United cuts partner airline award redemption rates by 9%

The new pricing affects virtually all Star Alliance partners. Business class redemptions on partner airlines like Lufthansa, Turkish, Austrian, or TAP Air Portugal that previously cost 88,000 United miles each way are now down to 80,000 miles across the board. You'll see similar drops on Pacific routes too.

Transpacific business class on ANA and EVA Air went from 110,000 to 100,000 miles. That's a solid ~9% reduction, bringing the cost down to the credit card member discounted rates.

Specific routes affected

Let me break down the key changes I'm seeing:

Europe (Business Class)

• Was: 88,000 miles
• Now: 80,000 miles
• Partners: Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, TAP, Turkish

US to Europe Deals with Roame

Asia-Pacific (Business Class)

• Was: 110,000 miles
• Now: 100,000 miles
• Partners: ANA, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines

USA to Asia with United MileagePlus

Much better, but still not the best pricing

Even with these reductions, United isn't winning any awards for value. You can book the exact same Lufthansa flight for 70,000 points via Air Canada Aeroplan instead, potentially even less when departing from the East Coast.

New York to Frankfurt: Lufthansa Business Class

But if you're sitting on a pile of United miles (and only United miles), this is definitely welcome news. Not everyone has the flexibility to transfer points between programs.

How to find award availability on United MileagePlus

Finding partner award space can be challenging, especially now that rates are slightly more attractive. That's where Roame's SkyView comes in handy.

You can set up alerts for specific routes on Lufthansa, ANA, or any Star Alliance partner and get notified when space opens up at these new lower rates.

Head to SkyView to start tracking availability today.

Bottom line

For once, we're talking about an award chart change that actually benefits travelers. United dropping partner business class rates by 9% is small, but it's still a solid win.