UA Lawsuit: Frequent Flier Miles are Rigged

Two New Jersey residents have brought a lawsuit against the parent company of United Airlines, saying they were asked to redeem different levels of frequent flier miles to book the same hotel room.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Jersey District Court, Robert Gordon of Jersey City tried to book a three-day hotel stay for a trip to Japan he was taking with his co-plaintiff Melissa Chan, but he didn’t have enough miles.
Chan had more United miles, so she tried to book the same room minutes later, according to the complaint. But for Chan, the room was quoted for more miles, the pair alleges.

Gordon said he called Chicago-based United to complain and was informed that the airline uses an algorithm to determine the number of miles needed to redeem a reward flight or hotel room, which would lead to those customers that have more frequent flier miles paying a higher rate than those with lower totals.

In response to a request for comment, a United spokesman said the company believes "this suit is without merit both factually and legally."
The pair is seeking class action status.