A MAJOR airline’s little-known subscription may have gone unnoticed, but it can save frequent travelers hundreds.
Perks include extra legroom and free upgrades for you and your travel companions.
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Frequent travelers can spread their wings — and their legs — with United’s Economy Plus subscription, which provides extra legroom with seats in front of the economy section.
Subscribers have uncapped access to Economy Plus seats with extra legroom on all United flights for a year.
Solo travelers can treat themselves to the service for just $599, entitling them to a year of upgraded flights within the continental U.S.
United also allows subscribers to add an extra companion for just $200 more or up to eight travel buddies for $1,099 total (for just around $122 per person).
United travelers can link the subscription to their MileagePlus numbers, automatically upgrading their seats with each use.
Those who frequently travel with companions may find that the program nets them hundreds in savings in just one flight.
With a single travel companion, the subscription may start paying for itself if you travel often.
The biggest chance for savings, however, is possible for the biggest trips.
Kendra Smith, a writer for SFGate, realized how much she could save when she looked into legroom upgrades for her family vacation.
For their planned flight to the U.K., she found out that upgrading three people would cost her $200 per person each way.
The price for the single trip would’ve been the same as United’s highest Economy Plus tier — the Global plan with up to eight companions for $1,299.
“Three people flying round-trip, times $200 a leg, is $1,200, which is … you guessed it, very close to the price for a global Economy Plus ‘family size’ subscription: $1,299,” she wrote.
After factoring in other upcoming vacations and occasional business trips with her husband, she signed up for the subscription.
Smith explained that after a terrible flight experience, she’s since sworn off flying in discomfort ever again.
Oh, my goodness, I could actually stretch out my legs.
Kendra Smith
After her large family trip, she expects to save hundreds on her other business and leisure flights.
Even on an empty plane, a spokesperson had reassured her that her money wouldn’t go to waste.
When Smith was concerned that she’d wasted money on the subscription as she anticipated free flight upgrades, she soon found out that would not be the case.
“United’s spokesperson assured me that passengers are expected to stay in seats that are priced at the value they paid for them — or pay the price difference between the two seats,” she explained.
“No skipping sections, or even rows, if the price is different.”
She doubled down on the purchase after experiencing her flights home.
“Oh, my goodness, I could actually stretch out my legs. Economy Plus, after all, also came with free bag checking, which freed us up to carry on all of our duty-free purchases and an extra bag of fragile souvenirs, putting them in the overhead compartment with little hassle,” she said.
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