United Airlines MileagePlus Miles Will No Longer Expire

In a major shift, United Airlines announced that its MileagePlus award miles will never expire.

The Chicago-based airline had been the first to award members miles that did expire, starting in 1989, a concept that eventually became the industry standard.  Delta Air Lines was the first to offer miles that did not expire, starting in 2011, a move followed by JetBlue Airways in 2013.

“We want to demonstrate to our members that we are committing to them for the long-haul and giving customers a lifetime to use miles is an exceptionally meaningful benefit,” said Luc Bondar, the airline’s vice president of loyalty. “We expect with today’s announcement that even more [flyers] will use miles to travel the world in the years to come.”

The news leaves American Airlines as the only Big 3 airline whose frequent-flyer miles will expire.

In conjunction with the announcement, the airline said that it will reinstate the miles of MileagePlus members which expired in July and August 2019.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)