I'm a 1K on UA, which translates to Star Alliance Gold. I'm traveling LAX-TPE on AC this week, pretty much last-minute, to attend a funeral. The lowest fare offered by my travel agent is a consolidator on AC. I'd like to upgrade if possible, although I know the odds are probably stacked against me. I did try some research on the AC site and a search of the archives here, and a call to Aeroplan was on hold for 15+ minutes.

Can I upgrade using miles from my UA account? Are there any other options available to me?

Sorry, but AC doesn't have points upgrades for Aeroplan members, and I don't believe you can use your Mileage Plus points for that type of award either. Only SuperElites can upgrade on discounted international fares with coupons issued to them every 10K of qualifying miles. This would not be extended to UA members, even 1Ks. The only possibility is if the flight is overbooked and they must operationally upgrade elites. Obviously AC's own elites will have priority over other STAR Gold members.

I assume you are going to TPE via YVR? You can't use your UA miles to upgrade since it's a AC operated flight. Your chances are pretty slim since AC will upgrade all their own Elites first if the need arises (overbooked). I have found that the J cabin have been a lot more emptier the last couple of flights to HKG mostly due to tighter restrictions for upgrades for Elites. Your only chance is to find a SE travelling on that flight who is willing to upgrade you as their companion and you also need to have the right fare basis in that case (Y,M,B,H,K). If all else fails, tell them what you are going to TPE for and it might be possible.

Good luck..

Thanks for the quick answers Shareholder and Empress. I figured my chances are pretty slim, but I thought I'd check anyway in case there are something things I didn't know about as an infrequent AC flyer. Yes I'm going via YVR, so at least I can enjoy the Maple Leaf lounge for a little bit and maybe smuggle a few snacks aboard. At this point, anything that can get me there in one piece will do, so I'll take what I can get.

Thanks again for the replies.

Empress, there have been no changes to the upgrade requirements for Elites on international flights. It has always been from a full fare economy Y-class ticket. No other fare categories have been permitted. [The M really isn't an operative fare.] As Empress can testify from his recent experience flying transPac on UA, you might get an operational as a STAR Gold [as he did coming back from HKG to SFO] but it is a long shot. I am resigned to a back cabin trip to PDX via SFO at the end of July because I will be flying UA rather than AC [even though it is AC metal to SFO]. But then, at the L or Q fare I have -- UA's is $300 less than AC's via YVR -- I could not upgrade on AC either. It would have to be an overbooked flight on which I received an operational upgrade based on my Elite [Premier Executive] status.

Empress, there have been no changes to the upgrade requirements for Elites on international flights. It has always been from a full fare economy Y-class ticket. No other fare categories have been permitted. [The M really isn't an operative fare.]

You're right Shareholder, I was thinking that CP Gold members was actually able to upgrade from any fare 72 hrs prior until Dec 2000 which means J cabin is never empty on CP operated flights. However, it's very evident this year that there are a lot more empty seats in the J cabin on international flights.

Last year UA let me upgrade to F from Y using points deducted from my AC account. The agent in DEN asked if I was interested and for the miles I thought why not. Check with UA directly, there might be an unwritten rule we don't know about.

If you really want that upgrade, tell them you are a FA travelling incognito

Maple Leaf, can you expand on this a bit more, please. How can a UA agent deduct miles from an Aeroplan account? Particularly when there is no such award code? I know we can always purchase a book of upgrade coupons from UA. And they might sell them to STARGolds at the same discounted price as to their own elite members. But how does this other method work?

By the way, what is the UA policy about paid or elite coupon upgrades on codeshared flights? My flight to SFO will be AC metal, but my ticket used the UA flight number and designator as I am connecting onto their Shuttle up to PDX. On the way back, it is all UA metal. What are the fare restrictions from which one can upgrade if not a UA elite? I will post this on the UA forum, but wondered what Aeroplan members have experienced in the past. [I know I won't be eligible to use an Aeroplan coupon upgrade, since the fare will likely be Q.]

Shareholder: I don't know how she did it, but she did, and I got a F seat.

As for the UA upgrade coupons, they are $200USD for 4 500 mile coupons, and only usable to upgrade from Y. A UA person can buy them for $125USD or so, providing they are Prem. Exec. The regular joe public can't buy them. I have "heard" of people having friens holding appropriate statu with UA purchasing them for other people, but it is only a rumour as there rules surely would not allow such "abuse" ( to quote Ms. Cook at AC).