United Airlines is restructuring its MileagePlus loyalty program to provide materially better benefits to travelers who carry United co-branded credit or debit cards and to scale back rewards for members without those cards.
Under the changes announced by the carrier, primary MileagePlus cardholders will earn up to twice as many miles per dollar spent on United flights compared to non-cardholders. The airline said this enhanced earning rate applies to tickets purchased on or after April 2.
In addition to the higher earning rate, cardholders will also receive at least a 10% discount when they book flights using points or miles. United framed these elements as part of a broader overhaul intended to reshape how loyalty benefits are allocated across its membership base.
The revision includes tougher earning rules for MileagePlus members who do not hold United-branded cards. Those members will accumulate fewer miles on flights than before, and general members without a co-branded card will not earn any miles on basic economy tickets.
United said the changes are designed to increase adoption and usage of its card products. The company noted the strategic value of loyalty programs to airline economics, pointing out that frequent-flyer programs have become major profit centers across the industry by generating billions of dollars annually through the sale of miles to banking partners tied to credit card portfolios.
"MileagePlus is designed to reward loyalty to United, and our best customers deserve the best benefits in the industry," said Andrew Nocella, Uniteds chief commercial officer.
The announcement concentrates tangible rewards and redemption advantages among customers who use Uniteds co-branded payment products while explicitly reducing accruals for members outside that group. Uniteds stated objective is greater card adoption and usage, aligning loyalty benefits with cardholder behavior.
Details on the specific reduced earning rates for non-cardholders were not provided beyond the statement that those members will earn fewer miles and that basic economy ticket holders without co-branded cards will not earn miles.
Travelers and market participants will now evaluate how the redistribution of loyalty economics affects booking behavior, co-branded card take-up, and the value proposition of MileagePlus membership for non-cardholders.