Passengers verify in for United Airways flights at O’Hare Worldwide Airport in Chicago, Illinois, Dec. 13, 2022.Scott Olson | Getty ImagesHere’s a friendship take a look at: Would you share your frequent flyer miles along with your buddies? United Airways is betting prospects shall be open to it.The airline on Thursday began permitting members of its MileagePlus loyalty program to pool their frequent flyer miles and faucet into that stash for journeys on United.A “pool chief” can decide as much as 4 different members of the family or buddies to take part within the joint account. The chief needs to be not less than 18 years outdated, however pool members will be any age, so households can use their kids’s miles piles towards tickets.Prospects will nonetheless retain their very own MileagePlus accounts and might determine how a lot they wish to contribute to the pool. These miles will be redeemed for flights and different merchandise on United’s website or app.People can determine how a lot to contribute to the pool, and there is a dedication: “As soon as these miles are within the pool …they keep within the the pool,” mentioned Luc Bondar, chief working officer of United’s MileagePlus loyalty program.United is not the primary airline to supply loyalty factors pooling. JetBlue Airways lets as much as seven prospects pool frequent flyer miles, whereas Frontier Airways permits as much as eight folks to pool miles. Airways additionally typically permit prospects to switch miles to others, however that always comes with a charge.”The technique for mileage pooling is to attraction to less-frequent to reasonably frequent vacationers and get them and their members of the family engaged in this system,” mentioned Henry Harteveldt, a journey analyst and founding father of the consulting agency Environment Analysis Group. “By permitting members of a household to pool their award factors collectively, it will increase model desire throughout the household … identical to with toothpaste.”Don’t miss these tales from CNBC PRO: