United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - to upgrade, or not to upgrade

More like "request".

I have a return economy ticket from DOH-IAD in October (T class), and am wondering if it's worth trying to upgrade using miles and co-pay (35k+$600). Any recommendations on whether this is a smart play for a 17 hr flight? I'm only a Gold, so no GPU's to use.

Appreciate the feedback...

Hmm.. well, couldn't use a GPU on a T-fare anyway, so no big loss there. 17 hrs (w/ the stop at DXB) is indeed a long time, but for me personally, it isn't worth the miles and money to sit up front. It is one of the longer flights in the system though, so you are getting pretty good value for the outlay.

To my way of thinking, you can get a business-class award from DOH to IAD for 60,000 miles and $0 [well, fairly close to $0], which makes 35K + $600 just for the upgrade a bit hard to swallow as far as I'm concerned.

I think many have that same question. Might be worth the miles since it is a long flight but your TOD upgrade offer might be $600 at check-in. So the question is, are you willing to gamble?

I have a SFO-HKG flight right after labor day but I might do miles (and use up the rest) because I think it will probably be a full flight anyway.

I have a return economy ticket from DOH-IAD in October (T class), and am wondering if it's worth trying to upgrade using miles and co-pay (35k+$600). Any recommendations on whether this is a smart play for a 17 hr flight?

Only you can decide what your comfort is worth. I've done the Ca$h and Miles u/g a few times to Asia, but recently stuck to exit rows. I don't mind parting with miles, but that's a lot of $$$$$

To my way of thinking, you can get a business-class award from DOH to IAD for 60,000 miles and $0 [well, fairly close to $0], which makes 35K + $600 just for the upgrade a bit hard to swallow as far as I'm concerned.

True, but if you are chasing EQMs ....er, PQMs like myself, then it makes sense to buy a ticket and collect abovementioned PQMs @:-)

I think many have that same question. Might be worth the miles since it is a long flight but your TOD upgrade offer might be $600 at check-in.

Asked and discussed many times (unfortunatelly FT search function is sub optimal), and the consensus seems to be that only you can decide your individual situation :p

I've done the u/g, I've flown coach, guess depending on my mood and how rich I was feeling at the time. Not a problem for my next trip, as MNL via HNL isn't worth Ca$h and Miles IMHO. Haven't decided on my Dublin trip, though it wouldn't be the first time I've spent more $$$ on the u/g than the ticket :eek:

EmailKid

I think many have that same question. Might be worth the miles since it is a long flight but your TOD upgrade offer might be $600 at check-in. So the question is, are you willing to gamble?

I have a SFO-HKG flight right after labor day but I might do miles (and use up the rest) because I think it will probably be a full flight anyway.

The last few times I have done DXB-IAD my upgrades haven't cleared, don't think there would be a TOD available as DOH-IAD just goes through DXB, correct?

I've done the u/g, I've flown coach, guess depending on my mood and how rich I was feeling at the time. EmailKid

I agree that it all depends on how rich you feel.

To the OP keep in mind that going on the waiting list does not mean you will get the upgrade.
I would not pay that money for a 6 hr flight from East Coast to Ireland or England but for a 17 hr. flight, very possible.

I would not pay that money for a 6 hr flight from East Coast to Ireland or England but for a 17 hr. flight, very possible.

We're basically on the same page, but would like to point out that the longer the flight the higher the copay (both miles and points IIRC).

Example: PVG-SFO 30K and $600, but CX so got to find out that KIX-SFO is "only" 25K and $500 :rolleyes: Didn't bother with either u/g, as I've done TPAC in steerage many times :p

EmailKid