Effective July 30th, United Airlines is removing the fee for Mileage Plus customers trying to book last minute award travel.
Several years ago, United Airlines added 2 “last minute booking fees” to award trips; within 21 days, the fee was $75, and 7 days or less would cost $100.
Of course, when the fees were introduced, customers were furious, as last minute trips had long been one of the most profitable ways to use miles.
I’ve been on the receiving end of about $400 in these fees, so they already have one customer that is extremely happy to see them go.
A United Airlines spokesperson said that members told them they want “ease, flexibility and availability when using their miles”. That is a nice way of saying that customers were fed up with the fee racket, and want to redeem their miles without it costing them an arm and a leg.
Kudos to United Airlines for this move. As is often within the airline industry, it’ll probably spell the beginning of a similar wave of changes at their competitors, and that is always good for customers.