United Airlines is making big changes to the MileagePlus program this November.

I just got off the phone with Luc Bondar, United’s Vice President of Loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program: we spoke for 35 minutes.

I’ll have a much more detailed post on everything discussed later, but here is what is changing:

Starting today, award charts will no longer be published for travel on or after November 15, 2019

There will no longer be a minimum or maximum mileage price for United flights

Mileage pricing will not be tied to a specific dollar amount

Partner award pricing will remain unchanged for now, but there will be no separate award chart for partner flights

Close-in award fees will not be charged on or after November 15, 2019

Mileage credit on United will post nearly instantly

No More Award Charts

United defended its removal of award charts and more dynamic pricing in this way:

This change allows us to match award pricing to customer demand. Where there is more availability, we will be able to offer lower prices than what we offer today. This means there will be tickets significantly lower than the previous floor.

Customers who can be flexible with their travel day and/or time will benefit significantly from this move to lower prices.

For the busiest travel times of the year when demand is highest, there will be higher award prices than what people see today.

We are not increasing any award prices for travel prior to November 15. In fact, for several weeks now and continuing for travel going forward, we are excited to offer lower fares than what we previously had in the market.

CONCLUSION

I will have much more to say on this topic, including my commentary on it, but wanted to get the news out right away.