Has United Airlines Stopped Accepting Username/Password for Logging In?

November 6, 2015 7:40 AM

Today's reminder of why I hate airlines: Not a big United flier, but I have a flight tomorrow. Bought the ticket at united.com and created an account there. I did not create a MileagePlus account. Trying to install the United Android app, I find it won't accept the united.com username and password. At united.com, I can't log in with the username and password. It tells me it is not accepting username/password logins and refers me to the MileagePlus page.

At united.com, I can't log in with the username and password. It tells me it is not accepting username/password logins and refers me to the MileagePlus page.

At the MileagePlus page, when I try to create an account with the username at united.com, I'm told that name is already in use.

So, I can't get there from here.

1. Does United really force customers to use different usernames for the different ways to access it?

2. Has United stopped accepting username/passwords and is now forcing all customers to create MileagePlus accounts? If so, why can't I use my united.com username to create a MileagePlus account.

Wait time at the call center is 30-45 minutes, callbacks are not on offer, and any automated help on MileagePlus requires I key in a MileagePlus account number. It also wants to address me as "Sue". I am not "Sue".

posted by justcorbly to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

Try tweeting at them to get a faster response. Or alternatively wait on the phone.
posted by k8t at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2015

Can you access your flight from this page:
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/reservation/default.aspx? It isn't going to solve the account issue, but you should be able to confirm things there and even print a boarding pass. It only needs your confirmation number and last name.
posted by soelo at 8:01 AM on November 6, 2015

Do you have a mileage plus number?

That's currently the only login that will work for mileage plus related sites.
posted by mercredi at 8:02 AM on November 6, 2015

I see now - you need a mileage plus number. This happened when they merged with Continental - somewhere in the consolidation.
posted by mercredi at 8:03 AM on November 6, 2015

Response by poster: @mercredi: Thanks. I imagine I'll be able to check in later at that page. I'd like to enable the app. I set up the united.com account early in September when I booked the flights. Haven't been back since. Now I can't log in because it wants a MileagePlus number, but I can't create a MileagePlus Account. Every United login I find expressly asks for a MileagePlus number, not a username.
posted by justcorbly at 8:10 AM on November 6, 2015

yeah it's really annoying and I just had to go through a similar process, they require the account # or mileage plus #. Maybe you can search in your old emails for the account # you created when you booked in Sept? Or call them.
posted by rmless at 9:06 AM on November 6, 2015

You probably got an email with your MileagePlus number. It's just one account.
posted by bleep at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2015

Response by poster: Nope, no account number mail and it's not used in any of the mail I did receive. I've called a few times today but the wait is way too long and they don't seem to offer callbacks.
posted by justcorbly at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2015

Did you try this: https://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/account/settings/accountNumberResolution.aspx
posted by bleep at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2015

If you can create a new mileage plus account from scratch with exactly the name shown on the ticket, you can then manually association that ticket with the new mileage plus account.
posted by mercredi at 10:52 AM on November 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

Story of my life. I stopped flying United because of this stupid bullshit. Tweeting at them etc. is probably a good idea-- nothing I tried to do on my own would work properly.
posted by easter queen at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2015

I would set up a MileagePlus account with a different username and password, then enter your flight confirmation number (6 letters) into your MileagePlus account to associate the two. You shouldn't need the original user name and password again.
posted by cecic at 11:27 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I'm checked in. That had an entry to edit my (blank) MileagePlus info. The first thing it asked for was the account number.

I sent mail moaning about this. United sent boilerplate thanking me for using my MileagePlus account.

I really don't want to create a new account with a different username because I don't want the hassle of remembering Yet Another Username for United. I fly several times a year but rarely United.
posted by justcorbly at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2015