This would be developing news as I do not track United MileagePlus very closely. There appears to be a secret devaluation of United MileagePlus for partner airlines.
Typically, award travel on Air Canada, booked through United MileagePlus is 16,500 miles + taxes and fees for Economy Class.
Today, I was checking award availability for a client, and came across the new pricing of 20,000 miles + taxes and fees.
This would represent a devaluation of over 20%!
I then took a peek at the devaluation on their Business Class award pricing. The pricing has not yet changed. It continues to be 33,000 miles + taxes and fees.
I remember economy class used to be 12,500 miles and business class was 25,000 miles per direction. Clearly those days are long gone. I would only anticipate United to eventually increase the Business Class cost to 40,000 miles, to maintain the 1:2 standard that has been ongoing for a while with United.
Looking into it further, this devaluation only appears to be for partner airlines. United flights are still pricing out between 5,600 and 15,000 miles respectively for short-haul and transcontinental flights.
Conclusion
Although the impact for Canadian residents will be limited, this is still a secret devaluation of United MileagePlus for those who fly United frequently or earn their miles.
With them removing award charts, this should not be a surprise, although it might be disappointing.
Hidden award devaluations does not bother me so much as the airlines considering charging “amenity fees” on flights for things like new floor to ceiling windows (Alaska), use of premium tape to hold shredded wings on better (United), live MMA infight entertainment systems (Spirit) or the world’s first 20,000 foot freefall rollercoaster (United).
That’s hilarious!