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Star Alliance Upgrade Awards Frequently Asked Questions
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
How can I request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
How does a Dividend Miles member qualify for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
Can I upgrade someone else using my miles? What if the other person is not a Dividend Miles member?
How many sponsors can be on one itinerary?
What if I don’t have enough miles for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
Does it matter where I booked my travel?
Can unaccompanied minors and infants be upgraded?
What do I need to request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
When can a Star Alliance Upgrade Award be requested?
How many Dividend Miles are required to upgrade?
Are there time restrictions on cancelling a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
How do I cancel a Star Alliance Upgrade Award and get a mileage refund?
What if I want to cancel only my upgrade and not my entire flight?
If I make changes to my itinerary, will my Star Alliance Upgrade Award be changed?
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards Frequently Asked Questions answers
What is a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards allows members of participating Star Alliance frequent flier programs to purchase upgrades on other participating carriers’ flights using miles. In other words, as a Dividend Miles member, you can upgrade using your Dividend Miles when you travel on participating Star Alliance partners. Likewise, a member of a participating Star Alliance partner’s frequent flyer program can upgrade on US Airways flights using miles.
How can I request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
Dividend Miles members can make their requests via usairways.com – Star Alliance Upgrade Awards are not available through our call centers or Dividend Miles Service Center at this time.
How does a Dividend Miles member qualify for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
Passengers wishing to redeem miles for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award must purchase a ticket in B, C, D, or Y class on a participating carrier. The purchased flight cannot be a codeshare flight.
Are there restrictions?
Yes. a. Passengers can only upgrade one cabin from their purchased class. On a three-cabin configuration, a passenger can go from coach to business or business to first, but not from coach to first. On a two-cabin aircraft, a passenger can go from coach to business or coach to first class, depending on aircraft configuration. b. The number of passengers in the itinerary cannot exceed 4. c. All passengers in the itinerary must upgrade. d. Star Alliance Upgrade Award is segment based, and only two segments can be upgraded at a time.
Can I upgrade someone else using my miles? What if the other person is not a Dividend Miles member?
Yes. You can sponsor someone’s Star Alliance Upgrade Award. A sponsor is the person whose miles are used for the upgrade – the sponsor may be the traveler, a fellow passenger in the itinerary, or not traveling at all. Sponsors must have a user profile on usairways.com to process the Star Alliance Upgrade Award request.
How many sponsors can be on one itinerary?
Each traveler must have one sponsor, so if you have 4 passengers on your itinerary, you can have up to 4 sponsors. However, each passenger can have only 1 sponsor, but 1 sponsor can upgrade all 4 travelers in the itinerary.
What if I don’t have enough miles for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
You can be sponsored by another Dividend Miles member. Or, other options if you don’t have enough miles would be: a. Sharing/gifting miles b. Buying miles
Does it matter where I booked my travel?
In most cases no, as long as you’re booked in B, C, D or Y classes on a Star Alliance Upgrade Award participating partner and it is not a codeshare flight. However, itineraries booked using industry discount, agency discount, free tickets, reward tickets, or itineraries purchased through online sites where the airline is not disclosed until after payment are ineligible for Star Alliance Upgrade Awards.
Can unaccompanied minors and infants be upgraded?
It depends on the policies of the operating carrier. While US Airways does not exclude certain passengers from upgrading on US Airways flights, other airlines may exclude Dividend Miles members from Star Alliance Upgrade Awards based on passenger type. Please check with the operating carrier for full details.
What do I need to request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
You must have the following information: a. An account number or username and password for each sponsor b. The name of each traveler c. Marketing carrier d. Flight number e. Booked revenue cabin f. Flight date g. Departure and arrival airports
When can a Star Alliance Upgrade Award be requested?
A Star Alliance Upgrade Award can be requested from the time of booking up to 24 hours prior to travel for a particular segment.
How many Dividend Miles are required to upgrade?
The mileage required for an upgrade is determined by the origin and departure regions. Please check the Star Alliance Upgrade Award mileage chart for full details.
Are there time restrictions on cancelling a Star Alliance Upgrade Award?
No, a Star Alliance Upgrade Award can be cancelled at any time prior to travel, based on the policies governing your fare and the policies of the operating carrier.
How do I cancel a Star Alliance Upgrade Award and get a mileage refund?
Dividend Miles members will need to contact the operating carrier. Partner carriers’ frequent flyer members traveling on US Airways should contact US Airways reservations, ‘Manage Reservations’ on usairways.com, or contact their ticketing source. When a Star Alliance Upgrade Award is cancelled, we will automatically refund your miles to your account within 48 hours of the cancellation.
What if I want to cancel only my upgrade and not my entire flight?
Rebooking is subject to inventory availability; you will need to contact the operating carrier to ensure availability.
If I make changes to my itinerary, will my Star Alliance Upgrade Award be changed?
Any changes made to your itinerary may cancel your Star Alliance Upgrade Award so it’s important that you check with your operating carrier. If your Star Alliance Upgrade Award is cancelled, we will automatically refund your miles within 48 hours. You can request a Star Alliance Upgrade Award for your new itinerary as long as it is more than 24 hours before departure for the flight segment requested and your mileage balance is sufficient for a Star Alliance Upgrade Award.