AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Earning elite status with United MileagePlus can take a lot of effort, but it can pay off if you travel enough. This is especially true when you consider the benefits that come with status, including early boarding, free checked bags, and complimentary upgrades. In 2019, United revamped its loyalty program to feature PlusPoints, which can be used to upgrade your flights or redeemed for other perks.
Let's look at United PlusPoints, how to use them, and how to find flights with PlusPoint upgrade availability.
What Are United PlusPoints?
United PlusPoints are awarded to those who earn either United Premier Platinum or United Premier 1K elite status. The amount you'll earn will depend on your status. United awards status based on how many Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) and Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) you earn each year.
| Elite Status | How It's Earned | PlusPoints Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Premier Platinum | 36 Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and 12,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) OR 15,000 PQPs | 40 |
| Premier 1K | 54 PQFs and 18,000 PQPs OR 24,000 PQPs | 280 (for a total of 320) |
United PlusPoints can be used to upgrade domestic and international flights. This includes all flights and cabins of service, so you can use PlusPoints to upgrade from economy to long-haul international business class.
United PlusPoints are valid for the rest of the program year in which you earn them plus the following year and the beginning of the year after. This means that if you earn PlusPoints in October 2023, they'll expire on January 31, 2025.
Cost To Upgrade United Flights With PlusPoints
The amount of PlusPoints you'll need to redeem for your flight will depend on a few factors:
- The fare class you've paid for.
- Your destination.
- The cabin to which you're upgrading.
- Upgrade availability.
Costs will range from 10 to 80 PlusPoints:
- 10 PlusPoints: Premium economy to short-haul business
- 20 PlusPoints: Economy to Premium Plus (both short-haul and long-haul) or economy to domestic first on short-haul flights
- 30 PlusPoints: Premium Plus to long-haul international business
- 40 PlusPoints: Economy to long-haul international business
- 80 PlusPoints: Discounted economy to long-haul international business
Premier 1K members also have the option to skip the waitlist on eligible flights. This can be done up to 30 days in advance but will cost much more than a regular upgrade (at least double the cost).
Finally, it's worth noting that those booked in Premium Plus will have their upgrade requests cleared before those who booked in economy.
Economy vs. discounted economy fare classes
Sitting in business class is all well and good, but how are you supposed to figure out which economy-class tickets are going to be 40 PlusPoints versus 80 PlusPoints for long-haul international upgrades? Here's how to tell:
- Economy (40 PlusPoints): Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, and W
- Discounted economy (80 PlusPoints): S, T, L, K, and G
Cost To Upgrade Partner Flights With PlusPoints
United PlusPoints can be used to upgrade flights with Copa Airlines, ANA, and Lufthansa. The cost for this is always 40 PlusPoints per leg.
How To Use United PlusPoints
There are two main ways to redeem your United PlusPoints. The first is done when booking, while the second can be used after you've already purchased your flight.
Redeeming PlusPoints during booking
You'll first want to navigate to United's website. Here, you'll be presented with the standard search bar. Rather than using this, you'll instead want to click the Advanced Search button in the bottom left of the screen.
Ensure you're signed in for this next step since the option to redeem PlusPoints will only appear if you're eligible. Once on the Advanced Search page, scroll down to Upgrade Type. From the drop-down menu, choose the option to search for flights that are upgrade-eligible using your PlusPoints.
Once selected, scroll back up to put in all your flight information, then hit Find Flights. United will present your results next.
From here, you'll be able to choose the flight you'd like and which upgrade you're looking to score. As you can see, in this example it's possible to upgrade to Premium Plus or United Polaris business class. As you go through the booking process, your points will be redeemed, and you'll be immediately confirmed into your upgraded cabin.
Redeeming PlusPoints after booking
It's also possible to redeem your PlusPoints after booking flights. To do so, you'll want to log into your account, and then navigate to your trips.
Select the trip that you'd like to upgrade and hit Manage Trip. This will bring up the details of your booking. At the top, you'll see the option to Upgrade Cabin.
From here, you'll be presented with all the different ways you can upgrade your ticket, including cash upgrades, Mileage Upgrade Awards (MUAs), or PlusPoints.
If there's current upgrade availability, you'll be able to confirm your upgrade immediately. Otherwise, you'll be placed on the waitlist.
How To Find United PlusPoint Upgrade Availability
United PlusPoints can be extremely valuable when used properly, especially if you redeem them for upgrades to United's Polaris business class. However, finding availability can be frustrating, and putting yourself on a waitlist doesn't necessarily mean your upgrade will clear.
Enabling United's Expert Mode
The first thing you'll want to do when searching for upgrades is enable expert mode for United. This can be found in your preferences section under settings. Once you're logged in, click on your name at the top of the page to go to your account.
On the left-hand side, you'll see a section for Settings. Expand this and select Special Preferences and Accommodations.
Scrolling down again brings you to the Expert Mode box, which you'll want to tick.
Save this preference, and expert mode will be enabled. What does this do, exactly? Well, it shows you how many seats are available in which fare classes during a standard search. This means you don't need to use the advanced search for PlusPoints upgrades if you don't want to.
Instead, you'll be able to tell what upgrades can be had at a glance.
If you're looking to upgrade your flights, look at the available fare classes on the bottom left of your results. The class you're looking for will depend on which upgrade you're trying to use:
- PZ: Upgrades to United Polaris.
- RN: Upgrades to Premium Plus.
The number after the PZ or RN result indicates how many seats are available in that fare class. In the screenshot above, PZ1 indicates that there is one seat available for upgrade to business. RN9 indicates that there are nine Premium Plus seats available for upgrade.
Note that United's counting system only goes up to nine, so there may be more Premium Plus seats available. You just won't see that reflected in your results.
Seats.aero
Expert mode can make it simpler to find upgrade space, but the real heavy lifter here is Seats.aero. This website can save you a ton of time when it comes to searching for confirmable upgrade space.
You'll need a pro account if you'd like to use the PlusPoints finder on Seats.aero. It costs $9.99 per month but is well worth the expense if you have PlusPoints to burn.
Once logged in, select the Tools dropdown at the top of the page.
This handy tool displays every flight with upgrade space available for PlusPoints. You can sort by date, route, how many seats are available, and the time the space was last seen.
You also can toggle between the different fare types to look for business or Premium Plus upgrades. Finally, it's also possible to set an alert to notify you when upgrade space appears.
Clicking on a Seats.aero link takes you directly to United's website for results. It's important to be logged in and have expert mode enabled since the result page brings up every flight available for the day. You can compare flight numbers against Seats.aero to cross-reference availability.
Note that Seats.aero isn't providing fully live award availability. This means you'll want to double-check that there is still space available to use your PlusPoints, which you can do by reviewing available fare classes.
Related: How Far In Advance Can You Book Airline Award Tickets?
Bottom Line
United PlusPoints can be incredibly valuable to those who maximize them. This is especially true if you redeem them for long-haul international business-class flights, which often cost thousands of dollars. However, finding confirmable upgrade availability for PlusPoints can be frustrating. Enabling expert mode and subscribing to Seats.aero's pro plan can save you a lot of time and effort in the process. Soon, you'll be sipping your way through the skies while enjoying United's premium Polaris product, thanks to your PlusPoints upgrades.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.