To Reward Its Biggest Fans, United Will Nerf Earnings and Basic Economy in a Tacit Devaluation — Unless You Have Their Credit Card

First, it was Delta. Now, United? On Thursday, the airline overhauled its MileagePlus frequent flyer program with two major updates. Only, you might not notice if you’re a United cardholder — because these changes were (supposedly) made for their benefit.

• Going forward, United will no longer reward miles to travelers flying on Basic Economy fares — unless they have a United credit card or hold Premier status or higher, making it the third big airline cut off Basic Economy from earning miles.
• Per CNBC, United flyers without a co-branded card will also earn fewer miles from the airline overall — dropping from five miles per dollar to just three.

Rewarding the real ones: United claims the move is meant to reward its true frequent flyers. That’ll be at the expense of non-credit card customers. The good news for Unitedmaxxers: they’ll get cheaper award travel (10-15% off) and more miles when they fly — six miles per dollar, with extra boosts for booking flights on the card, and even more gravy for those with status. The changes go into effect on Apr. 2, 2026.