Ways to access more award availability with United Airlines

Struggling to find saver award availability with United Airlines? You're not alone.

Since United MileagePlus eliminated its official award charts, finding saver awards (the seats that need fewer miles and are accessible to partner airlines) has become increasingly challenging. The availability of saver award space significantly impacts the value of your redemption, as dynamically priced awards can exceed 50,000 miles for a one-way domestic, economy-class flight, and even saver seat prices are vulnerable to devaluations — as we observed recently.

In this article, we will examine a unique advantage that allows United MileagePlus elite members and qualifying cobranded credit card holders to discover hidden saver awards on United and United Express flights.

Who can access United's enhanced saver awards?

There are two ways to gain access to expanded saver awards on United flights: through United cobranded credit cards and elite status.

As the primary cardholder of a United℠ Explorer Card, United℠ Business Card, United Quest℠ Card, or United Club℠ Infinite Card, as well as the United Club℠ Business Card, you can enjoy expanded economy-class saver awards, which grants you access to the XN fare class. United offers more seats in the XN fare class than in the standard X fare class for economy-class saver awards.

The details for the United Club Business Card have been gathered independently by Dinogo. The information provided on this page has not been verified or supplied by the card issuer.

United Premier Silver and Gold members share access to the XN fare class for expanded economy-class saver awards. In contrast, Premier Platinum, 1K, and Global Services members can also access expanded business- and first-class saver awards, utilizing the IN fare class. As anticipated, United typically releases more seats in the IN fare class compared to the I fare class, which is the standard for business-class and domestic first-class saver awards.

The expanded saver award benefit applies exclusively to MileagePlus reservations, meaning that even if you hold a United credit card or are a Premier member, you cannot unlock extra award availability when booking through partners like Air Canada Aeroplan or Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

Looking for expanded saver award availability

If you are a qualifying United credit card holder or Premier member, visit united.com and log into your MileagePlus account. After signing in, input your search criteria. You will notice "Special member pricing" displayed beneath the flight number, with the original price crossed out if an XN fare is available.

In contrast, non-cardholders will view the flight price as follows.

This is how it appears when an IN fare is available. Remember, the IN fare is exclusively for Premier Platinum, 1K, and Global Services members.

For individuals without status (or those with lower-tier Premier Silver or Premier Gold status), the 80,000-mile fare for business class will not be displayed.

Keep in mind that you must log in to view any applicable discounts, but there's an alternative method to check this inventory.

An alternative method to view XN and IN fares

To find out if your flight has XN or IN fare availability, you will need to activate "expert mode".

After enabling expert mode, you can search for a cash ticket and view the available fare classes by clicking on "Details" under your chosen flight.

"XN9" signifies that nine or more economy-class saver award seats are available for eligible cobranded card holders and Premier members. "X0" indicates there are no standard economy awards, meaning a general MileagePlus member without an eligible cobranded card would need to pay a higher fare. Furthermore, this implies that the flight cannot be booked using a Star Alliance partner award currency.

Here’s the same search for the flight from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Keep in mind that "IN9" indicates that at least nine seats are available for travelers with Premier Platinum status (or higher), while "I0" means no saver-level awards are available for other travelers.

Waitlisting for business- and first-class saver awards

Many are unaware that you can join a waitlist for business-class saver awards if economy class saver availability exists. According to United's air award rules, you can book a coach award at the business saver level while being waitlisted for a business-class seat by calling in.

Once you’re on the waitlist, you should receive an upgrade if a business-class (or domestic first-class) seat becomes available as a saver award. If your upgrade doesn’t clear by check-in, you'll be moved to the top of the upgrade waitlist. Technically, it isn’t classified as an upgrade since you've already redeemed the necessary miles for the higher fare class.

This significantly enhances your chances of being cleared for the next class of service. If your upgrade doesn’t go through, you will be refunded any extra mileage initially spent for the business-class seat.

In summary

If you're struggling to find saver award space, an eligible United credit card could help you unlock greater value from your miles. With improved saver award availability and the option to join the waitlist for saver business class, United's cobranded credit cards and elite status are essential for maximizing your miles.