How To Use United PlusPoints To Upgrade Your Next Flight [2025]

Key Takeaways

• Premier Platinum and Premier 1K elite members earn United PlusPoints, which can be used for upgrades on both domestic and international flights.
• The best use of PlusPoints is upgrading long-haul international flights or booking United’s Polaris business class.
• Early requests for upgrades increase the chances of success, and upgrades can be confirmed immediately if available, while others will be waitlisted.

You’ve earned elite status with United Airlines_, and now you see PlusPoints in your account. What are those? And what are they for?

PlusPoints may seem complex at first glance, but the gist is that you can use them to upgrade your next flight — both with United or with its partner airlines — along with a few nontravel redemptions for PlusPoints.

Today, we’ll walk you through everything you should know about PlusPoints and how to use them to upgrade your seat on your next United flight.

What Are PlusPoints?

When you earn elite status with an airline, you receive various rewards to thank you for your loyalty. Those can include lounge access before a flight, priority services at the airport, or even extra checked luggage allowance at no cost.

United Airlines is no different, offering elite members of its MileagePlus program extra perks — perks that continue to increase and improve as you move up the tiers.

Elite members qualify for complimentary upgrades on United flights, based on availability, but those upgrades mostly apply to domestic flights. If you want to upgrade an international flight, you’ll likely need PlusPoints — though you can certainly use them for domestic flights.

PlusPoints were previously known as Regional Premier Upgrades (RPUs) and Global Premier Upgrades (GPUs). These aren’t points you can use for booking an award flight, to be clear.

You receive PlusPoints after you earn Premier Platinum elite status, and you can earn even more PlusPoints from additional flying. You earn United’s elite status by racking up enough Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) and Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) annually.

Here are the current requirements for United’s elite tiers:

Premier Platinum elite members receive 40 PlusPoints when they achieve that status. Premier 1K members receive an additional 280 PlusPoints for a total of 320 when they hit that tier. Additionally, 1K elites can earn 20 more PlusPoints for every 3,000 PQPs they earn above the 22,000 mark.

For example, a Premier 1K member who earned 30,000 PQPs in a calendar year would receive 40 PlusPoints at the Premier Platinum tier, 280 more at the Premier 1K tier, and then 20 PlusPoints at 24,000, 26,000, 28,000, and 30,000 PQPs. That’s a total of 400 PlusPoints.

While you can earn PQPs from spending on United credit cards, note that this doesn’t count toward earning additional PlusPoints unless you have the United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Card or United℠ Presidential Plus℠ Business Card, both of which are closed to new applicants.

PlusPoints last until January 31 of the year after they were earned. PlusPoints earned in 2026, for example, will expire on January 31, 2028.

How Many PlusPoints Do You Need?

How many PlusPoints that you need for a flight depends on the fare destination. Upgrading from a deeply discounted economy ticket to business class costs more than upgrading from standard economy to business.

You can use PlusPoints both for short-haul and long-haul United flights. Consult the chart below:

As the chart shows, you can use PlusPoints without moving into first class or business class. For example, you can upgrade to United’s excellent Premium Plus cabin. The numbers above are per trip, not per segment. That means a flight departing Las Vegas and connecting through Newark before flying to Europe would only require 20 points for moving into Premium Plus, not 20 each for the domestic and the international trip.

The short-haul numbers apply to flights within the U.S., as well as flights to Canada, Bogotá, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, and Quito. It also includes flights between Guam and Honolulu and intra-Asia flights.

Take note that short-haul PlusPoints rates exclude United Polaris business class cabins, even though you can find Polaris cabins operating on U.S. domestic flights.

Bottom Line:

PlusPoints are a benefit given to Premier Platinum and Premier 1K elite members. They grant complimentary upgrades on United (and some partner-operated) flights. 

Upgrade Priority When Using PlusPoints

If there are more people trying to upgrade than seats available, United has a system for determining whose upgrade clears first.

Priority is as follows:

• Those with higher elite status get upgraded points.
• Those booked in Premium Plus get upgraded before those booked in economy.
• How early you request to upgrade with PlusPoints affects your priority, with those requesting earlier having preference.

How To Use Your PlusPoints

Ready to use those PlusPoints? Let’s understand how they work.

These points can be used for both domestic and international upgrades on United Airlines flights, similar to the way you can use upgrades on Delta and American. You also can apply PlusPoints on some of United’s partners, including Copa, Lufthansa, and ANA.

You can apply PlusPoints to your reservation at the time of booking and later on. If you want to maximize your chances of an upgrade, locate available space before booking your flight. That way, you can identify flights with the best chances for upgrades getting approved. United’s search features let you see available upgrade space — despite the fact you’ll still be put on the waitlist for most of them.

Using Your PlusPoints When Booking Your Flight: Waitlisting

Earning PlusPoints is one thing, but it’s just as important to know how and when to use them for upgrades. Once you’ve decided on looking for an upgrade, head to United’s home page and log in to your United MileagePlus account. Before searching, click on the Advanced search option.

On the Advanced search page, put in the details of the flights you’re looking for, such as the destination and date. Then scroll down to Upgrades, certificates, and promotion codes.

Expand that and choose PlusPoints upgrades.

Now search for flights by hitting the Find flights button. When the search results show up, United will also show upgrade availability. You can choose whether you want to see flights with immediate availability or both immediate and waitlist options together.

Selecting “Available and waitlist” will give you results that’ll show waitlisted upgrades and any available ones.

Above, in the example, the nonstop, round-trip flight costs $258, with no immediate upgrade available, as noted by the “Waitlist” message. You can join the waitlist or look for other flights.

Once you’ve selected your outbound and return flights, you’ll be taken to the checkout page:

If you’re joining he waitlist, you need to pay the cash portion of the reservation at checkout. The PlusPoints will only be deducted from your account when the upgrade clears.

You don’t need to use PlusPoints to both flights on a round-trip reservation. You can pick them separately. This can be useful if you only have enough points for a one-way upgrade or don’t care about upgrading on one of the flights.

Using Your PlusPoints When Booking Your Flight: Immediate Upgrades

Applying PlusPoints for an immediate upgrade is essentially the same process as we covered for joining the waitlist. The key difference is that you’ll see a label that says “Available.”

Once you check out, the PlusPoints are deducted from your account immediately. Note that you can’t reach this page or check out if you don’t have enough PlusPoints in your account to cover the needed amount.

After confirming the flight and making your payment, you’ll be upgraded immediately.

Bottom Line:

It’s easy to use United’s advanced search features to find flights where you can use your PlusPoints. But before you do, look for a flight with confirmed availability, which goes a long way toward guaranteeing an upgrade rather than you being forced to join a waitlist.

Upgrading After Booking

If you have an existing booking and want to upgrade, that’s also doable. This is useful if you earned PlusPoints after making a flight reservation and now want to upgrade your seat.

You can do this online or by phone. The latter requires calling customer service and asking the employee to apply your PlusPoints.

Online, log in to your account and find the trip you want to upgrade. Then choose Manage trip.

This will take you to a page showing details of your flight. Select the option for Upgrade cabin.

The next page will show various options for upgrading your United trip with money, miles, or PlusPoints:

If you select PlusPoints, the next page will show upgrade availability for each leg of your flight:

On this page, you can select which flights you want to upgrade. As the screenshot above shows, if there’s no confirmable availability, you can put yourself on the waitlist.

Once you’ve chosen the options you want, click Continue to proceed to the checkout page:

After checking out, you’ll be put on the waitlist or confirmed for an upgrade, depending on what you chose.

Bottom Line:

You can upgrade your flight with PlusPoints after booking. There’s no guarantee of upgrade space, so you may instead be waitlisted. 

Finding Upgrade Availability

The airline’s advanced search tool generally works well for locating flights eligible for PlusPoints upgrades. Still, there are times you might want to check for upgrade availability beyond what United’s system shows. For instance, if you already have a booking with no open upgrade seats, it could be worth seeing whether another flight that same day has space. If it does, switching to that other flight might let you use your PlusPoints and secure the upgrade.

Hot Tip:

United has eliminated change fees for all bookings except basic economy, which means that changing your flight won’t incur a fee. There may be differences in fare costs to accommodate, however.

Unlocking United’s Expert Mode

It’s possible to investigate whether there are upgrades available on the flight you want. It takes some effort, but it could be rewarding.

Log in to your account. From the home page, select the Profile & Preferences drop-down and then choose Preferences & settings. Next, scroll down to Special preferences & accommodations and choose that.

You’ll see numerous options here, including setting preferences for your home airport or cabin preferences.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Enable expert mode:

Check that box and click Save.

Using United’s Expert Mode To Find Upgrade Availability

Expert mode lets you view all available fare classes for flights.

Here’s what a search without expert mode looks like:

Here are the results using expert mode:

Notice the additional information that expert mode displays in the search results, found at the bottom left. You’ll see the fare classes and number of seats available in each.

Here’s why that matters.

United uses 3 different fare codes to identify upgrade availability:

• PN Business and first class upgrades available only for United Airlines’ top-tier Global Services elite members
• PZ: Business and first class upgrades for PlusPoints upgrades from Premier Platinum and Premier 1K elite members, plus mileage upgrade awards (MUAs)
• RN: Premium Plus upgrades for all passengers, whether using PlusPoints or MUAs

How you plan to use your PlusPoints determines the best way to check for upgrade availability. United’s system also shows how many seats remain in each fare class. In the example above, there are 9 upgradeable seats open — more than enough for you, your partner, and several friends to move up to business class.

Imagine you’ve already booked your flight and added yourself to the PlusPoints upgrade waitlist. But since this trip is special, you’d love to surprise a loved one with confirmed upgrades. By searching flights from the same departure airport on your travel date, you can see if other flights have open upgrade space, even if your current flight doesn’t. With expert mode enabled, you can view that availability in a single quick search and switch to a flight that offers an instant upgrade.

Bottom Line:

Expert mode shows you all available fare classes for a flight, including upgrade space for business and premium economy. You can see it even if you aren’t booked on that flight yet.

Using Tools To Find Upgrade Space

Seats.aero, the award search tool, has tools for locating hard-to-find award seats in first class. It also has a tool for finding flights for which you can use PlusPoints. It’s available here, though only Pro members have access to it. A Pro membership costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year.

On the PlusPoints Finder page, you can choose the continent you’re flying from and to, or you can just see all results by not choosing anything. You’ll see airport codes for the flights’ origins and destinations, as well as the flight date and when this availability was found.

There are multiple fare classes you can choose. Since we’re using PlusPoints, leave the default setting: PZ.

Typing an airport code into the search box narrows down the results. In this example, we’re looking for a flight to Frankfurt (FRA), Germany, and there are lots of possibilities:

The green box in the inventory column lists how many seats are available, which is handy if you’re looking for more than 1 seat.

Clicking the View on United button takes you to the chosen date and route, but you may see more than 1 flight available. Make sure you choose the one you want. Expanding the flight details shows you how many PZ upgrades are available for using PlusPoints.

From here, you’re ready to book.

Bottom Line:

Tools can help you find upgrade space. They’re not perfect, though, and you still need to verify before you’re ready to book.

When To Use Your PlusPoints

If you have PlusPoints, should you always redeem them for an upgrade? Not necessarily. Some redemptions are absolutely worth it, while others are a waste. Since you only get a limited number of PlusPoints with elite status and earning extra through flying can get expensive, it’s important to be strategic.

Here’s a breakdown of when it makes sense to use your PlusPoints and when you’re better off saving them.

Good Use: Long-Haul International Flights

Your PlusPoints stretch the furthest on long-haul international routes. United charges the same 40 PlusPoints for a business class upgrade whether you’re flying a relatively short 7-hour hop from Washington, D.C., (IAD) to Dublin (DUB) or a lengthier 16-hour trip from Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG).

Good Use: New Polaris Seats

Business class experiences can vary widely, and United’s Polaris cabin is a perfect example. Rolled out several years ago, the Polaris seats feature a 1-2-1 layout, ensuring every passenger gets direct aisle access and a much more private space.

Note that United’s old seats are still advertised as Polaris. You won’t immediately which you’re getting on the booking page, so be sure to check the seat map. The old United seats are in a 2-2-2 or 2-4-2 configuration, and the window seats don’t provide direct aisle access:

You pay the same whether you book the good seats or the older ones, so make sure to book the newer seat.

Bad Use: When You’re Already Eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades (CPUs)

Elite members may get complimentary upgrades on a wide range of United routes, including most flights within the continental U.S. (except premium transcontinental ones), as well as to destinations like Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and Oceania (but not Tahiti). It’s not a smart move to use PlusPoints on routes where you already have a solid chance of getting a free upgrade unless you specifically want to lock in your upgraded seat ahead of time.

CPUS clear for Premier 1K elite members up to 96 hours before departure, while Premier Platinum members start clearing for upgrades 72 hours in advance.

Bad Use: Skip the Waitlist

You can skip the waitlist on some United routes. Skipping, however, is expensive.

Here’s a quick reminder of the typical upgrade cost:

• Discount economy to Polaris: 80 PlusPoints
• Economy to Polaris: 40 PlusPoints
• Economy to Premium Plus: 20 PlusPoints

Skipping the waitlist, however, has these inflated prices:

• Economy to Polaris: 110 PlusPoints
• Economy to Premium Plus: 70 PlusPoints

Skipping the waitlist costs nearly 3 times as many PlusPoints as typical upgrades. No thanks.

Bad Use: Deep Discount Economy to Polaris

There are 2 different prices (in PlusPoints) if you’re upgrading from economy to Polaris. The cost varies by which economy fare you’ve booked:

• Discounted economy (S, T, L, K, and G fares): 80 PlusPoints
• Economy (Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, and W fares): 40 PlusPoints

Upgrading from a discounted economy fare costs twice as many PlusPoints as upgrading from a standard economy ticket. While it might be tempting to grab the lowest fare you see, it can end up costing you more in the long run if you plan to use PlusPoints. Paying a bit extra up front for a higher economy fare could save a significant number of points — enough to double the number of long-haul business class upgrades you get.

Final Thoughts

Though it’s relatively straightforward, United’s PlusPoints system can require digging for you to find the best upgrade opportunities. No matter, what you use them for, whether securing an upgrade ahead of departure or modifying an existing booking, using the strategies we’ve covered can greatly improve your odds of success of making your next flight the most comfortable one possible.