United Airline's MileagePlus frequent flier program will reward passengers for the money they spend rather than the miles they fly when changes take effect March 1.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the move caters to passengers who spend lots of money flying on the airline. The changes will apply to United, United Express, as well as United-issued tickets by the company's business partners.
The president of United's MileagePlus program told The Tribune that the modifications cater to the needs of the airline's frequent fliers.
"These changes are designed to more directly recognize the value of our members when they fly United," Thomas O'Toole said in a statement.
The director of MilesCards.com told The Tribune that United's change is unstable.
"It's a risky move given United's current underperformance versus Delta on both operating and financial measures," Brian Karimzad said. "Many of United's most frequent flyers are frustrated with the airline right now."
Karimzad also said American Airlines will follow with their own changes.
United's changes follow Delta Airlines' modifications to its Skymiles program, according to The Tribune. JetBlue Airways' TrueBlue miles reward program already has money-geared frequent flier measures in place - passengers receive five miles for every dollar they spend. Premier status passengers will accumulate miles on an accelerated basis. Those in the program's lowest tier get seven miles for every dollar they spend. Passengers in the service's highest tier, Premier 1K, can obtain 11 miles for each dollar.
United has been busy preparing other changes for 2015. Passengers will be able to purchase extra legroom on individual flights. Subscriptions for checked baggage are also planned.
The former American Airlines merged with U.S. Airways Dec. 9 to create the "new American Airlines" according to the Associated Press. American Airlines and passengers will use the same reservation system to search for flight schedules, prepare to travel, and check or receive baggage. The system assimilates a passenger's luggage with their destination.
