to recognize (and cultivate the continued loyalty and largesse of) what United considers to be their absolute best customers. Before the launch of UGS, United had a VIP program, which was station-specific (so you could be a VIP in SFO, for example, but maybe not in DEN or ORD).

Like the VIP program, it is invite-only. Like Mileage Plus elite status, you can earn UGS at any time during the year. I don't recall if UGS status ends on an MP calendar year (February), or if it ends one year from the date status being granted. You may be re-invited to the program, either on a recurring basis or after having been dropped for one or more years.

Based on UA's own information, it is revenue-based, roughly the top 1% of UA's elite membership and is rumored to be around 18,000 people in 2005. However, there are people who have been invited who, on the surface, do not meet this revenue criteria. They may be old VIPs who have been added (this happened in 2003, at least, when UGS replaced the VIP program), they might influence a great deal more revenue then they themselves generate (travel director of a Fortune 50 company, for example), and some just fly hundreds of thousands of miles a year, or for some reason or another, UA feels they are worth inviting into the program. It has been said that UA Regional Sales managers also have the ability to recommend (if not actually invite) people into the program, which might explain why one person gets in when another does not when they have similar revenue patterns. It has been claimed that the top 100 accounts for the previous year in each Sales Area are invited into the program.

Fare basis also matters to some extent in the calculations. A refundable B Economy Class fare upgraded to Business Class is said to have more weight then a non-refundable Z Business Class fare because it implies the person is more likely to buy an expensive last-minute fare on UA then choose a cheaper fare on a competitor, and UA wishes to encourage that behavior.

There is no published criteria, so our information is both incomplete and conflicting.

Present and past benefits as stated by UGS members include(d):

• Automatic Mileage Plus Premier Executive 1K status.
• 100% Redeemable (RDM) Mileage Bonus on UA and US flights as well as transatlantic segments flown on LH.
• 120 Hour Upgrade Window when using 500 mile certificates or Y/B fare complimentary upgrade.
• Ability to open award and upgrade First and Business seats when none are available (not a guaranteed benefit - especially now that the ranks have swelled).
• Ability to use the International Arrivals Lounge, regardless of ticketed cabin (normally restricted to revenue and award First and Business passengers).
• Ability to use the First Class check-in counter, regardless of ticketed cabin.
• Access to the International First Class Lounge, regardless of ticketed cabin (this seems to be more station specific and/or you know the IFL staff personally).
• Ability to board first, regardless of assigned Seating Area or ticketed cabin.
• Access to private Customer Service offices at most hub and gateway airports (similar to the old "1K Rooms") to handle ticketing and travel issues (note that they are not intended to be pseudo-lounges like the 1K Rooms were).
• Access to a private, toll-free (domestic and international) reservations number.
• Access to special "UGS Conciereges" at many international gateways and hubs who will escort you to connecting flights/terminals, similar to the old "United First Concierge" program.

To my knowledge, there is no special code for Million Miler UGS members.

Note - As of 2008, it appears all Global Services members are granted 1K status. See: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=796116

=================

glg

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LHR Tim

How about a link for the "What's the best seat on a 777/747/767/DC-3??": www.seatguru.com?

wharvey

You may wish to private message a moderator to see if they would be willing to sticky this thread.... would keep it at the top of the forum.

Great thread.

William

xpacific

Great thread, mymiles2go ^
Please review the above link, as it seems to go to the OneWorld forum, not to any Star Alliance RTW information.

pbjag

Thanks so much for this thread..very helpful for a United "status match" newbie

SEA_Tigger

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the 777 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316354

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the 747-400 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=393041

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the 757 and 767 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394269

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the Airbus Twins - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=433099

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the CRJ-700 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318189

All you wanted to know about where to sit on the ERJ-145 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=433089

2004 Domestic Menus - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371758

2004 International Menus - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371757

2005 Domestic and International Menus - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388704

2006 First Class Menus:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509460

2006 Business Class Menus:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509459

2007 First Class Menus:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6928517

2007 Business Class Menus:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=641730

****************

UA Internal Designations for 777 Models

777-XP - Three cabin 777-222ER trans-Pacific config (10F)
777-XI - Three cabin 777-222ER trans-Atlantic config (12F)
777-XC - Three cabin 777-222 trans-Atlantic config
777-XA - Two cabin 777-222 domestic config

UA Internal Designations for 767 Models

767-MZ - Three cabin 767-322ER
767-MD - Two cabin 767-322ER
767-MT - Three cabin 767-222 (not-overwater)
767-MV - Three cabin 767-222 (overwater)

cblaisd

In process

And to all: when you add your suggestions to this thread, please keep with the original poster's format, using both a descriptive title and the thread url (i.e., please don't just embed a link)

cblaisd
Moderator, United

wcj1

Can we also be sure to fold in the other stickies that are FAQ's (bumping and fare codes), and then remove those as stickies?

Thanks,
BillJ

cblaisd

Yup.......

nerd

United.com 5% off online booking link
https://www.ua2go.com/ci/Login.jsp?s..._to=ref&auth=0

Upgrading on US Air
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112410

Earning 500-milers/CR1's on US Air
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328388

Vouchers, discounts, and combining them
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108463

Class-of-service Bonus Chart for UA, US, LH
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,50622,00.html

List of Y/B fares for complimentary upgrades
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323983

VDB rules - full list
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110286

Red Carpet Club access rules for First, Business, Star Gold pax, and drink chits rules
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...12#post2977513

cblaisd

Please.....

WindFlyer

[added to main]

Thank you very much mymiles2go for undertaking this task ^ ^

xpacific

I don't know what I would do without ozstamp's reference thread on fare and award booking codes. I recommend you put it at the top of your list ^
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113792

WindFlyer

added to main