United & Star Alliance Mileage Upgrades with Partner Airlines (Including to United)
- Adam Garrett
- Feb 23, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 17, 2024
Image courtesy United
Below are a variety of carriers with readily available mileage currencies that have options for Star Alliance Upgrades. Some are regional based and others are distance based. The booking classes, even when booking on the same airline (i.e. United) also vary at times.
ANA (Distance & Segment Based, i.e. 12k for 0-2000 Miles Economy to Business)
One-Way (1-Sector) Mileage (Basic Sector Mileage) | Economy Class to Business Class (1-sector) | Business Class to First Class (1-sector) |
0-2,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 |
2,001 to 2,500 | 18,000 | 30,000 |
2,501 to 3,000 | 22,000 | 35,000 |
3,001 to 3,500 | 24,000 | 40,000 |
3,501 to 4,000 | 26,000 | 45,000 |
4,001 to 4,500 | 28,000 | 45,000 |
4,501 to 5,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 |
5,001 to 5,500 | 32,000 | 50,000 |
5,501 to 7,000 | 34,000 | 50,000 |
7,001 to 9,000 | 36,000 | 55,000 |
9,001 to 10,000 | 38,000 | 55,000 |
Over 10,001 | 40,000 | 60,000 |
Business to 1st Class:
Operating Airline | Eligible Booking Classes |
Air China (CA) | C/D/J |
Lufthansa (LH) | C/D/J |
Singapore Airlines (SQ) | C/Z/J/U |
Swiss International Air Lines (LX) | C/J |
Other airlines | C/D |
Economy to Business:
Operating Airline | Eligible Booking Classes |
Air Canada (AC) | Y/B/O |
Air China (CA) | Y/B/G |
Air New Zealand (NZ) | Y/B/U/E/O |
Austrian Airlines (OS) | Y/B/E/G |
Brussels Airlines (SN) | Y/B/E/G |
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) | Y/B/G/S |
EVA Air (BR) | Y/B/K |
Lufthansa (LH) | Y/B/E/G |
Scandinavian Airlines (SK) | Y/B/S |
Singapore Airlines (SQ) | S/T/P/L (aircraft configured with Premium Economy) Y/B/E (aircraft configured without Premium Economy) |
Swiss International Air Lines (LX) | Y/B/E/G |
Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) | Y/B/G/M/U |
United Airlines (UA) | O/A/Y/B/M/E |
Other airlines | Y/B |
Avianca Star Alliance Partner Upgrade Charts & Rules
Avianca Lifemiles Star Allaince Upgrades (chart; rules)
economy to business:
North America to US, Hawaii, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, Canada & North of South America is 20k miles; Southern South America & Europe are 25k. North Asia is 30k. Elsewhere is 35k.
"Only tickets bought on United Airlines in the following classes apply for Business Class upgrade requests: B or Y."
business to first also available for more
Singapore Airlines Star Alliance Partner Upgrade Charts & Rules
Singapore has a relatively organized page for Star Alliance upgrades here.
Pricing is similar to Avianca or United, but worse in some cases (not good compared to Turkish):
Images courtesy Singapore Airlines
Turkish Airlines (best option, i.e. 10k domestic East Coast to Hawaii & available to be used even if the one booking isn't flying)
It appears as though it's 10k miles for domestic upgrades...
"The Star Alliance upgrade award is only valid for certain ticket fare classes."
"Miles&Smiles members can request Star Alliance upgrade awards for themselves or for a person of their choosing. It is not necessary for the Miles&Smiles member whose Miles were used to fly."
That's fantastic, especially considering that using United Miles, you'd need status to do that.
"Passengers must follow these steps when applying for Star Alliance upgrades.
Indicate the number of passengers and number of Miles&Smiles members using Miles from their account.
Enter Miles&Smiles membership number and PIN code.
Enter the name, surname and flight details of the passenger to be upgraded.
Confirm the number of Miles required for the upgrade.
View the Miles debited from the Miles&Smiles account and the upgrade information saved on the reservation."
Fare Classes Eligible (Under "Star Alliance Upgrade Awards")
Images courtesy Turkish Airlines
Fare Class Price Differences Can Be Substantial (over double in some cases)
The higher cost fare classes are pretty notable. For instance, Here are some examples for flights from the East Coast to Hawaii:
In a case like the above, it would be much better to book the full award with Turkish Air miles & Smiles rather than using more cash to get a higher fare class and then to use 2/3 of the miles required if you had booked with miles to begin with.
United Airlines Mileage Upgrades
I do a deep dive of United Mileage Upgrades on United in a separate article here.
United Upgrade Mileage Pricing (United & Star Alliance Operated)
Per United:
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards from the Mainland US, Alaska, & Canada are:
Destination from Mainland US, Alaska & Canada | Economy to Business | Business to 1st |
Mainland US, Alaska, & Canada | 20k | 30k |
Hawaii | 20k | 35k |
Mexico | 20k | 30k |
Central America | 20k | 30k |
Caribbean | 20k | 30k |
Northern South America | 20k | 40k |
Southern South America | 25k | 50k |
Europe | 25k | 40k |
Middle East | 30k | 60k |
Africa | 35k | 50k |
North Asia | 30k | 50k |
Central & South Asia | 35k | 50k |
Japan | 25k | 50k |
Oceania | 30k | 50k |
Australia & New Zealand | 35k | 60k |
"Upgradeable booking classes include Business class C and D and Economy class Y and B, as well as the additional fare classes listed on carriers below:
Air Canada – O class
Air China – J and G class
Air New Zealand – E, U and O class
ANA – J, Z, E, G, M and U class
Austrian – G, E, M and U class
Copa Airlines – M, H, Q, K, V, U, S, O, W, E, L, T and A class
Brussels Airlines – G and E class
Ethiopian Airlines – G and S class
EVA Airways – K class
Lufthansa – J, E, G, M and U class
SAS – S class
Shenzhen Airlines – M and H class
Singapore Airlines – S, Z, J and U class
South African Airways – M class (domestic only)
SWISS – J, M and U class
Upgrade service classes:
Economy to Business (on carriers that offer only Economy and Business cabins on two-cabin aircraft)
Economy to First (on carriers that offer only Economy and First cabins on two-cabin aircraft)
Business to First (on carriers that have three-cabin aircraft)"
Elusive Partners May Not be Possible: Air Canada, Aer Lingus, Hawaiian
There are a number of partners where there's very limited information online regarding how one can book using miles on Star Alliance Partners even when Star Alliance states that you're able to do so with any Star Alliance partner. For instance, I wasn't able to find how to do that on the carrier websites with:
Air Canada Aeroplan (Flight Reward Policy, miles for upgrades, AC Bid Upgrade, AC Bid Upgrade Terms) I was a bit surprised at this one. There may be a way on partners like United, but it's not clearly listed on the site that I saw.
Aer Lingus (United partner, but not a Star Alliance Partner, so may not be possible)
Hawaiian: (United partner, but not a Star Alliance Partner, so may not be possible)
Redeem HawaiianMiles on Partner Airlines
Upgrade to First/Business Class
No Upgrades Available (Emirates)
Per Emirates' Terms under #14 "Emirates Upgrade Rewards", "Upgrade Rewards are available only on Emirates flights (excluding Emirates codeshare flights operated by other carriers); an Upgrade Reward is redeemable only for a single sector."
More Tips:
Finding Saver Availability on United to Find Upgrade Availability
A. Go to the calendar view of United Miles for the flight you'd like by selecting "Flexible Dates" on the desktop view of United: look for whatever fare class you are looking to upgrade to (i.e. Business):
B. Go to the "lowest" date and ensure that it's a saver fare. If not, it likely needs to be cheaper, and might be present in another month.
C. Sort by Business/First by clicking on it
D. Click "Details" to ensure that the leg you want on the itinerary is available.
E. If you see a mileage struck through, keep in mind that it may not be available (especially on partners)
E. If you don't find anything you like, try from a bigger airport with a larger United footprint not too far away (i.e..IAD & RDU for me)
F. If you're still not finding much, consider locations that would be 2 leg direct flights from airports near you, and check for saver availability from those airports.
Finding Upgrade Availability on United
Once you've found saver award availability...
Input the itinerary info (ideally per 1 way)
At the moment "flexible dates" won't work if following the instructions below.
Input "search nearby airports" if applicable
Input the fare codes of the flights that would be eligible for upgrades (from info above)
Click on "Upgrades, certificates, & promotion codes"
Under "Upgrade type" click "Mileage Plus Upgrade Awards"
Expand the search results so that all itineraries are showing.
Do a search for "mixed" and "confirmed" (most options are typically "upgrade waitlist)
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