United fliers can keep online award tickets on hold again

United has debuted its updated website, which is much snazzier than the older version. While its predecessor was quite organized and easy to use, it lacked some of the aesthetic layout of other travel websites. According to View from the Wing, the new United.com seems to be a happy medium between aesthetic and functionality, and comes with another bonus for those who are short on miles for a desired award: the new site will let you put award tickets on hold until midnight of the following day in the ticket's originating city while you seek out a method to top up your balance.

Unless you have a trip scheduled within a couple of hours on United and the miles post immediately, the only ways to top up your account would be to buy the miles directly or transfer miles from another account at a great fee or from a credit card transfer partner like Chase Ultimate Rewards. Transfers from Chase typically post immediately, which makes booking an aspirational award ticket a cinch if you have points in related transfer programs.

United has always been extremely flier-friendly when it comes to searching for award tickets on its website, as it shows award availability for the majority of its mileage partners unlike other major carriers, which often require you to call an agent to check availability and reserve them.

Similarly, American allows you to hold an award ticket via its website (no matter how many miles you have), but Delta and Alaska do not. United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson confirmed to RWV that this is a feature on united.com.

Holding an award ticket is like short-term insurance as the award space is not guaranteed to stick around. When you find an award seat, grab it, and thanks to the ability to hold awards again on United.com, the program is making it easier to get the mileage awards you want — unlike, ahem, Delta, for example.