United changes frequent flyer program to match Delta's

United Airlines has just announced that they will match Delta‘s revenue based system of earning miles (points) for flying. The new earning style will begin March 1, 2015. Just like Delta, the way you earn miles does not change the way you earn elite status with the airline.

As of March 1, 2015, the award miles you earn on most United and United Express^® tickets will be based on your ticket price (that is, base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges) instead of the distance you fly. United claims that this will reward passengers for their travel spending on United. And when you have Premier^® status, you’ll earn even more, but no where near as much as you can earn now.

The new earning style will be based on elite status with the airline and how much you spend on your flight.

• You will still earn even more miles with a MileagePlus cobranded credit card, just as you do today.
• For tickets that will earn award miles based on ticket price, the class-of-service bonus and Premier bonus will be included in the number of award miles you earn per dollar.
• This new way of earning award miles will apply to most tickets for flights operated by United and United Express. It will also apply to tickets for flights operated by a Star Alliance^™ or MileagePlus partner airline when the ticket number starts with “016.”
• Tickets for flights operated by a Star Alliance^™ or MileagePlus partner airline that aren’t issued by United (ticket numbers that don’t start with “016”) will still earn award miles based on distance flown and the purchased fare class.
• You will still earn Premier^® qualifying miles (PQM) based on the distance of your flight. Premier members will still earn a minimum of 500 PQM on United and United Express flights shorter than 500 miles.
• You will be able to earn up to 75,000 award miles per ticket. There will not be a minimum number of award miles you can earn for a flight.