United Airlines to guarantee Polaris business class seats on London to Chicago flights

United Airlines has confirmed that its Polaris business class seats will be guaranteed on the Heathrow to Chicago route from 15th November.

All three daily flights will have the new seat, as well as Premium Plus (premium economy) and Economy Plus (extended leg-room economy).  There will be just 52 ‘standard’ Economy seats.

All flights will be with fully refurbished (but still getting on a bit) Boeing 767 aircraft.

Polaris is already guaranteed on all United flights between Heathrow and New York Newark.  It is a decent product, in a 1-1-1 configuration.

We recently took a look at Polaris when we were invited for a champagne brunch in the cabin whilst it sat on the tarmac at Heathrow.  You can read that report here.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (October 2024)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.