Thursday, August 29, 2019
United Airlines has decided to remove the expiration date on travellers’ frequent flyer miles.
The change, which is effective immediately, means travellers saving miles for a trip will no longer have to worry about losing them. Until now, United’s MileagePlus members saw their miles disappear after 18 months with no activity in the account, frustrating travellers unaware of the policy.
“We want to demonstrate to our members that we are committing to them for the long-haul, and giving customers a lifetime to use miles is an exceptionally meaningful benefit,” Luc Bondar, United’s vice president of loyalty and president of MileagePlus, said in a statement announcing the change.
United isn’t the first to eliminate expiration dates. Delta Air Lines removed them long back in 2011.
Other major airline frequent-flyer programs have expiration dates for miles. Southwest Airlines points expire after 24 months of no activity, which includes airline credit card spending in addition to flights. American’s policy is 18 months.
Before the policy change, United allowed travellers to reinstate expired miles, but for a fee. That angered some travellers. Continental Airlines, which United merged with in 2010, had no mileage expiration dates.
Tags: United Airlines
