I f you have managed to log into your MileagePlus frequent flier loyalty program account at the official Internet web site of United Airlines using your personal identification number recently, note that those days are almost over, as you will soon be required to use a more secure password.
PIN Number Must Change to Password at United.com
“Brian you should also do a write up about United they use the 4 digit pin for login”, Pete — who is a reader of The Gate — posted in the Comments area of this article warning about the security of accounts in the Hilton HHonors frequent guest loyalty program, as some have been accessed and even sold by thieves. “Like Hilton it can’t be disabled. It also has to be provided to the customer service personnel when calling them. I believe the only way to get these companies to change sometimes is to put public pressure on them.”
I followed his advice and wrote and posted this article pertaining to why United Airlines should switch from using a personal identification number to a password in order to improve the security and protection of MileagePlus frequent flier loyalty program accounts — and the airline has apparently listened.
Unlike the personal identification number — which only contained four numeric digits — the new password requires meeting the following criteria, as it:
- Must be at least eight characters in length, with a maximum of 32 characters
- Must include at least one letter and one number
- Can contain standard special characters — such as !, &, and +
- Must be case-sensitive
- Cannot include your e-mail address or MileagePlus frequent flier loyalty program number
Official Notice From United Airlines
This is the text in verbatim which was sent to me via e-mail message from United Airlines earlier today…
To better protect your United MileagePlus® account, we’ll soon no longer allow you to use your PIN to sign in. Instead you’ll need to have security questions and a strong password.
If you haven’t done so already, please sign in to your account today. You’ll be asked to complete these steps:
- Validate your email address
- Choose and answer new security questions
- Update your password
For now, you will still need your PIN when you call the United® Customer Contact Center, so don’t lose track of that just yet.
Thank you for being a MileagePlus member and for taking the time to update your account.
…and after I changed my personal identification number to a more secure password, I attempted to log into my account with my former personal identification number and saw the following message:
Summary
It is about time that United Airlines followed the lead of other frequent travel loyalty programs — such as the SkyMiles program of Delta Air Lines, where using a personal identification number to access an account was no longer possible effective as of Wednesday, October 29, 2014 — to switch from a personal information number to a more secure password.
I suppose this change is better late than never — unless your MileagePlus frequent flier loyalty program account was already compromised before the change occurred…
…but the time has been long overdue to allay the concerns of its members pertaining to the security of their MileagePlus miles; and that will soon be finalized.
Photograph ©2013 by Brian Cohen.
