This morning I arrived off a red eye, went to the United Club and had a mini panic attack when logging into United.com and seeing this:
United Identification Inconsistencies
I’m in the beginning of a mileage run (of sorts… more on that in a future post) that includes international travel and that was a message I didn’t want to see. I calmed quickly after reading through it realizing United is looking to sync up MileagePlus account names with those transmitted as part of the TSA Secure Flight program.
For me, the only discrepancy between the two is the use of my full middle name (as used in my Secure Flight profile) vs. just the initial (as on my MileagePlus account). I was given a choice of which to use going forward and I selected the full middle name option, as that is indeed what matches my driver’s license and passport and will now be required going forward as my MileagePlus name.
For others, the change will require those MileagePlus account holders named Bob Smith, such as the example provided by UA Insider on Flyertalk, to become Robert Smith (if Robert is their legal name).
As I’m mid-trip, the only thing I worry about having made my selection is whether my current travel as Darren K. Booth will credit properly to my “new†MileagePlus account bearing my full middle name. In retrospect, perhaps I should’ve waited to make the change until after this trip since the language in the screen capture above reads, “To ensure that you receive mileage credit and other MileagePlus benefits, the name on your MileagePlus account must exactly match your travel documentation.†But I think I recall the middle name vs. middle initial not being part of “exact†in the past. I dunno, fingers crossed.
Others on the Flyertalk thread are bringing up additional concerns, such as the impact to PreCheck, use of a suffix and being presented with three options to choose from, two of which are identical (?!).
Hopefully UA Insider will answer some of those questions and update the post.
Related posts:
New IRROPs Guidelines Reportedly Introduced at United
United’s Premier Accelerator Rates Have Dropped… But Still Pricey
Happened to me this morning on check-in. I was freaking out for a bit. One option had my middle initial, the other didn’t. Not really sure why…
Idiotic. Hopefully MP is staffing upbtelephone lines to handle all the irate callers who will be missing mileage.
I got the same message too. It wasn’t but a month ago that I called to get my full middle name removed from my account, and now it is back there.
Interesting. My option # 1 and # 3 are identical. Also, my driver’s license has Firstname M. Lastname, while my passport has Firstname Middlename Lastname. Which option should I choose??
@Jon: I’m sorry to say I don’t know the answer. I’m in the midst of globetrotting and haven’t had a chance to check the Flyertalk thread again if UA Insider responded to the person with the same question.
I breezed through PreCheck yesterday at LAX T7 after adding my middle name to my UA profile last week to match my driver’s license and passport. No MP miles credited yet, but it’s only 24 hrs after I arrived at my final destination.
@Metro Duo: Good to know PreCheck still worked well after the change.