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In recent history, United Airlines has done some crummy things with its award pricing. This includes, but is not limited to, doubling the MileagePlus miles required for booking international first-class partner awards and as much as tripling regional business-class awards. And it's likely in the process of ratcheting prices even higher, this time with a focus on intra-Japan routes.
Here's what we know about United's intra-Japan devaluation and why we think you should book now.
United Likely To Devalue Intra-Japan Awards
Intra-Japan flights can cost up to a couple hundred dollars or more, depending on your airline of choice and routing. This is a great example of why collecting miles is helpful, as you can book short-hop awards for a reasonable sum of miles plus a few dollars out of pocket.
One currency that's useful for this is United MileagePlus miles. On routes under 800 miles, you can snag nonstop awards for 5,000 miles — or longer routes for 8,000 apiece. As mentioned, this comes with a tax and fee component of usually less than $10.
But this is likely going to change for the worse. Over the past few days, these awards priced at 12,500 miles for sub-800-mile routes and 17,500 for routes covering more than 800 miles. For those keeping score at home, United doubled the cost of intra-Japan awards — without notice.
We think it'll change for the worse because prices, right now, are back to normal. Sort of. Nonstop flights reflect the 5,000- and 8,000-mile pricing, yet connecting flights feature inflated prices. Here's an example between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Fukuoka (FUK):
So, something has to give. Either connecting itineraries come down or nonstop itineraries go back up. But if we had to guess, given United's recent rampage of devaluing any and all awards, we'll hedge our bet and say that nonstop pricing will likely go back up.
In other words, if you're planning a trip to Japan and foresee yourself booking an intra-Japan ANA flight with MileagePlus miles, you'd be wise to book now. This way, you're sure to lock in low prices in the chance the ballooned pricing becomes permanent.
Related: Do United MileagePlus Miles Expire?
Final Thoughts
United may be in the process of raising prices for intra-Japan award flights. At the very least, it tested out higher MileagePlus prices on nonstop awards, so you'll want to book now in case the changes become official.
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