NBC
United Plans to Award Miles Based on Fare, Not Distance
United announced Tuesday that starting March 1, 2015, it will revamp its MileagePlus program to award fliers based on total ticket price, rather than miles flown. Regular travelers will earn five times their fare; elites will earn seven to 11 times the fare, depending on their tier. . . Given that United hasn’t announced any changes on its redemption side, where a round-trip domestic ticket costs 25,000 miles, many travelers will be that much further from redemption. “Clearly the programs are being redesigned to favor high-yield passengers,” said Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorksCompany, a frequent flier research firm.