If you request a Mileage Plus® Upgrade Award on certain United Economy® or United Business® tickets, you may have to supplement the miles for your premium cabin experience with a co-pay. As of May 20, 2010, elite members (Premier®, Premier Executive®, 1K® and Global Services^SM members) will be exempt from this co-pay when flying within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.

What are the rules for elite member co-pay exemption?

• Mileage Plus elite members will not be a charged a co-pay.
• All routes within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada qualify for the exemption—even transcontinental p.s® flights.
• Elite member co-pay exemption will begin for all flights departing on or after May 20, 2010, regardless of when they were purchased.
• General members and non-members are also exempt when traveling on the same reservation as an elite member.
• However, general members and non-members who are sponsored by an elite member who is not traveling on the same reservation will still pay the co-pay.

How much is my co-pay?

• Co-pay amounts vary based on your purchased booking codes and regions of travel.
• For full-fare economy or business class tickets: You won’t be charged a co-pay when traveling in any region.
• For discounted tickets: You’ll be charged a co-pay. Higher booking codes may require lower co-pays.
• For travel to Hawaii or international regions: Your co-pay will be more than the co-pay for travel within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.
• For elite members: Co-pays will not be charged when using a Mileage Plus Upgrade Award on flights within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada. When traveling in other regions, a co-pay may be applicable.
• Check this chart to look up your co-pay by region of travel and booking code.

When will I not be charged a co-pay?

• For most business class tickets: If you purchased a business class ticket in booking codes J, C or D.
• For full-fare economy class tickets: If you purchased an economy class ticket in booking codes Y or B.
• For elite members traveling within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.
• For other types of upgrades: Co-pays apply on Mileage Plus Upgrade Awards only. All other types of upgrades do not have co-pays.

How do I pay the co-pay?

• Forms of payment: Credit cards or debit cards are accepted.
• When payment information is collected: Payment information is collected when you check in with United: online, curbside or at the airport with an Easy Check-in® kiosk or an airport agent.
• When payment is charged: Your card is charged after your upgrade has been confirmed and your flight departs.
• U.S. dollars only: Even if your upgraded flight originates outside the U.S., you’ll be charged in U.S. dollars—not in the country’s local currency.
• Receipt of payment: You may view the amount you were charged by logging in to My Itineraries on united.com. We will also send a receipt to the email address you have on file with United, or to the email address you provide when purchasing your ticket.

What if my payment doesn’t go through?

If we cannot process your payment, we will contact you for a valid credit card number. If we do not receive payment within 60 days of flight activity, we will try to resolve the issue by taking the following steps:

• We will involve United’s collections department to attempt to collect the debt.
• If our collections department is not able to obtain proper payment, you’ll be penalized double the miles of the original upgrade award request. For example, if the original Mileage Plus Upgrade Award was 15,000 miles, the additional penalty would be 30,000 miles for a total of 45,000 miles. If your account balance does not contain enough miles to fulfill this penalty, we will deduct all of the remaining miles.
• We will flag your account so you cannot obtain any more awards. You’ll continue to earn miles, but you won’t be able to use any miles until the issue has been resolved.

When did the co-pay go into effect?

• For requests made on or after Jan. 12, 2010: Beginning Jan. 12, 2010, if you request a Mileage Plus Upgrade Award in certain booking codees, you may be charged a co-pay. Elite members will not be charged this co-pay for flights within the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada, departing on or after May 20, 2010.
• For requests made before Jan. 12, 2010: If you requested your upgrade before Jan. 12, 2010, you won’t be charged a co-pay—even if you’re flying after that date. However, if you make voluntary changes to your itinerary, you may be charged a co-pay.