Reader Sean emails to let me know that United’s website appears to be pricing out award tickets originating in China for 4 miles plus taxes.
I’ve checked this with tickets originating in Shanghai and in Beijing (though I haven’t checked other cities), and for business and economy awards, and the result is the same. Here’s for a Beijing-Hong Kong roundtrip in business:
I love that for $1035 I could save my 4 miles.
You’ll see that it shows the correct mileage price initially and then the mistaken cost in the ‘total’.
I haven’t tried to ticket this, though Sean reports that he was successful and had only 4 miles deducted. It remains to be seen whether this will be honored or not. My guess is that it will not be, but some may find this useful — even though pricing out this way appears to require starting the award off in China.
Update: Indeed it appears to show 4 miles for awards originating in the U.S. to China as well. And it appears to show 4 miles for standard awards as well as saver awards.
Update 1:56pm Eastern: Still seems to be working. Connect from the U.S. to anywhere you want via Hong Kong and it is pricing. Some reports of success first class to Vietnam and even to Australia.
If you have enough miles for ‘regular’ mileage price in your account, it will deduct the full miles but send you a receipt showing the lower 4 mile per person price.
If you do not have enough miles for the ‘regular’ redemption cost, it will send you a receipt showing the 4 mile per person price, and no miles will be deducted from your account at this time.
Update 2:23pm Eastern: It does not appear over, despite comments suggesting otherwise. Remember that the United website is glitchy. It hangs. It gives errors. The key is that you have to connect in Hong Kong or have Hong Kong as your destination at this point, regardless of where you’re originating.
And if you have problems with the United website, clear out and start over. My advice to minimize glitches is to be logged in when you start your search and to already have your credit card on file in your account. Ideally to even have the passengers loaded into your profile.
Update 2:34pm Eastern: Will these be honored?
Lucky thinks new DOT rules requiring airlines to honor tickets as they are sold will mean United has to honor these.
I disagree, at least it is not obvious to me that an airline saying that the number of miles required for a promotional ‘free’ ticket counts as raising the ‘price’ of that ticket at least as far as DOT regulations are concerned. But then I am not a transportation lawyer.
As of this moment, no one knows whether United will honor these tickets or not. Let’s just hold our collective breaths for the next 48 hours to see. If I had to bet money, I would bet against. But stranger things have happened.
If United doesn’t honor these then everyone will certainly get a full refund. You can normally cancel awards for a full refund with no fee for 24 hours. If United doesn’t honor them at 4 miles per person then I have to imagine that anyone that has a 4 mile per person e-ticket receipt but more miles than that deducted from their account will be able to get a full refund even after the 24 hour period.
Update 2:54pm Eastern: It appears that United has shut down the ability to see reward flights to/from Hong Kong, meaning that this is likely dead.
converting Amex memebership rewards points to MileagePlus should be instantly, in Canada at least.
@Joel – unclear — lucky thinks new DOT rules requiring airlines to honor tickets as they are sold will mean United has to honor these. I disagree, at least it is not obvious to me that an airline saying that the number of miles required for a promotional ‘free’ ticket counts as raising the ‘price’ of that ticket at least as far as DOT regulations are concerned. But then I am not a transportation lawyer.
@Sean – do you have any chase ultimate rewards? these convert instantly to united. need to transfer 1000 of them
I wasn’t able to download IE for my Mac.
Trying from Safari, but not getting the same flight availability . . .
If this sticks, I’ll forgive COdbaUA for wrongfully clawing back 25K miles from their stupid promo!
@Gary, can you add segments to this later, IE from HKG to TPE without additional miles?
I booked one with Chrome and the last one on IE b/c of the traveler page being freeze (I am guessing they are updating the system in the background). I screenshot everything but so far they havent deduct any miles yet, so I guess I have to wait and see
Thank you everyone who shares their experience in here and thank you to Gary for sharing!
can get anything ex-US to HKG priced out at 4 miles ow anymore. Dead? At this rate, I don’t think the tickets will be honored
@Will – you can certainly add segments NOW. As far as later.. normally the answer would be yes, for the cost of a change fee if one applies to you. In a world where United honors these tickets (which I certainly think is less than 50-50) I could imagine them saying ‘no changes of any kind’. So who knows?
@hobo13 ::like::
@Alan Fowler – Firefox worked fine on my Mac.
Dead now!!! Got 4 RT in F to HKG!!!
this is going to be a cluster on so many levels…
I’m in for a few day in HKG!
Booked!
@dealswelike , thank you for your answer I did purchase the miles but nothing in the account I had to purchase 2k minimum
Dead
its telling me now, no flight available between NYC and HKG.
Just got 5 rt First class to hong kong for thanksgiving! (from BOS)
Seems like UA has shut down the ability to search to/from HKG.
Just booked 4 R/T in F
Looks like it may truly be over this time…not showing any availability even in coach lax-hkg
Shut down
I love how UA could dispatch their programmers to work on clawing back the miles from their stupid promo, which might have saved them, what a few million miles….. and in the matter of a few hours this morning, they just let a few million miles slip right out the door.
This airline is f-ing retarded.
Heads are going to roll at 77 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL tomorrow morning.
can’t find anything. Will it not show availability if you don’t have the real number of miles in your account?
Whats the story with the clawback promotion?
It seems to show no availability now
So lucky I scored 3 tickets
looks like they closed availability. For some reason i chickened out at the final page (regretfully). good luck all!
@Scott – appears they have killed any ability to search for Hong Kong. Don’t know yet if that means the system won’t show any flights at all that connect in Hong Kong, or just that you can’t successfully specify Hong Kong. Likely dead though someone may find a way still to book this.
The event lasted more than 12 hrs.if UA has to honor every 4 miles ticket, it will be HUGE. More than any glitch ever happened.
@Andrew United awarded a bunch of miles from a promotion early, before they were required to. Then they realized that some tickets which had been purchased before the promo period were awarded the miles incorrectly. So they pulled back everyones miles and say they’ll re-run the mileage award later.
I’m in for four first class tix! Only have a few miles in my account after recently nearly cleaning it out for another redemption. 🙂
@Duc – I wouldn’t call you lucky yet — let’s wait to see waht happens to these 🙂
After the MAP MY DREAMS fiasco…. I’d say COdbaUA got what they deserved!
Booked my family of 4 for DFW-HKG rt in F. A couple of friends booked the same. We were trying to get 3 more there around the same time but looks like its shut down. If they honor these tickets my kids are going to have the coolest spring break ever.
Hey all, no matter what happens (and I still think it’s unlikely they will honor these) it’s a fun ride for a Sunday afternoon!
looks like any SGN routings thru HKG have been suspended, too.
Yeah maybe we all get 10,000 miles for the effort when they cancel. This will be in the news! Now that this looks dead, you should call your contacts Gary!
totally!! what an adrenaline rush!!
Gary is right
It was a fun Sunday morning and afternoon
No matter what happens I am still happy lol
@greek2me…i totally agree. my hands were shaking as i booked my parents first class ORD to HKG at the end of the year! 8 miles and $71!! I have been ticketed…we’ll see what united does with this! what a ride!
thanks gary and lucky!!
i missed this by 5 mins AAARRRGGGHHH
UA hasn’t blocked everything. Set your destination to other Chinese cities but HKG(like Can/SZX even somewhere west/north. No hassle at all to buy a bus ticket even a shorthaul flight ticket if necessary, you will get to Hong Kong in few hours), better try connecting at ICN or NRT, some of the routes are still working.
Don’t blame Sean. How many of you figured out this on your own? You had to have heard it from somebody, right?
Wow, those emails telling me “you’re closer to a feww award than you think” were right!!!
Will UA ne more likely to honor rezzies made on its own metal?
I have already cancelled my itinerary and got back the 130,000 (2×65,000) miles that they had deducted. If only I had booked 1st class from my mother’s account. It has less than 10K miles.
Got in R/T HKG in first but convoluted way home to EWR. Either way I am not holding my breath that this will be honored but what the heck I may be going to China.
not working at all now…
cdegt: I don’t see anything working. Can you provide specifics?