Updated Colleague Results – UA 4 Mile Award Glitch

by Adam

Yesterday I posted about my results as well as the results for a few of my colleagues who were able to take advantage of the United 4 mile to Hong Kong / China glitch.  I’ve caught up with some of them including the colleague who flew out yesterday, refer to the original post for their itineraries…

Colleague 1:
He arrived in Hong Kong about two hours late but had no problems at all at Newark, inflight, or post-flight.  He’s currently resting up at the JW Marriott utilizing some of his award points.  No miles have been deducted from his UA account at this time and he’s had no communication from UA regarding his flight back home on Friday.  I’ll continue to update the blog as I hear further updates from him.

Update July 16th – He arrived in Hong Kong about two hours late but had no problems at all at Newark, inflight, or post-flight.  He’s currently resting up at the JW Marriott utilizing some of his award points.  No miles have been deducted from his UA account at this time and he’s had no communication from UA regarding his flight back home on Friday.  I’ll continue to update the blog as I hear further updates from him.

Update July 17th  – Just spoke with him and he has not yet heard from United regarding his return flight on Friday.  This was about three hours after the official response from UA (see bottom of this post).  Will let you know as soon as he does!

Update July 17th 10:49 PM Hong Kong time  – Still no word from United, his itinerary is still displaying properly and the credit card charge has moved from pending to posted.  He has his international equipped iPhone but there have been no calls or emails to date.  He’s going to wait it out for now and continue enjoying his time in HK.   I’ll check back in with him tomorrow morning HK time…

Update July 18th 2:25 AM Hong Kong time – Approximately 32 hours until flight time and no word from UA. 

Update July 19th 12:00 AM Hong Kong time – Approximately 10 1/2 hours until flight time and no contact from United.  Itinerary looks fine according to the UA website and there have been no changes.  He plans to check-in normally in the morning. 

Update July 20th 10:25 AM Hong Kong time –  He’s all good, checked-in, boarded and on the plane heading back to Newark in BusinessFirst!  4 points have now been deducted.  Seems like he got away with his 4 mile rotund-trip flight!  Official word from United: “For those customers who have already begun travel, or are ticketed to begin travel on or before July 21, we will not cancel these tickets and will allow travel to be completed in full. This is intended as an accommodation to those customers whose travel is already underway or the departure date to begin travel is imminent.”

Colleague 3:
The full amount has been deducted for two of his three first class tickets to Bangkok via Frankfurt and Hong Kong using UA, Lufthansa, and Thai.  He does not have enough to cover the third.  A new receipt was emailed with the correct pricing. He is waiting for word from UA before making any changes or calling them with any questions.

My itineraries look exactly how they did yesterday.   Any updates for any of you?

UPDATE – OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM UA as per FlyerTalk:

Hi Everyone, over the weekend, we discovered a united.com programming error that allowed customers to obtain Mileage Plus travel awards to and from Hong Kong for as little as four miles roundtrip per person, substantially below published levels, which we disclose to customers. We have since corrected the error and will be in contact with customers who have tickets issued at the incorrect award amounts. Customers will be given the choice to redeem at the correct mileage amount or re-deposit their award with all fees waived. We regret any inconvenience this has caused you, and appreciate your understanding.

Shannon Kelly
Director, Customer Insights
United Airlines

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19 comments

Cory July 16, 2012 - 12:14 pm

Nothing has changed with me except seeing the $40.50 as a pending charge to my CC.

Reply
adam July 16, 2012 - 12:14 pm

@Cory – that’s at least a positive sign. Good Luck!

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Rich July 16, 2012 - 12:26 pm

No changes for me. Still shows 8 miles and $86 in Tax/fees. No miles have been taken out of my account (I only have 52,000. Not enough to cover the true cost) and I have an $86 pending charge on my United card.

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emjay July 16, 2012 - 1:36 pm

Still seems OK but I still cannot access my mileage account to check there.

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Jim July 16, 2012 - 2:17 pm

Full amount deducted from my account (70K) for a 1-way from HKG to ORD.

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tri nguyen July 16, 2012 - 3:31 pm

i booked two for hkg. i have enough miles for one, but not enough for the second; colleague 3’s situation is a no win for me.

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Ben July 16, 2012 - 7:29 pm

I wonder what will happen with your colleague’s return ticket now that united has decided to make people pay the full amount or be refunded. Keep us updated.

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adam July 16, 2012 - 8:19 pm

@Ben – definitely will. I sent him an email a few minutes ago!

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adam July 16, 2012 - 10:48 pm

@Ben – Just spoke with him and he has not yet heard from United regarding his return flight on Friday. This was about three hours after the official response from UA (see bottom of this post). Will let you know as soon as he does!

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The Weekly Flyer July 17, 2012 - 6:13 am

Can’t wait to hear if he makes it bak on the itinerary.

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adam July 22, 2012 - 4:47 pm

@ The Weekly Flyer – Back and forth for 4 miles in BusinessFirst!

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adam July 17, 2012 - 8:53 am

@ The Weekly Flyer – Me too! Just checked back in with him, no word from UA and his itinerary is still displaying as normal…

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flyer July 18, 2012 - 10:13 am

Where’s the next update?!

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adam July 18, 2012 - 12:25 pm

@flyer – updating the post now. Spoke with him this morning, still no update from UA and we are getting close to the 32 hour mark!

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adam July 22, 2012 - 4:41 pm

@flyer – sorry for the delay – updated and he’s back home for a total of 4 miles, VERY LUCK!

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adam July 19, 2012 - 10:08 pm

Update July 20th 10:25 AM Hong Kong time – He’s all good, checked-in, boarded and on the plane heading back to Newark! 4 points have now been deducted! Seems like he got away with his 4 mile rotund-trip flight!

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