Every airline used to publish award charts, but Delta set off the trend of removing these charts from the public eye. By doing that, they were able to devalue points without having to notify the public about changes. Many airlines copied them.
United made some brutal changes last year to its hidden award chart.
Below is United’s 2024 hidden award chart. It’s not too far off from the 2023 award chart, but there are a few devaluations and improvements that I noticed after performing several dozen award searches.
- Improvements include:
- Premium business routes like Newark-Los Angeles are now capped for the saver level at 30K instead of 35K.
- Alaska is now pricing the same as the US48, dropping coach tickets capped for the saver level from 17.5K to 15K and business from 40K to 30K.
- Hawaii business is now capped for the saver level at 50K instead of 60K. Saver coach is pricing as low as 10K.
- Saver coach to Mexico and the Caribbean is pricing as low as 5K.
- Saver coach to Australia and New Zealand is pricing as low as 37.5K.
- Devaluations include:
- Air Canada saver coach flights between the US and Canada went up from 16.5K to 20K.
- Mexico business is now capped for the saver level at 35K instead of 30K.
- Northern South America business is now capped for the saver level at 55K instead of 35K.
| From the US49 to | United flights | Partner flights |
|---|---|---|
| US49 | 5K-15K Coach 30K Business | |
| Canada | 9K-15K Coach 30K Business | 20K Coach 33K Business |
| Hawaii | 10K-25K Coach 50K Business | |
| Mexico and Caribbean | 5K-20K Coach 35K Business | 20K-22K Coach 38K-39K Business |
| Central America | 10K-20K Coach 35K Business | 20K-22K Coach 38K-39K Business |
| Northern South America | 20K-30K Coach 55K Business | 22K-33K Coach 51.2K Business |
| Southern South America | 41K-45K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business |
| Europe | 30K-40K Coach 80K Business | 30K-44K Coach 88K Business 121K First |
| Africa | 45K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business 143K First |
| Middle East | 34K-40K Coach 80K Business | 44K Coach 88K Business 154K First |
| Central Asia | 31K-45K Coach 80K Business | 49.5K Coach 88K Business 154K First |
| South Asia | 55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 154K First |
| North Asia | 50.9K Coach 100K Business | 53.1K Coach 110K Business 132K First |
| Japan | 55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 121K First |
| Oceania | 45K Coach 85K Business | 49.5K Coach 93.5K Business 121K First |
| Australia and New Zealand | 37.5K-55K Coach 100K Business | 60.5K Coach 110K Business 143K First |
Of course, it’s worth noting that you’re often much better off using other partner award miles for booking flights, though many partners have been devaluing their award charts.
There are exceptions of course, as expanded saver award space for United cardholders and elites can only be booked with United. Plus while United’s awards are refundable for free at any time before departure, other airlines can charge up to $200 for award changes or cancellations.
What do you think of these changes?
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29 Comments On "United’s 2024 Hidden Saver Award Chart Changes"
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Dan, what’s the new way to fly to Israel in business using miles now that Turkish is expensive (and elal on Alaska is vanishin)?
I noticed that as part of a RT, the return is also 30k not 33k for ex Europe flights, usually only with a stop.
Interesting, sample route/date?
I’ve seen it on NYC-ZRH. IIRC, last summer I saw as low as 27.9k with a stop, those were always with SAS. I didn’t notice a pattern which one stops were 30k and which were more.
Even one ways ex Europe are 30k in some cases. I can’t discern a pattern, but I’ve seen PRG-ZRH-SFO with the TATL leg on both UA and LX pricing at 30k. PRG-FRA-SFO on LH prices at 43k so maybe there is totally dynamic pricing now based on fare classes or some such even though both book into X classes.
But always with a stop. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a non stop at 30k since the Great Devaluation. Although, I’ve seen exTLV at 27k.
IB RT 100-110k avios + ~$400. Probably the best you are gong to get. Not gonna see more than 2 seats per flight as a rule.
Sorry, forgot to include that this is referring to partner flights.
Is it better to transfer pts to united to book domestic or do thru ultimate rewards portal?
You have to evaluate which is costing you more in value. For example if the price through the portal is $600 and you have the reserve that is 40k points. But maybe the flight roundtrip on united website is 35k miles. So better to transfer to united. If it is 50k points then valuewise it is cheaper thru chase. But u also need to factor in that when u book thru chase it is expedia and more annoying to make changes to the flights. Sometimes united has allowed me thru their site to make changes when i booked thru chase, sometimes not. Another consideration is that if u book with united miles on their site u can easily cancel within certain timeframe of the flight and get ur miles back. With chase u only have 24 hrs and if u need to cancel, assuming it was cancellable, u will only get a united flight credit. That has been my experience. One additional thing. United seems to have some policy that if price comes down within 30 days they give u a flight credit for the difference. If u book on expedia they don’t. There are many trade-offs!
Depends on the specific flight and which card you’re using for the portal, but generally you’ll come out ahead through the portal. Also, you’ll earn points when booked through the portal.
Does United publish which countries are “central” vs “south” Asia?
https://www.united.com/en/us/region-list
*if you need to cancel after the 24 hrs (on chase)
Can someone pls explain to me what this means? If i want to book a UNITED flight from say EWR to ORD or MKE, how do i get the cheapest award fare? By transferring miles (or Saphire points) to which airline (and booking through them)?
I tried booking a United flight through Turkish Airlines but they weren’t showing flights available, even though United was flying then..
TIA
Each airline sets aside a subset of seats for partners. So, in theory, even though Turkish might have cheaper pricing, it doesn’t mean that Turkish has access to all of United’s award space. Typically, award space for partner airlines is drawn from the same bucket and is smaller than the award space United makes available for its own members. Which is to say that people looking to book United via Turkish are competing against ALL of United’s partner programs. Which naturally would make supply very limited. There are ways to search, but you need to know the different fare class codes and be very patient since it often requires searching day by day. For what it’s worth, on United the X fare class = economy awards available to partners, and the I fare class = business economy awards available to partners).
In reality, this isn’t feasible for most people, since most people don’t have the time or flexibility to piece together an itinerary that is suited to their preferred mileage points. Given that, I would recommend simply using United’s points. If you hold one of United’s co-brand cards, you have vastly expanded access to awards at lower price points. And if you’re a United elite, that access improves further.
Thanks for the reply Bobby
Can you explain “If you hold one of United’s co-brand cards, you have vastly expanded access to awards at lower price points”
In addition, do you know which airlines that partner with United would give me the best award fare for a domestic USA ticket?
THANKS
One of the benefits to holding the United Chase cards is better access to award space – think of it as another fare bucket reserved only for those with one of those credit cards. As for which United partner will give you the best rates, it’s difficult to provide a clear cut answer. Avianca and Turkish both provide good value, but again, the issue becomes whether you’re able to find availability on the dates you need or are willing to travel. Other programs might be good for short haul domestic flights but poor for long haul domestic flights (or vice versa). Aeroplan could be an option if you’re willing to book one way awards that connect in Canada. There is no one-size fits all best answer.
Newark to LA/SFO has been 80k (or 120k) for awhile (its why I got rid of their credit card last year). Certainly haven’t seen it at 35k.
wiow business for 30k is awesome
That’s class IN Not I class
It was in I class too, but I was logged in so it shows IN.
Anyway, here’s an I. It does exist, it’s just rare.
Where do you see 100K Business to Australia and New Zealand? Random dates Fall 2024-January 2025 from IAD all I see is 250K-350K One way, and if flying from SFO or LAX it’s no different. That’s up from the 200K we reluctantly paid in 2023.
They’re hard to find unless you have Platinum/1K status, but they do exist:
At times they are plentiful and I wrote about it:
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-deals/mileage-deals/excellent-united-air-new-zealand-business-class-saver-award-upgrade-space-nonstop-us-auckland/
Seems that there’s no more 37.5k for economy to SYD/AKL beyond this March, X class costs at least 52.5k from Apr onward.
As far as changes go on the high side Aeroplan charges $300, which is absurd for a CDN domestic or US- CDN puddle jump. Business class to Europe, ok, maybe. Asiana charges $30 for a change fee.
Is there a tool that will compare these methods for me?
Where were you seeing 5k saver to Mexico/Caribbean? I can’t find anything lower than 10k, with most routes being 15k.