In this post Show
Getting an upgrade on United Airlines could soon be a little easier, but it might also cost you a lot more.
The Chicago-based airline announced on Monday a handful of loyalty updates for the coming year. Some are positive, others are negative, and the jury is still out on some others.
But headlining the news is a move I predicted earlier this year (and one that many long-time flyers likely won’t celebrate): dynamically priced upgrades.
Here’s everything you need to know, along with my take.
United’s 2026 loyalty changes: the bad
PlusPoints go dynamic
The biggest news is that United will officially transition PlusPoints upgrades to a dynamic currency beginning in 2027.
Today, it’s easy to predict precisely how many PlusPoints you’ll need for a given flight since every region and cabin is arranged in a handy upgrade chart. Of course, most of the time, you end up on the waitlist since there’s very little confirmed upgrade availability, but if you clear, you’ll know exactly how many PlusPoints will be deducted.
Starting in February 2027, however, that chart will be eliminated, and upgrades will be priced dynamically.
It remains to be seen how United plans to set its PlusPoints pricing.
Some of my questions include whether United will set a price for a given flight a year in advance or whether the price will fluctuate as the flight gets closer and there are still unsold premium seats.
Plus, how will waitlisting work? If United is dynamically pricing upgrades, will everyone on the waitlist be on the hook for the same number of PlusPoints?
Or perhaps United will eliminate the waitlist and charge for PlusPoints upgrades based on the highest price it can reasonably charge.
Either way, this is still developing, but if we’ve learned anything from the elimination of traditional award charts, it likely won’t lead to an increase in the value of PlusPoints.
Expanded saver availability
Back in the day, United used to restrict a subset of its Polaris saver award availability for its top-tier elites and cobranded credit card holders.
Over the past few months, the airline has expanded this benefit to all Premier members and cobranded credit card holders, matching the policy it had for additional economy award space.
For top-tier members and those who like to use partner award currencies, this is bad news.
That’s because more Premiers will now be competing for the same award space.
At the same time, United has effectively stopped releasing saver Polaris seats to partner programs. Instead, it keeps them limited to its own Premier members and cobranded credit card holders as part of the proprietary IN fare class. (Saver business awards bookable via other partners confirm into the I fare class.)
Upgrades on award tickets
This update is a mixed bag depending on your perspective.
Subscribe to the newsletter
Get the front-row look at the evolving world of travel, loyalty, tech and lifestyle — delivered directly to your inbox.
Starting on Feb. 1, 2026, any Premier member will be eligible for an upgrade even when traveling on a MileagePlus award ticket.
This includes both complimentary upgrades for domestic and short-haul international flying, as well as PlusPoints upgrades.
This is a significant shift for United. Historically, the only way to upgrade an award ticket was to be a Premier member with a particular cobranded United MileagePlus card. Plus, this only applied to complimentary upgrades.
Meanwhile, using PlusPoints on an award ticket was reserved as a perk of invite-only Global Services status, so this is indeed a big shift for United.
While it’ll certainly mean you’ll have more shots at an upgrade, it’ll also mean that the upgrade list will get even more bloated than it already is. (Case in point: last week’s 136-person upgrade list from Las Vegas to Washington Dulles that a follower shared with me.)
United’s 2026 loyalty changes: the good
No changes to Premier thresholds
United won’t be changing the Premier thresholds for the upcoming year. The increased thresholds that took effect this year will remain in effect for next year.
That’s definitely good news, but United’s thresholds, especially for top-tier status, are already among the highest in the industry.
Plus, with Delta — the other airline requiring $28,000 in annual spend for top-tier status — already committing not to increase status thresholds, United probably doesn’t want to hike the status requirements even higher than it already did this year.
Head-start bonus isn’t changing
United is bringing back the head-start Premier Qualification Points (PQPs) that it awarded this year.
If you’re (re)qualified for Premier status this year, you’ll begin 2026 with the following Premier boost.
- Premier Silver: 300 PQPs
- Premier Gold: 600 PQPs
- Premier Platinum: 900 PQPs
- Premier 1K: 1,400 PQPs
United’s 2026 loyalty changes: my take
I’m not surprised that the airline is keeping status thresholds the same (especially when its most significant competitor isn’t making any changes either).
But the writing has been on the wall for United’s big PlusPoints update. Earlier this year, the airline introduced the ability to exchange newly-earned PlusPoints for things like bonus miles and TravelBank cash.
At the time, I commented that the redemption rates and onerous terms for when you can make an exchange hinted at larger changes coming to the PlusPoints program.
We still have more questions than answers, such as what will happen to the waitlist process and how often United will change upgrade prices on a per-flight basis.
But I’m not necessarily holding out hope that this will turn into a positive development for many.
I’m sure the off-peak flights, like Tuesdays in October to Europe, will get cheaper, but those popular upgrades where the waitlist extends multiple pages will likely be far more expensive come 2027.
Now, the big question is: will other airlines follow United’s lead?
Subscribe to the newsletter
Get the front-row look at the evolving world of travel, loyalty, tech and lifestyle — delivered directly to your inbox.
