Sorry for the long title; and I couldn't wade through the results of my search...so I figured I'd ask:

I'd like to know how people are doing getting upgraded by US status, then changing to their MP# at the ticket counter/gate...is it causing problems? Are you getting the FC seat and the credit? I'm also curious about this scenario:

1. I am CP
2. I am flying on US metal on US flight, on a US-purchased ticket, but trying to earn UA status/miles, and have MP# placed on reservation.
3. Can I upgrade? How? Do the ticket counter agents not ask for upgrades once you show CP status, since CP upgrades are comped?

I am kind of confused by your question, but if I understand correctly, this is what I've done:

Check in for flight, get upgraded on your CP status. On return flight, at gate, ask agent to put in your MP number. You've then achieved your upgrade goal and have little to no risk of difficulties based on your lower status with UA.

Does this help?

MHT, thanks for responding. I know what I'm asking sounds confusing.

I'm curious about a couple things:

1. If I change my mileage earning from CP to Mileage Plus after checking in (i.e. at the gate), does it affect my return flight, and will it re-seat me out of first?
2. If I put my Mileage plus number in on the res (on US flights), and there is upgrade space for me at the gate, do I have to buy upgrades from US, or will they upgrade me for free as I'm chairman's?

The reason I'm asking all this is, I'm going to use some of my US Flying toward UA status. I'd like to fly in FC when I can, instead of always being in coach.

We have had one or two strings on this before.

Your experience in doing this is going to vary from agent to agent and situation to situation. The official US line that we have gotten from res agents is "You have to pick one or the other, you can't upgrade as a CP and then accrue on UA" I think it would be very very cool if you could. But other FTers have said that they have had success doing this at the gate. I wasn't successful on the one occasion I tried. I switched at the gate from US account to UA and the miles still posted to my US account--the kicker is that I didn't even try to upgrade.

The only advice I can give is that we keep this thread alive and if someone is successful in using US status to upgrade and then switching to successfully accrue on UA--please let us know how, when and what you did!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by shinbal:
MHT, thanks for responding. I know what I'm asking sounds confusing.

I'm curious about a couple things:

1. If I change my mileage earning from CP to Mileage Plus after checking in (i.e. at the gate), does it affect my return flight, and will it re-seat me out of first?
2. If I put my Mileage plus number in on the res (on US flights), and there is upgrade space for me at the gate, do I have to buy upgrades from US, or will they upgrade me for free as I'm chairman's?

The reason I'm asking all this is, I'm going to use some of my US Flying toward UA status. I'd like to fly in FC when I can, instead of always being in coach.</font>

One other thing to consider is that apparently UA will still comp based on US status. However, this would not solve the problem of getting upgrades, since UA does not offer a similar unlimited upgrade benefit like US CP. One other thing I noticed once is that the US agents do have a way of printing the e-upgrades. I upgraded a companion flying US on my US number, and in my online upgrade statement it showed transactions saying "printed upgrade," kind of like printing an e-ticket coupon. I have not personally tried the account type switch at the gate. I believe they use specific computer upgrade entries where the computer validates the upgrade, but once you were booked in P or E, (first class) I don't know that the system would be intuitive enough to bump you back to coach if the DM# were not in the record, although upon check in it may have difficulty accessing the e-upgrade bank. I don't know also technically in the computer how they upgrade CP members since really they are not counting upgrades. E.g. is there a different internal process and procedure for the CP upgrade?