United Took My Mileage Away

Old May 8th, 2010, 10:48 AM
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United Took My Mileage Away

I am a member of mileage plus since 1986. Had 44,182 . Go to use the miles and find out I have 0. Calledevery number possible was routed to Manila or India. They either hung up on me or put me on hold and never came back. Could not speak to anyone in USA. How do I get help They said they sent me an email. So I asked for a copy. They said they would send it. No email. Please any help would be appreciated as I am a senior and frustrated.................Thanks
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Old May 8th, 2010, 12:19 PM
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myra, how long has it been since you've had any activity on your account? Most ff programs these days will expire the miles if your account has been dormant for a certain amount of time. If it's been more than 3 years since you've had any activity at all then your miles might be expired. I don't know about United but some airlines will allow you to re-activate your miles for a fee.

It might be tough to get someone in the USA, most call centers are overseas these days. Good luck.
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Old May 8th, 2010, 03:56 PM
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United and many other airlines expire the miles in your account if there is no activity for 18 months.
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Old May 8th, 2010, 08:55 PM
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Here is the info about reinstating UA miles

http://www.ualmiles.com/ReinstatementMiles.jsp

You can do it right on line w/o talking to anyone. But even when you pay a fee, they will only reinstate miles that have expired w/i the last 12 months.

If you've been a member that far back and only had 44 thousand miles, were your miles really old? If so, you are very likely out of luck.
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Old May 9th, 2010, 01:04 AM
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United customer service is the most irritating of any airline I have called - I am still fuming over a conversation several years ago when I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince a guy in India thatWyoming was part of the US. Still, UA has an 18-month activity requirement on miles - so if there has been no activity in your account since November 2008, you have lost the miles - unless you can reclaim some of them using the "reinstatement" method above.
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Old May 9th, 2010, 03:34 AM
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All things considered, the loss is not that great. Trying to use the miles would very likely incur a cost in aggravation that greatly exceeds the value of any award ticket you might get.

No legacy US airline is especially good to work with, but United, far more than anyone else, goes out of their way to demonstrate contempt for their customers. The very best example of this is the off-shore call center -- it has been in place for a few years now, and it's still useless.

My suggestion is to take your business elsewhere, and be relieved the United is in your rear-view mirror.
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Old May 9th, 2010, 07:12 AM
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While I dislike UA customer service, it is an airline frequently flown by business-traveling husband because of destinations. Just booked, on-line and with no trauma and drama, a RT Boston-South America trip for daughter. So have to disagree about the no-value of award ticket.

Does not change my response to OP, nor my annoyance at their customer non-service lines, though.
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Old May 9th, 2010, 09:18 AM
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Here's the deal..

Americans wanted CHEAP flights. Airlines basically give us what we want. End result, they lose money.

So they have to cut someplace. They cut customer service. (Would you rather it was safety?)

What OP and others are posting could just as easily be titled.. Delta, USAir, AA etc....
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Old May 11th, 2010, 08:42 AM
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tt
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Old May 11th, 2010, 09:32 AM
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myra53: you topped this - any reason in particular? Do you have additional questions, or details to add? Your main problem has been pretty much addressed/explained in the replies you have.
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Old May 13th, 2010, 10:29 AM
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I agree about United customer service. Often the agents are hard to understand and not terribly knowledgeable about U. S. geography. That's one reason I prefer AA: customer service is nearly always very good.
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Old May 19th, 2010, 09:11 AM
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I agree about UA's offshore call center -- it's simply horrid. But, I have had predominantly positive experiences on UA, and their Y+ seating and good food for purchase options are nice, as well.

Just wanted to mention that the OP could have saved her miles in a number of ways, including buying something from the Mileage Plus Mall or dining at a restaurant in the Mileage Plus dining program. I don't take AA much, and that's how I managed to save my miles.
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