United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - 1K upgrade rates improving?

I stopped flying United very shortly after 3/3, realizing that my upgrade rates as a 1K were steeply declining. I switched to USAirways and am now a Chairman's preferred. The upgrade rate has been very good, but overall I'm not a big fan of US.

I'm wondering if 1Ks have seen any substantial improvement since March? Are upgrade rates a little more comparable to last year? I did pretty well last year flying United all year.

I apologize for what is most certainly a duplicate question. I did search the forum, but so much comes back when you search for "upgrade rates" that it's difficult to sift through!

Thanks!

Brian

i'm doing mostly spoke routes, but i've been clearing pretty routinely at 4 days out. i haven't missed any CPUs on the CPU eligible routes apart from an inside 4 day booking for IAD >>> YVR R/T and one IAH >>> LGA post 3/3.

A great success rate post merger for me. Just 1 trans con EWR-SNA missed UG using GPU but CPU clearing routinely on schedule.

Still much worse for me than pre-3/3

Aside from IAD-SFO and IAD-PHX (1/14 on those), I've missed maybe one or two EUAs. Honestly, my UG rates have been basically unchanged at 70% or so.

I don't think so, flew EWR - ORD this pass Friday and when I checked in there were 4 open in F and they offerd to sell it for $189. On ther return yesterday when checking in again 4 empty and the offer was $169. I'm 30,000 from the million mile club and then I'm off to AA to build status. If I have to sit the back of the bus it really doesn't matter which bus I get on. :)

a couple weeks ago i actually managed to clear EWR-LAS on a friday-sunday trip. both fully booked. outbound cleared T-72 and return cleared t-12. surprised me as i've never been able to CPU on this route before and it was fully booked in both cabins. maybe it's just a one off occurrence but it was kinda nice.

I've been clearing pretty regularly as well (knock on wood)... saw inventory was getting tight last week and tried to burn an RPU on an SFO-ORD mid-week flight. Didn't clear; first time in E+. Not bad, I guess...

a couple weeks ago i actually managed to clear EWR-LAS on a friday-sunday trip. both fully booked. outbound cleared T-72 and return cleared t-12. surprised me as i've never been able to CPU on this route before and it was fully booked in both cabins. maybe it's just a one off occurrence but it was kinda nice.

Silvers get upgraded to Vegas all the time.

I'm consistently upgraded, but usually not at the window.

I did not get upgraded on ORD-SAN next Thur. at the Plat window this morning. My guess is I'll make it at T-24.

Seems to be route specific. I am doing well on leisure/vacation routes but poorly on business routes. From what others have posted in various threads, it appears that corporate sales managers are showering their customers with deep discounted FC tickets and upgrade instruments to hold on to the business. If operational performance doesn't improve, it won't matter how much they give away.....repeated failures to arrive at your destination in time for an important meeting is a deal breaker.

I would add that US's domestic soft product in F class is better than UA's (more WiFi, for example, and better food); the only thing UA has to really offer is DirecTV on sCO planes.

The US Airways clubs are better than United clubs.

I got more upgrades last year as a US silver than I did last year as a UA/CO silver, gold, platinum, and 1K.

If you're looking to jump ship from US, AA is probably the logical choice.

I can't complain, see my signature.

I have only had one CPU since 3/3. Before 3/3 I was 100% on 757s and about 30-40% on AirBusses. One the started listing cleared pax, right after the merger my flights showed anywhere from 5-10 people clearing, lately there are 0-2 people clearing. So the rest must be paid or award. The people who take ToD offers don't seam to appear on the upgrade cleared list. My AirBus routes are not on 737-800s with 16 seats, and still no upgrades.

For me it completely depends on ticket price and day. If I buy a relatively expensive fare (e.g. M or V) my upgrade percentage is almost 100%. If I buy the cheapest fare in advance my upgrade percentage is decent Tue/Wed/Sat but almost zero on Sun/Mon/Thu/Fri.

I have been quite fortunate post merger but instead of clearing days before, its usually the night before or at the gate. that said, I 'm on my way to ORD on Thursday and F is completely full. Returning Sun Am and there are a few seats. Still waiting to see if that upgrade clears.
So IMHO, it all depends on day of week and route.

It's sounds like it's not as good as I had hoped. I fly out of BDL, and another thing that's happened is that they seem to be switching to smaller planes. Used to be daily 757, a320, maybe a 319 to ORD. Now we are seeing many more CRJ-700's and rarely see a 757. I'm not a fan of the CRJ-7's. I would rather fly on a US A319 any day over a CR7.

It's sounds like it's not as good as I had hoped. I fly out of BDL, and another thing that's happened is that they seem to be switching to smaller planes. Used to be daily 757, a320, maybe a 319 to ORD. Now we are seeing many more CRJ-700's and rarely see a 757. I'm not a fan of the CRJ-7's. I would rather fly on a US A319 any day over a CR7.

I agree. I fly ord-bdl often and the planes are getting smaller and smaller.

Before 3/3, U and H fares on SFO-IAD and SFO-EWR used to place me in the top 10 of the upgrade list – and would many times clear ^. Since 3/3, these fares now place me in the high teens or twenties of the upgrade list – and with absolutely no chance of clearing :td::td:.

zero CPU for me without either intervention by UA Insider or by using an instrument such as a RPU or GPU since 3/3

zero CPU for me without either intervention by UA Insider or by using an instrument such as a RPU or GPU since 3/3

1 CPU for me. No intervention by UA Insider. More than 10 hours on the phone to get RPUs to work.

I don't think so, flew EWR - ORD this pass Friday and when I checked in there were 4 open in F and they offerd to sell it for $189. On ther return yesterday when checking in again 4 empty and the offer was $169. I'm 30,000 from the million mile club and then I'm off to AA to build status. If I have to sit the back of the bus it really doesn't matter which bus I get on. :)

I like your comment.

^

a couple weeks ago i actually managed to clear EWR-LAS on a friday-sunday trip. both fully booked. outbound cleared T-72 and return cleared t-12. surprised me as i've never been able to CPU on this route before and it was fully booked in both cabins. maybe it's just a one off occurrence but it was kinda nice.

What was your fare/fare code? That might have played a major factor in your upgrade.

Silvers get upgraded to Vegas all the time.

Where is the proof or data to back it up?

1 CPU for me. No intervention by UA Insider. More than 10 hours on the phone to get RPUs to work.

TEN HOURS!! You must not really value your time

This year has been good to me. Nearly half of my segments this year have been RPU upgrades the rest CPU. I've only been in coach twice out of 30+ segments. Will have fewer RPU's next year. We'll see how that goes.

TEN HOURS!! You must not really value your time

Nonsense. There is no alternative. It's the only way to get anything done with this carcass of an airline. And, that's total elapsed phone time sitting with agents to deal with SHARES issues for all travel since 3/3, not per flight. If this investment allows me to get up front, and that allows me to be productive, then I'm able to create value with the time I'm sitting on the plane by working instead of being squished into a Y seat. It would be nice if I didn't have to do this.

As a 1K, so long as you are on a Y/B/M fare and book prior to the GS window, you will likely get the F seat at booking unless F truly is sold out. Even if you book closer in, you'll be at the top of the list.

just got my first RPU to clear this year, although I don't take a lot of domestic flights. November JFK-SFO.

Lately, my international GPU's have been getting better. The improvement (not sure how much of it) is related to route and date, as I'm flying more through Japan and avoiding Mondays to HKG.

I don't think so, flew EWR - ORD this pass Friday and when I checked in there were 4 open in F and they offerd to sell it for $189. On ther return yesterday when checking in again 4 empty and the offer was $169. I'm 30,000 from the million mile club and then I'm off to AA to build status. If I have to sit the back of the bus it really doesn't matter which bus I get on. :)

Actually if they are selling first class for a fair value, meaning the cost of a first class seat (or Y, B, M depending on your stauts) minus what you paid, then I have no problem. They should be selling first class seats. What I had a problem with is selling first class seats for $69 to somebody flying coach without status and not offering it to me first and when I know that $69 is not the fair value. This latter scenario has improved - or it seems so.

For me it completely depends on ticket price and day. If I buy a relatively expensive fare (e.g. M or V) my upgrade percentage is almost 100%. If I buy the cheapest fare in advance my upgrade percentage is decent Tue/Wed/Sat but almost zero on Sun/Mon/Thu/Fri.

This is precisely my experience ex-Denver as a 1K.

I have done CPU (SIN-HKG, HKG-NRT), Miles (NRT-SIN) and RPUs (ORD-IAH RT, ORD-SFO RT),GPUs (IAH-NRT/NRT-ORD) since 3/3. They all clear before 24 hours check in. So far so good I guess. I do have to say all my intl flights are mid week (Tue/Wed/Thur). And on flights that I use RPUs, I am sure 1k will have 0 chance clear on CPU since my GS boss clear at the gate.

My last UA flights were on 3/3. Of course nothing cleared on that disaster day.

But since I will no longer fly UA unless no other choice, I have been giving my SWUs to friends. Had a friend clear SFO/HKG and HKG/SFO on an M fare using my gifted SWUs within the last week. Both times cleared at gate with the infamous middle C seats, but C nonetheless. I was impressed that he actually got the UG....

Since 3/03, I have been upgraded on 23 out of 25 domestic flight segments. Of those 23, 7 were CPUs and the rest were RPUs and GPUs. (Note: some of my flights had 3 segments where I applied 1 RPU so I counted this as 3 upgrades for purposes of this post.)

Comparatively, this is better than pre-3/03, though I have also been using more RPUs than in the past.

Hope this data point helps!

My rate has improved. I fly primarily the IAH-SFO route. I am 10 for 12 over the past 6 weeks (although admittedly 2 of those upgrades were RPUs.) Before then, I was 2 for 8. I am using the same fare class as before (mostly S class.)

I did have an LAX-SFO flight last night, and I had no shot at that. That had 64 folks on the standby last - which is essentially half the cabin. Really, when I saw that, I just said forget it - it is only a half-hour flight.

I have been having better luck but still not in the windows. I have a return flight Thursday showing 12 seats available out of 24 yet as a 1k I have not cleared yet. What is the point of windows if they are not observed. As a side note, have flown AA as I did the status match and they are worse at the windows of time for upgrade. Both cleared day of flight but I am 100 percent on upgrades there.

I haven't flown as much this year (my first year as a 1K) as in years past, but I've been upgraded all times but once (I guess 9/10) domestically/regionally, and only used two CR1s. However, I'm still waitlisted on two TATL SWUs and the prognosis is grim for at least one of those (and I leave in 6 days!). Bummer considering that both TATL flights were just 20% sold when I booked my travel. Thought it'd be a sure thing....


I did have an LAX-SFO flight last night, and I had no shot at that. That had 64 folks on the standby last - which is essentially half the cabin. Really, when I saw that, I just said forget it - it is only a half-hour flight.

Ha, LAX-SFO is a joke (and SFO-LAX even moreso, if that's possible). Half the passengers are elites, and half of those seem to be 1K or GS.

For me it completely depends on ticket price and day. If I buy a relatively expensive fare (e.g. M or V) my upgrade percentage is almost 100%. If I buy the cheapest fare in advance my upgrade percentage is decent Tue/Wed/Sat but almost zero on Sun/Mon/Thu/Fri.

Same here. Monday and Thursday are difficult.

Ha, I have been doing exactly the same thing. Giving away all of my upgrades to friends and colleagues. Based on what I'm hearing here and the fact that planes at BDL continue to shrink at an astounding pace, I'm going to continue to steer clear of UA.

Frankly, I don't think they value the run-of-the mill 1K -- Someone the flies on economy fares (as corporate travel policies dictate) for 30-40 weeks a year. Not only that, UA would be challening this year as it is since it's not very competitive on the east coast flights I've been taking.

If I never fly on a CR-7 again, I won't shed a tear. 170's are another story!

My rate has improved. I fly primarily the IAH-SFO route. I am 10 for 12 over the past 6 weeks (although admittedly 2 of those upgrades were RPUs.) Before then, I was 2 for 8. I am using the same fare class as before (mostly S class.)

I did have an LAX-SFO flight last night, and I had no shot at that. That had 64 folks on the standby last - which is essentially half the cabin. Really, when I saw that, I just said forget it - it is only a half-hour flight.
Prior to 3/3 CPU were 75% (IAD/LAX/SFO/JFK) plus Euro and Asia routes. I fly mostly on Y,B,M,E fare and Z and other corp negotiated business fares for int'l. After 3/3 CPUs dropped to 30-50%; however, over the last 4-6 weeks CPUs are up though not yet at pre-3/3 levels.

An international data point:

9 out of 10 have cleared to/from Western Europe (from SFO, sometimes via ORD) since 3/3.

One just cleared this morning for a flight in 1 month. Monday, Q fare.

I'm happy...

the fact that planes at BDL continue to shrink at an astounding pace


i have reservations booked ORD-BDL for November, December, Jan and Mar and all are currently on A319/20 aircraft. we'll see if that sticks...

I finally got one to come through at 96 hours and without me having to take extra action or use an instrument. Mind you, CLE-RSW midweek isn't exactly what I would consider a tough route.

I finally got one to come through at 96 hours and without me having to take extra action or use an instrument. Mind you, CLE-RSW midweek isn't exactly what I would consider a tough route.

What sort of "extra action" have you had to take? I've had an almost 100% success rate on CPUs recently on a range of business-heavy routes. Most at 96 hours. The ones that haven't cleared certainly didn't come as a surprise. Shocking that there are still badly trained agents that will let people jump the queue, if that's what you are referring to.

I started the year as silver and was CO Plat last year, so don't have much time as a 1k and no pre-3/3 1k experience to compare to, but I've upgraded every domestic segment so far on a CPU and all my miles upgrades this year cleared too (which means it would have cleared on a GPU if I was using that instrument.)

I do do a lot of off-peak travel though, so YMMV.

I do hope more 1k's keep leaving - more F seats for me! :)

As someone who did EXACTLY the same thing, my experience of US Airways has been better (much better) the United.

I would be most curious to know how US Airways has not met your expectations???

I've got a trip coming up on Thursday, my hub-hub afternoon flight cleared right at 96 hours. I was shocked.

I'm equally shocked (in the opposite way) that my connecting flight, hub to non-hub leisure destination, with a 24 F-seat 757, showing F9 J9 and even R4 right now (has been as high as R7 within T-96) has not cleared yet. I expect upsell shenanigans.

I'm only batting about 60% on CPUs since 3/3...Not happy about that. If this second, longer flight doesn't clear, I don't know what I'll do from here on out. (I was spoiled by UA, missed 1 upgrade in a 2-year period leading up to 3/3). My wife (1K for now) already bolted from UA and is loving life at AA.

What sort of "extra action" have you had to take? I've had an almost 100% success rate on CPUs recently on a range of business-heavy routes. Most at 96 hours. The ones that haven't cleared certainly didn't come as a surprise. Shocking that there are still badly trained agents that will let people jump the queue, if that's what you are referring to.

Almost every single waitlisted instrument-supported upgrade has required a call to get it to clear when R > 0. I believe I have had exactly one where it cleared like it was supposed to post-3/3. That's the extra action I've had to take.

This most recent one was a CPU, but I've had plenty of CPUs which should have cleared and never did (e.g. the infamous "stuck reservation" ahead of mine at processing time, and magically on day of departure F inventory plummets to 0 as people take TOD offers mistakenly (?) offered because the system thinks there are no waitlisted upgrades).

Not bragging but out of 30 segments this year and 79k miles, I am 28/30, even INTL. with miles/$, even on LAS-EWR and LAS-IAH.....guess I must just be charmed

Almost every single waitlisted instrument-supported upgrade has required a call to get it to clear when R > 0.

Same here - every damned time. I have sent screenshots to 1KVoice each time, with only token responses.

Not bragging but out of 30 segments this year and 79k miles, I am 28/30, even INTL. with miles/$, even on LAS-EWR and LAS-IAH.....guess I must just be charmed

LAS-anywhere is one of the easiest upgrades. I see non rev upgraded all time, especially on 757 flights. As a little Gold, I havent missed an upgrade to lax, sfo, ord, den, iah. 10 for 10.

My upgrade percentage took a dive post 3-3 but seems to have risen since... surprisingly slightly higher than my 2011 through 3/3 2012 upgrade percentage. Then again I am flying UA less since 3/3.

LAS-anywhere is one of the easiest upgrades. I see non rev upgraded all time, especially on 757 flights. As a little Gold, I havent missed an upgrade to lax, sfo, ord, den, iah. 10 for 10.

As a 1K, I've missed many an upgrade between IAH and LAS. It used to be a lot easier. Sunday afternoon las to iah is what I call a 'ticket to coach'....can't remember the last time I was upgraded out of las on a Sunday afternoon....certainly not this year.

Prior to 3/3, I was running about 75% success rate for upgrade.
After 3/3, I could count success upgrades with my right hand. It's been pathetic probably less than 5%. Also given United's decisions to fly A320's instead of 757/200s in the LAX to ORD route, forget about upgrades.

Prior to 3/3, I was running about 75% success rate for upgrade.
After 3/3, I could count success upgrades with my right hand. It's been pathetic probably less than 5%. Also given United's decisions to fly A320's instead of 757/200s in the LAX to ORD route, forget about upgrades.

Prior to 3/3, I was at 95%, post 3/3, I am at 98%. So I am happy.

Not bragging but out of 30 segments this year and 79k miles, I am 28/30, even INTL. with miles/$, even on LAS-EWR and LAS-IAH.....guess I must just be charmed

"With Miles & $" I personally disagree that you are "Charmed". You simply paid to upgrade. This has NOTHING to do with the UDU or instrument based upgrade program.

Same here - every damned time. I have sent screenshots to 1KVoice each time, with only token responses.

There is a silver lining to this - we are a tiny minority, and we know the secret. That gives us a huge advantage over the rest of the flyers who don't even know what R is.

Why is there so much variance here? We've got people saying it's same as before, saying it's better, and saying it's worse. There should be more consistency in responses. I wonder if there's anything we can do to tease out the factors that account for why some people have had UG rates plummet on 3/3 whereas others are doing as well, if not better than, before. I do know that when I did a FT survey on this topic a few months ago, more than 2/3 of respondents identifying themselves as legacy UA said it's become much harder. But that doesn't account for possible recent changes.

Prior to 3/3, I was at 95%, post 3/3, I am at 98%. So I am happy.

Mathmatically impossible. For example, this would mean you were upgraded 7.8 flights out of 8 flights. Now...saying 88% would be plausible as it would mean you were upgraded 7 flights out of 8.

:D:D:D:D

An international data point:

9 out of 10 have cleared to/from Western Europe (from SFO, sometimes via ORD) since 3/3.

One just cleared this morning for a flight in 1 month. Monday, Q fare.

I'm happy...

Great. That's a 90% success rate factor.

LAS-anywhere is one of the easiest upgrades. I see non rev upgraded all time, especially on 757 flights. As a little Gold, I havent missed an upgrade to lax, sfo, ord, den, iah. 10 for 10.

Are you flying Tues/Weds/Sat ? 99% of the time when I depart LAS it's sunday afternoon, and my upgrade rate is absolutely horrible during those times (as a PremGold)

Mathmatically impossible. For example, this would mean you were upgraded 7.8 flights out of 8 flights. Now...saying 88% would be plausible as it would mean you were upgraded 7 flights out of 8.

:D:D:D:D

An upgrade on a CR7 only counts as 80% of a full upgrade. :D

Lately I've been upgraded 90% of the time on transcons flying twice a month. However, there's been some glitches that required calls for companions travelling on the itinerary as me--no agent has a good strategy for ensuring complimentary companion upgrades.

I'm new here. What does CPU mean?

Mathmatically impossible. For example, this would mean you were upgraded 7.8 flights out of 8 flights. Now...saying 88% would be plausible as it would mean you were upgraded 7 flights out of 8.

:D:D:D:D

You got me there...:p I didn't mean mathematically, rather feel the % to be higher so I just threw out some #s. Haven't computed in a spreadsheet yet.

however, over the last 4-6 weeks CPUs are up though not yet at pre-3/3 levels.

Reduced business travel due to summer vacation, maybe?

I am 100% for June, July, and August.

Same here - every damned time. I have sent screenshots to 1KVoice each time, with only token responses.

There is a silver lining to this - we are a tiny minority, and we know the secret. That gives us a huge advantage over the rest of the flyers who don't even know what R is.

Why is there so much variance here? We've got people saying it's same as before, saying it's better, and saying it's worse. There should be more consistency in responses. I wonder if there's anything we can do to tease out the factors that account for why some people have had UG rates plummet on 3/3 whereas others are doing as well, if not better than, before. I do know that when I did a FT survey on this topic a few months ago, more than 2/3 of respondents identifying themselves as legacy UA said it's become much harder. But that doesn't account for possible recent changes.

I think a big factor is that some of us my pattern our flying habits around increasing CPU chances. I'll always book the 757 sfo to ord if yI can. I never fly A319s and rarely a320s. Others might go further and fly Tuesday through Thursday

Ha, LAX-SFO is a joke (and SFO-LAX even moreso, if that's possible). Half the passengers are elites, and half of those seem to be 1K or GS.

Very true - and yet my CPU success rate on those routes is really high, where to be honest the upgrade matters not a jot as I am quite happy to remain in 7A/7F on the A319/320 (for example).

My whole challenge with the CPU system in theory and in practice has been that I now get upgraded when it doesn't matter, and I tend not to when it does matter. When I had to choose how to use my e500s, I generally got the upgrades I cared about.

Prior to 3/3 CPU were 75% (IAD/LAX/SFO/JFK) plus Euro and Asia routes. I fly mostly on Y,B,M,E fare and Z and other corp negotiated business fares for int'l. After 3/3 CPUs dropped to 30-50%; however, over the last 4-6 weeks CPUs are up though not yet at pre-3/3 levels.

just wait until business travel picks up again after labor day

just wait until business travel picks up again after labor day

A this point, I am not sure that business travel will pick up... a lot of business travelers may have moved on.

Flying LAX-ORD tomorrow. WL on outbound. F appears fully sold out. Upgraded on return on Sun. Not bad

My CPU success rate is 10/24 btn HKG-SIN since 3/3. I guess it is not bad given that UA is flying a 737-800 on this route which has only 14 F seats.

Not bragging but out of 30 segments this year and 79k miles, I am 28/30, even INTL. with miles/$, even on LAS-EWR and LAS-IAH.....guess I must just be charmed

You need to get out of the airplane and into the casinos. The run of luck you are having should not be wasted on UGs....

"With Miles & $" I personally disagree that you are "Charmed". You simply paid to upgrade. This has NOTHING to do with the UDU or instrument based upgrade program.

Whoops. I missed this. Belay my last. Concur with I_Can_Fly_US_Airways. Buying UGs is not a v impressive benefit....

I have missed only one upgrade since 3/3.

On my 757 BOS-DEN on Thursday the upgrade list showed 2 upgrades cleared and 73 people on the wait list. I was talking to a guy in line to board who was not even a MP member. He said he was going to pay $50 to check his bags when he got an offer to upgrade for $40 which would include the checked bags, so he took it to save money. I asked if he was on a full fare ticket and he said he didn't think so, it was $300 round trip. Yet another example of why no one gets CPU on my flight anymore.

On my 757 BOS-DEN on Thursday the upgrade list showed 2 upgrades cleared and 73 people on the wait list. I was talking to a guy in line to board who was not even a MP member. He said he was going to pay $50 to check his bags when he got an offer to upgrade for $40 which would include the checked bags, so he took it to save money. I asked if he was on a full fare ticket and he said he didn't think so, it was $300 round trip. Yet another example of why no one gets CPU on my flight anymore.

I think i was on the same flight (UA289?) and overheard your conversation as well. $40 upgrade is crazy. I used my regional upgrade on that flight, otherwise I would be among 73 people.

LAS-anywhere is one of the easiest upgrades. I see non rev upgraded all time, especially on 757 flights.

This is true...;) UA seems to have actually "thrown in the towel" on a lot of routes out of LAS...in particular....DEN and LAX....I never thought I would see the day that UA would have between 2-4 flights between DEN-LAS and WN having 9 flights....yes.....nine...times!!!!! :D

I think i was on the same flight (UA289?) and overheard your conversation as well. $40 upgrade is crazy. I used my regional upgrade on that flight, otherwise I would be among 73 people.

Yep. Same flight.

12/12 so far post 3/3. Couple transcons and hub to hubs (EWR-IAH) in there.

the variation in UG rates reported here is amazing -- sure, one could say that it's due to off peak flight times and routes for one person vs another, but we are talking about 1ks here, these are the folks that have the most a$$ in seat time of anyone -- so one would have to imagine that a majority of these FFs posting here have a blend of on and off peak routes, times, etc. but the experiences are still vastly different. smells like a lot of shenanigans behind the scenes in SHARES.

July UA 901: FRA-SFO on Sunday. Ticket bought in February. GPU applied immediately. No dice.

I figured that the middle of July, there would be few paid business travelers. On Saturday, I called UA. I was #3 on the list and there was 1 empty seat open on the seat map.

Just watch UA 901 on sundays coming back to the states.

1K Million Miler. SFO-LAX. 757.

Died number one on the upgrade list.

Really? On a 757 on a shorthaul route?

Yeah, United (I mean Continental). I'm over entitled.

Funny how I seem to be able to come up with more reasons not to fly UA than I can reasons to fly them.

Flying in paid C to Seoul. Bought the ticket on Asiana--not UA. Guess why UA?

I know--you don't care.

Then don't fly them.
Anyway, that's such a short flight. What did you lose by not being in F for an hour?

Then don't fly them.
Anyway, that's such a short flight. What did you lose by not being in F for an hour?

+1 , I usually fly JFK-SFO-SNA/ONT ONT is a CR200 Only Y, when going into SNA I dont apply my RPU till I clear the JFK-SFO flight, if its a last min clearing I have ended up in Y into SNA < 1 hr flight I really couldnt care that I flew in Y!

Most likley CO was able to get some idiots to pay up for ToD , I wouldnt even pay a $1 for F on such a routing. Just drink up the beer in the Club before heading over to the gate.

OP is F was so impoertant to ya why didnt you pay the ToD?

What did UA do wrong here? Not that you should stick w. UA for your TPAC, just trying to figure out the concern unless you've got more facts.

Did it go out with empty seats? Did they put non revs?
Why are expecting a guaranteed upgrade?

Sfo-lax is a connecting flight for all sorts of international paid premium traffic so having f full is not a surprise.


1K Million Miler. SFO-LAX. 757.

Died number one on the upgrade list.

Really? On a 757 on a shorthaul route?

Yeah, United (I mean Continental). I'm over entitled.

Funny how I seem to be able to come up with more reasons not to fly UA than I can reasons to fly them.

Flying in paid C to Seoul. Bought the ticket on Asiana--not UA. Guess why UA?

I know--you don't care.

Then don't fly them.
Anyway, that's such a short flight. What did you lose by not being in F for an hour?

I agree 100%.
What's the purpose of running to FT for sympathy when you didn't get an upgrade? Obviously others trumped you somehow, and not to piSS you off, but "Where's the Beef"?

Try another airline where you can get guaranteed up front by paying for a coach seat.

Did it go out with empty seats? Did they put non revs?
Why are expecting a guaranteed upgrade?

Sfo-lax is a connecting flight for all sorts of international paid premium traffic so having f full is not a surprise.

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

So the UP doesnt clear 1 time out of 100s of trips and Off You Go, you are doing Everyone a Favor by leaving!

Like I said before if you needed to be in F you should have purchased an F tkt or ToD. No wonder why some PMCO Execs think like they do, for the 1st time I have to say I AGREE with their thinking. PMUA Elites are way Over Entitled , and Im a 1K as well for many yrs and Im :) that I wont have to end up sitting next to you on a UA flight as you move to other pastures

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

It's just odd sometimes. While I am just a gold right now, I have been like 10 on the upgrade list for a Tuesday evening 10 pm LAX-LAS RJ700 flight. I would guess that some 1Ks missed on that, which I would think is about impossible on that time/date.

Was your flight at peak travel times?

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

You're doing better than the comparable ratings on UDUStats since 2010 - out of 100 flights you could have expected 2.4 misses ;)

http://www.udustats.com/Home/SearchResults?originCity=SFO&destCity=LAX&eliteStatus=1K&planeType=B757&upgradeType=UDU

(small additional data point - although the volume has diminished substantially on that site, all the comparable upgrades since 3/3 have cleared).

Add me to the list of people who don't get what your issue is.

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

A hundred-year event is likely to happen once in a hundred years. Sometimes these things do happen.

I've flown LAX-SFO or SFO-LAX 17 times this year. I've been upgraded 14 times. 2 upgrades were because of GPU's on transpac. 12 of the upgrades were complementary. The three times I've not been upgraded were on A319, A320, and a 752, respectively. So it does happen - United is not obligated to give me a first class seat when I pay for economy, and I think that my clearance rate on this route is okay.

Now it would be interesting to see if United will clear my upcoming flight on this route - G fare. :)

[QUOTE
Flying in paid C to Seoul. Bought the ticket on Asiana--not UA. .[/QUOTE]

too bad, would have been a big chunk off the remaining 300K you need for 2 million.

Its not so cut and dried. I fly this route a lot. I often standby or confirm onto an earlier flight. And sometimes those confirmed changes clear into R straight away or I go top of the upgrade or close to it. Sometimes when I standby I go top of the upgrade list as well - not sure why this happens. Or they call me from the upgrade list and hand me a F seat. It also works the other way, I stay top and never clear. I'm buying Q fares or higher. I often see 1K's heading for Y during boarding. Yes they do often sell TOD's for $69.

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.

I don't know what UA is doing, but they sure aren't giving any loyalty to its 1Ks.

On the upside, that's 100's more F seats available for the rest of us when you leave. :)

Odd. I am just a lowly Silver this year, yet my CPU cleared LAX-SFO on a 737-900 on a 6:30 PM flight Monday.

What's more, a sCO gate agent (I think, based on the uniform) came onto the plane and gave me my new boarding pass.

I found all of that pleasantly surprising.

So the UP doesnt clear 1 time out of 100s of trips and Off You Go, you are doing Everyone a Favor by leaving!

Like I said before if you needed to be in F you should have purchased an F tkt or ToD. No wonder why some PMCO Execs think like they do, for the 1st time I have to say I AGREE with their thinking. PMUA Elites are way Over Entitled , and Im a 1K as well for many yrs and Im :) that I wont have to end up sitting next to you on a UA flight as you move to other pastures

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I should have bought an F ticket or paid for an upgrade. If I am going to do that, why in the world would I want to give my money to UA, which laughs at my loyalty.

Don't quite get the concept of two-way loyalty, do you? I personally don't like one-way streets.

I "paid" for my upgrade with years of flying UA and hundreds of thousands of dollars in paid loyalty. I should not have to pay extra for an upgrade on an intra-CA upgrade.

This is just the latest example of an airline that lives in the present and treats its passengers like dirt. If you like to play in the mud, you must love it.

And don't worry, with your attitude, I don't want to sit next to you either.

So let me get this straight: you paid for an economy-class ticket, you sat in an economy-class (or rather, economy-plus, I'm guessing) seat, and this is somehow the last straw for you?

Well, okay! Buh-bye! Don't let the emergency slide hit you in the ... on your way out the door!

Funny how in 20-years, flying this route over a hundred times, this is the first time the upgrade didn't clear. Particularly when it is a 757 with 24-seats in F.


OK, so a typical economy fare on this route is $100 each way. A typical first-class fare is $250 each way. So you've flown this over a hundred times, consistently got something worth two and a half times more than you're paying, and you're still not happy because once you only get 20% more than you paid for rather than 150% more than you paid for?

Alright, have fun not flying United, dude. Next time I'm upgraded on LAX-SFO I'll think "Boy, I'm glad I'm sitting in that grumpy 1K's seat".

I've been doing so much SFO-GEG flying that I would kill for an E+ seat. Dang CRJ200s

This is just the latest example of an airline that lives in the present and treats its passengers like dirt. If you like to play in the mud, you must love it.

There are lots of reasons for 1Ks to reassess their loyalty, but missing 1 out of 100 upgrades on a 55 minute flight is not one of them.

Best example yet of over-entitlement. "I've been 'loyal' so I ought to trump other people who may well have been loyal too.'

Basic question to OP is, of the 24 people who sat in F, which one would you have booted if you could have made the decision:

1. The guy who paid for the seat?
2. A GS?
2. The guy who as a 1K paid Y/B/M?
3. The guy who used a cert (or part of one)?

UA not only can afford to lose this pax, but if it's going to make money, absolutely needs to and ought to buy him his seat on whatever other carrier he's going to fly, just to move this along faster.

1K Million Miler. SFO-LAX. 757.

Died number one on the upgrade list.


Well, RIP then.

And no, I don't believe they think you're going to continue flying UA once you've died. Maybe a flight in the hold to your final resting place, but then it's over.

So is this your "straw that broke the camels back"? I can't imagine 1 missed upgrade on LAX-SFO would set you off until other things were causing your heartburn and this was the icing on the cake.

or am I wrong?

Best example yet of over-entitlement. "I've been 'loyal' so I ought to trump other people who may well have been loyal too.'


Yeah, I think some people don't understand what "loyalty" means.

My dog is loyal. That means he doesn't bite me in the face and stalk off to find a new owner if I'm twenty minutes late putting his food out one day. I'm not sure what kind of "loyalty" the OP had.

[PS Actually I don't have a dog.]


Best example yet of over-entitlement. "I've been 'loyal' so I ought to trump other people who may well have been loyal too.'

Basic question to OP is, of the 24 people who sat in F, which one would you have booted if you could have made the decision:

1. The guy who paid for the seat?
2. A GS?
2. The guy who as a 1K paid Y/B/M?
3. The guy who used a cert (or part of one)?

UA not only can afford to lose this pax, but if it's going to make money, absolutely needs to and ought to buy him his seat on whatever other carrier he's going to fly, just to move this along faster.


Clearly it's the guy who paid for the seat who should be kicked out. Why, he might even be a kettle! Why should kettles take priority over us loyal travellers just because they buy more expensive tickets?

Always Flyin: Careful with your rants on FT. That's the lesson here. The flies swarm to the pile quickly here. That is all.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I should have bought an F ticket or paid for an upgrade. If I am going to do that, why in the world would I want to give my money to UA, which laughs at my loyalty.

Don't quite get the concept of two-way loyalty, do you? I personally don't like one-way streets.

I "paid" for my upgrade with years of flying UA and hundreds of thousands of dollars in paid loyalty. I should not have to pay extra for an upgrade on an intra-CA upgrade.

This is just the latest example of an airline that lives in the present and treats its passengers like dirt. If you like to play in the mud, you must love it.

And don't worry, with your attitude, I don't want to sit next to you either.

I'm the first to criticize the new UA but I need to defend them this time. As you admit, you are 99-1 on upgrades. What excatly more can you get. Maybee people paid for C class coming in from an international flight. One time seems a bit odd to be complaining. I'm pretty sure, I spend more than you with UA a year, but since I'm gold and your 1k, you get upgraded more often. I just flew ord-sfo, I paid 1100.00 and I got upgraded one way. Not the other way. I'm sure plenty of 1k's paid 290.00 and got upgraded.. it's the way it works.

Clearing Monday flights on Thursday morning is so nice. With that said, post merger has treated me quite well.

+1 - Actually OP never even told us what fare basis he was on. As a 1K, he could have been on as low as an M and beat out all CPU's except GS. If he chose to by a deep discount, then yes, on an elite-heavy route he will come in below all elites on at least a B.

My SFO-LAX flight on G fare just cleared 120 hours out ?!?!?

And I've only flown less than 10,000 miles on Y and B fare, so I don't think I've made GS. :)
I've never had an upgrade clear so early. Now I'm a bit mystified.

+1 - Actually OP never even told us what fare basis he was on. As a 1K, he could have been on as low as an M and beat out all CPU's except GS. If he chose to by a deep discount, then yes, on an elite-heavy route he will come in below all elites on at least a B.

And below all non-status passengers who were offered ToD cheap upgrades, but I wasn't because I have status.

Always Flyin: Careful with your rants on FT. That's the lesson here. The flies swarm to the pile quickly here. That is all.

That's ok. I just consider the source of the posters. Most of them are ignorant and don't know any better.

I was a 1K when being a 1K actually meant something. I maintained it by flying 100K a year when UA was basically giving it away to everyone, including those who flew less than 40,000 miles a year.

I have seen the diminution in rewards for being a 1K (and MM) and the diminution in value in flying UA at all.

My point, which almost everyone managed to miss while rapidly posting their hate mail for me to go elsewhere, is that UA used to reward loyalty. That reward is now significantly diminished. But they don't know that because they never experienced how it was. Their loss.

As well as United's loss, by the way. I fly a lot in premium cabins on international routes. UA now only gets about 10% of that. UA doesn't deserve my business. The Asian carriers (OZ, CX and SQ) earn my business with a superior product. UA's product falls far short and the loyalty is gone now too.

As am I.

I was a 1K when being a 1K actually meant something. I maintained it by flying 100K a year when UA was basically giving it away to everyone, including those who flew less than 40,000 miles a year.

I have seen the diminution in rewards for being a 1K (and MM) and the diminution in value in flying UA at all.

My point, which almost everyone managed to miss while rapidly posting their hate mail for me to go elsewhere, is that UA used to reward loyalty. That reward is now significantly diminished. But they don't know that because they never experienced how it was. Their loss.

I'm with you - all I can say is if you do can do the AA EXP match and fly the airline domestically, it will bear a high degree of similarity to the good 1K days under PMUA, and not the post-3/3 COdbaUA attitude of "elites are all equal, but we like ancillary-paying GMs over elites first".

I mainly fly internationally, or the ps service from JFK to SFO, but out of the domestic flights I've taken (only 10 of 14 had a first class cabin) I've received 5 CPUs. So 50% for me.

I've been upgraded 5/6 domestically when waitlisted. I've been able to secure international upgrades more easily at the time of booking than last year (330 days out).

Overall happy with the upgrade process. It's been the delays that have been more problematic -- had a 3hr connection at IAD to ACC shrink to 20 minutes because of delays.

You can't compare old UDU rates for 1K to new rates for the same status because the new system prioritizes Y/B/M for UP fares as early as time of booking.

In order to figure this out, one would have to know the fare basis on which the UG did(n't) occur. Clearly on high HVC routes, a 1K will see fewer UG's because a Silver on a Y/B trumps the 1K on a deep discount. Same thing where the aircraft is a downguage, even from a 320 at F12 to a 319 at F8.

I've had several recent experiences on IAD-SFO where there's been loud complaining at the gate by GS with no UG being told by the GA that there are 15 GS (13 and 16, I think on others) sitting in back.

So, the real question isn't whether the # of UG are dropping, but who is getting them and why?

A. More premium cabin sales, particularly inbound F/C which book into domestic F?
B. More GS?
C. Y/B (M)?
D. More corporate discounts which are treated as Y/B?
E. Sales of UG (and then, is the UP fee from booking class to B or is it a nominal amount?)

I doubt that anybody on FT has access to these sorts of numbers as they are proprietary.

If I'm booking closer in, like a week or two out at most, I am having more success--not due to booking higher fares (as these still book into cheaper classes in most cases), but rather being able to choose flights I'm more likely to clear on. A choice between a 319 going to ORD and a 738 going to CLE? The latter is going to be my pick for the upgrade chance in most cases.

However, I have terrible luck with flights I've booked more than a month out. The reason for this seems to largely be due to equipment swaps and schedule changes. I've got a weekend IAD-DEN coming up which I'm guaranteed not to clear on despite being in a mid-level fare class during a non-business-traveler day and time (Saturday early AM?!?!). UA canceled one of the morning flights, and the 752 went from being wide open to oversold just like that. Another advance booking went from a 752 to a 319; no chance there now, either.

If I'm booking closer in, like a week or two out at most, I am having more success--not due to booking higher fares (as these still book into cheaper classes in most cases), but rather being able to choose flights I'm more likely to clear on. A choice between a 319 going to ORD and a 738 going to CLE? The latter is going to be my pick for the upgrade chance in most cases.

However, I have terrible luck with flights I've booked more than a month out. The reason for this seems to largely be due to equipment swaps and schedule changes. I've got a weekend IAD-DEN coming up which I'm guaranteed not to clear on despite being in a mid-level fare class during a non-business-traveler day and time (Saturday early AM?!?!). UA canceled one of the morning flights, and the 752 went from being wide open to oversold just like that. Another advance booking went from a 752 to a 319; no chance there now, either.

I think you will like these changes.

Regards,
Jeff

I was a 1K when being a 1K actually meant something. I maintained it by flying 100K a year when UA was basically giving it away to everyone, including those who flew less than 40,000 miles a year.

I have seen the diminution in rewards for being a 1K (and MM) and the diminution in value in flying UA at all.

My point, which almost everyone managed to miss while rapidly posting their hate mail for me to go elsewhere, is that UA used to reward loyalty. That reward is now significantly diminished. But they don't know that because they never experienced how it was. Their loss.

As well as United's loss, by the way. I fly a lot in premium cabins on international routes. UA now only gets about 10% of that. UA doesn't deserve my business. The Asian carriers (OZ, CX and SQ) earn my business with a superior product. UA's product falls far short and the loyalty is gone now too.

As am I.
More and more this missed upgrade is sounding like the straw that broke the camels back.

More and more this missed upgrade is sounding like the straw that broke the camels back.
And a good straw it is. UA hasn't made a secret of trying to drive off deep discounters who want to fly up front freebie. That's the whole point of the Y/B(M)-UP.

And a good straw it is. UA hasn't made a secret of trying to drive off deep discounters who want to fly up front freebie. That's the whole point of the Y/B(M)-UP.

Those aren't the only ones they are driving off apparently. OALs are growing PRASM at UA's expense. Oops...

And a good straw it is. UA hasn't made a secret of trying to drive off deep discounters who want to fly up front freebie. That's the whole point of the Y/B(M)-UP.

Those aren't the only ones they are driving off apparently. OALs are growing PRASM at UA's expense. Oops...


Which may indicate that Y/B/M-Up isn't working as desired. UA may sacrificing the overall customer relationship for a transactional item (e.g., Y/B/M-Up or TOD upgrade).

This would be fine if the customers they are gaining provide additional revenue over the customers who are leaving. But the numbers indicate the opposite is happening.

I'm 12 for 12 on flights that weren't automatic upgrades from Y, B or M fares. 4 of those flights were award flights booked using my former CO MasterCard. Not much luck finding many long-haul flights with R space a week out but they still usually get confirmed a couple of days out. If it wasn't for the surly FAs, I'd say that I'm as happy as I've ever been on UA/CO.

I think you will like these changes.

Regards,
Jeff

LOL, yep.

Also, obviously when booking closer in if I have any schedule flexibility at all I can aim for flights with not just larger F cabins but with low F loads. When booking far in advance, it's just a crapshoot.

I know UA wants to reward the last-minute, typically-high-fare traveler, but my 3-10 day advance bookings aren't going into Y/B/M--they're going to K, L, and even G (:eek:).

It's my advance bookings which are in Q and V (and occasionally W) which are never getting upgraded.

And a good straw it is. UA hasn't made a secret of trying to drive off deep discounters who want to fly up front freebie. That's the whole point of the Y/B(M)-UP.

UA seems to share the same myopia.

I fly over 200,000 miles a year. Almost all international. Have done so for almost 20-years.

My international flights are 95% in paid A, C or D fares.

When the bulk of my business is paid premium international fares, I expect to be treated well when I buy an SFO-LAX return flight in cheap economy.

But that is not what UA does any more. UA says, "What are you willing to pay for this flight?"

Great strategy. Lose my premium international traffic in exchange for a $69.00 upgrade to someone who wanted to be spoiled for an hour between SFO and LAX.

That's not a very good business model.

In all fairness, UA lost a lot of my international travel years ago. I may put miles in Mileage Plus, but I now only fly UA when I really have no other choice (usually client contracts with UA that require me to fly UA for that clients). That's UA's fault as well.

UA doesn't care about me and I couldn't care less about UA.

UA seems to share the same myopia.

I fly over 200,000 miles a year. Almost all international. Have done so for almost 20-years.

My international flights are 95% in paid A, C or D fares.

When the bulk of my business is paid premium international fares, I expect to be treated well when I buy an SFO-LAX return flight in cheap economy.

But that is not what UA does any more. UA says, "What are you willing to pay for this flight?"

Great strategy. Lose my premium international traffic in exchange for a $69.00 upgrade to someone who wanted to be spoiled for an hour between SFO and LAX.

That's not a very good business model.

In all fairness, UA lost a lot of my international travel years ago. I may put miles in Mileage Plus, but I now only fly UA when I really have no other choice (usually client contracts with UA that require me to fly UA for that clients). That's UA's fault as well.

UA doesn't care about me and I couldn't care less about UA.
Exactly. From the UA perspeective, you are an employee of clients who contract w. UA. UA takes care of your clients' C-levels w. GS & GPU's and the like, but they know they don't have to take care of you because you have to fly them. Like many things, the individual sitting in the seat is often no longer really the "customer."

UA seems to share the same myopia.

I fly over 200,000 miles a year. Almost all international. Have done so for almost 20-years.

My international flights are 95% in paid A, C or D fares.

When the bulk of my business is paid premium international fares, I expect to be treated well when I buy an SFO-LAX return flight in cheap economy.

But that is not what UA does any more. UA says, "What are you willing to pay for this flight?"

Great strategy. Lose my premium international traffic in exchange for a $69.00 upgrade to someone who wanted to be spoiled for an hour between SFO and LAX.

That's not a very good business model.

In all fairness, UA lost a lot of my international travel years ago. I may put miles in Mileage Plus, but I now only fly UA when I really have no other choice (usually client contracts with UA that require me to fly UA for that clients). That's UA's fault as well.

UA doesn't care about me and I couldn't care less about UA.

You are a great example of a HVF who the new UA has alienated with its brilliant policies. TODs wont compensate nearly enough to account for their shortsighted actions. This will continue to come back to bite them in the A. Can't wait to see Q3/4 financials.

A call this morning to 1K line got me an upgrade for Monday ORD-LAX. I had applied an RPU to this trip, going on to Hawaii, and the long haul portion cleared immediately. I've asked two different 1K agents about clearing the ORD-LAX segment. One agent told me that an RPU is only good for ONE segment, not the whole trip (NOT true). What got me to call again this morning was a seat change. I had an aisle economy+ seat booked for months and just this morning when I looked at that res, my seat had been changed to a window, further back in econ+. The only aisle seat still available was an exit row, and I could not book it! So I made the call, asking first about the seat change, and then asking a BTW, why had I not been cleared on my RPU. The agent cleared my RPU right then and there! ^

Any idea if R was > 0?

So, the real question isn't whether the # of UG are dropping, but who is getting them and why?

A. More premium cabin sales, particularly inbound F/C which book into domestic F?
B. More GS?
C. Y/B (M)?
D. More corporate discounts which are treated as Y/B?
E. Sales of UG (and then, is the UP fee from booking class to B or is it a nominal amount?)

I doubt that anybody on FT has access to these sorts of numbers as they are proprietary.

Before 3/3, when flying UA domestically on leisure travel, I was content to play the UDU game. No more. I now treat domestic leisure travel the same way I treat international leisure time - I confirm upgrades at booking using instruments, miles and/or Y/B/M fares.

I fully expect to see more of instruments expire unused under the current setup.

I stayed away from UA for quite some time post 3/3 and tried it again last week. My upgrade did not clear for a Wednesday afternoon LAS-IAH flight! :( :td: I would understand if I fail SFO-EWR/IAH/IAD on a Monday morning or Thursday evening, but a LAS flight on a Wednesday mid-afternoon with 20 F seats?

Exactly. From the UA perspeective, you are an employee of clients who contract w. UA. UA takes care of your clients' C-levels w. GS & GPU's and the like, but they know they don't have to take care of you because you have to fly them. Like many things, the individual sitting in the seat is often no longer really the "customer."

You don't get it either.

I have the full choice of which carrier I fly on the other 90% of trips I take. The number of clients who insist I coordinate travel through them and have to take UA is extremely small. I could choose UA if I wanted to on almost all of my trips, but due to their policies and service offerings, I no longer do.

Systemwides? I give them away now. Want to hear about my personally paid flight to Europe last spring I booked in "B" class a month out and sat in coach anyway? UA has made systemwides almost worthless. I'll save everyone the effort: if I really wanted to sit in business, I should have bought a business class ticket. Guess what? If I wanted to sit in coach, I shouldn't have bought a "B" ticket.

Global Services? I flew 120,000 premium paid miles on UA. 90,000 in paid international business; just under 30,000 in paid international "A" class. Didn't meet whatever silly criteria they had that year for where I was based. Wrote to them and all they did was thank me for my letter. Yes, seriously.

But UA is winning in one criterion: they are winning the race to the bottom.

Haven't had the last 5 segments between ORD-SFO-ORD clear. Have had success with ORD-FLL segments consistently

My upgrade rate on UA is miserable. maybe 10% and usually not the flights that matter. The system is a mess - too easy for something to get screwed up. Every time I fly with my SO the reservation gets completely screwed up and UA can't figure out why. The airline has turned into one big joke. They need to start looking for a white knight to take over things. At this rate, Spirit would be a good fit by year end.

My upgrade rate is not bad, out of the last eight trips, I only missed one CPU. I wonder if being HNL based has something to do with it.

My upgrade rate is not bad, out of the last eight trips, I only missed one CPU. I wonder if being HNL based has something to do with it.

Yes. I'm Maui-based and have not missed CPU in past 3 trips in 3 months. Returning tomorrow and I'm only person on upgrade standby list and front cabin is virtually empty on 629. I think I'll get that one. What I don't understand is they cleared Plats on 848 iah-lax yesterday on busier business route but still haven't on lax-ogg flight which is (almost) empty...the logic eludes me...

Yes. I'm Maui-based and have not missed CPU in past 3 trips in 3 months. Returning tomorrow and I'm only person on upgrade standby list and front cabin is virtually empty on 629. I think I'll get that one. What I don't understand is they cleared Plats on 848 iah-lax yesterday on busier business route but still haven't on lax-ogg flight which is (almost) empty...the logic eludes me...

Your flight is showing R9. CPU is probably hung up on someone's out-of-sync reservation, preventing the rest of the upgrades from clearing.

Your flight is showing R9. CPU is probably hung up on someone's out-of-sync reservation, preventing the rest of the upgrades from clearing.Which as we all know and have been told, shouldn't be happening but it is a top priority to be fixed..... :rolleyes:

Your flight is showing R9. CPU is probably hung up on someone's out-of-sync reservation, preventing the rest of the upgrades from clearing.

I thought they had fixed this?

What's most striking to me about this dialog is the wide divergence in upgrade success being reported by FTers. I'd expect the reports to be more consistent, but we're seeing people who say it's "better than ever" and people who say it's nearly "impossible" - and since 3/3, quite a few messages have piled up in both camps, although it seems like a lot more in the "impossible" camp than the "better than ever" camp. Still, it sure would be great if we could tease out the actual distinction that allows some people to have a good upgrade rate while others are stuck near zero.

I thought they had fixed this?

I'm not sure they can fix this. It's a limitation of the system, and in many cases, it's a good thing -- after all, you don't want it to bypass a bad record and upgrade people out of sequence.

What they can do is minimize this sort of thing from happening by addressing out of sync records. The challenge is when it gets into OAL-issued tickets (which UA has lots of), and they cannot sync it up.

UA did a lot more partner integration than CO did, which is why I think we see a lot more of this stuff in the combined carrier than we did on the CO side before. The technology is the same, but the frequency of this happening is much greater due to the nature of the transactions the system is dealing with now.

Two small yet surprising (at least to me) data points from my own recent experience:

UA355 SFO-IAD 22Aug (A319)- upgrade on AWARD ticket cleared at T-23hrs

UA225 IAD-SFO 26Aug (pmUA 752)- upgrade on AWARD ticket cleared at T-96hrs

I was shocked the upgrade on award ticket benefit even worked as it sounds like it couldn't be more buggy. Beyond shocked especially on the A319. The 752 last night went out with 1 seat empty in First. However I was happy to see the GA come on board prior to closing the door and moved 1 person up from coach.

My upgrade rate is not bad, out of the last eight trips, I only missed one CPU. I wonder if being HNL based has something to do with it.

I'm HNL based also and can't remember not getting an upgrade or even sweating it out.

I thought they had fixed this?

If I had a penny every time I said that to myself, I could probably buy a TOD buy-up upgrade.

My experience seems to vary based on my hub/flight selection - when I go through Continental hubs, my upgrade rate is pretty close to what it's always been. When I go through UA hubs, my upgrades fall off dramatically and I'm often #10 or worse as a 1K.

Case in point - SEA-DEN, DEN-LAX were both no-go's while ONT-IAH-MIA cleared easily...as did my previous flights that connected at IAH to LAX, SEA, FLL, etc., all clearing in advance.

I stay away from UA hubs like DEN, ORD, SFO or LAX on UA metal.

the extreme differences on upgrade rates for 1Ks got me thinking about my own travel - so i went through and looked at all my travel since March 3rd.

RPU - 2 flights (only have used 2 on myself and both cleared)
M-instant upgrade fare - 3 flights (again, 100% success)
CPU - 19 flights
Y - 9 flights (of those 9, 5 were a result of a last minute SDC or IRROPS reroute where the F cabin was already full prior to the change being made)
regional jets - 10 flights

so overall i think i am doing pretty good. the four flights that did not clear were monday morning ORD-NYC flights where the number of elites outnumbers the non-elites

for the record, i do about 95% personal travel on my own dime.

upgraded 24 times since March 3rd
on a regional jet 10 times since March 3rd
and in coach on a two-cabin aircraft 9 times since March 3rd

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

Maybe you should show up to the LAX counter in Dodger gear, and they will comp you an upgrade.

Of course, you will need to pack Giants gear in your suitcase, and wear that to the SFO counter on your return, if you want them to comp you an upgrade.

But whatever you do, do not show up at LAX in Giants gear, or at SFO in Dodgers gear. You will likely get IDBed, and have to take the Greyhound Bus home. :);)

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

My LAX-SFO flight today (8/27) cleared at T-20. Strange thing was that at T-24, there were 10 booked in First Class, 14 open seats, and I was #3 on the list. Then all of the sudden, the 14 open seats went down to 2, and United cleared a bunch of people. I am guessing that the system was blocked on upgrades due to someone's ticket being out of sync, then when the ticket was synced, the upgrades cleared in a mini flood. FWIW, this was on a G fare.

The alternative theory is that there's something "different" for LAX-SFO as compared to SFO-LAX. As I stated previously, my SFO-LAX flight (also G fare) cleared at 120 hours out.

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?
One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.
Give me a break.

Similar issues with DEN-SFO.
Despite only a 3/12 cabin, I was only (one of two) upgraded at T-24 or so.
This week, our Thursday DEN-SFO flight is just 14/34 and UGs haven't cleared. Suspect it will not be until tomorrow morning.

Similar issues with DEN-SFO.
Despite only a 3/12 cabin, I was only (one of two) upgraded at T-24 or so.
This week, our Thursday DEN-SFO flight is just 14/34 and UGs haven't cleared. Suspect it will not be until tomorrow morning.

Cleared at T-24 into a 15/34 cabin.

I'm starting to get a little fed up with this. I have a flight tomorrow early afternoon (not primetime) SEA->SFO on a 757-200. 14/24 F seats open and still no upgrade... T-24 hits in a few hours so we'll see what happens but is it really necessary to keep that many seats open? Also really not loving being a 1K, checking in almost exactly 24hrs in advance and being #20-25 on the UG list behind full fares :mad:

I'm starting to get a little fed up with this. I have a flight tomorrow early afternoon (not primetime) SEA->SFO on a 757-200. 14/24 F seats open and still no upgrade... T-24 hits in a few hours so we'll see what happens but is it really necessary to keep that many seats open? Also really not loving being a 1K, checking in almost exactly 24hrs in advance and being #20-25 on the UG list behind full fares :mad:

As long as UA is consistent and does process these at T-24, I guess it's not so bad. I knew I was going to be upgraded just not until T-24. The one thing I actually like about UA vs. AA is that when UA upgrades clear, UA doesn't assign F seats to anyone, letting those quick on the draw to select their seats. AA just randomly assigns seats (based on your seating profile) but for some reason, usually doesn't seat couples together.

I'm starting to get a little fed up with this. I have a flight tomorrow early afternoon (not primetime) SEA->SFO on a 757-200. 14/24 F seats open and still no upgrade... T-24 hits in a few hours so we'll see what happens but is it really necessary to keep that many seats open? Also really not loving being a 1K, checking in almost exactly 24hrs in advance and being #20-25 on the UG list behind full fares :mad:

Lots of R space on both afternoon flights - call it in and tell them someone out of sync is holding things up

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

I am flying SFO-LAX on the 30th with 5/24 booked and F9 R9 Y9. Tried multiple times to call in as recommended on FT, but still no luck. Hopefully checking in will trigger the CPU process.

Update: CPU cleared at T-25

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

T minus 22 hours and still hasn't cleared. United shows 3 of 20 seats taken.

Upgrade info? "Information about the upgrade standby list for this flight is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

Another change I like . . .

T minus 22 hours and still hasn't cleared. United shows 3 of 20 seats taken.

Most of my DEN flights since June have been sCO 738s. All have showed around 4-5/20 at T-24, then by T-4 they are 20/20 and the upgrade list on the phone shows 1 or maybe 2 upgrades were cleared. I think thy are holding them and then offering buy-ups at check-in. As I have not been upgraded in months, I started flying WN a few weeks ago. Service is much better, seats are more comfortable, flights are less full, and I know in advance I won't be getting an upgrade.

And ANOTHER transcon at the window. I am 100% and we are talking about 20-30 flights here. I do not get the MASSIVE disconnect between 1K's and the UG rates:

The AC is a 737-900

You've been upgraded from New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Sun., Sep. 2, 2012. Your new seat is xx. Below is a recap of your flight information:
AvidMrFlyer
MileagePlus/Partner Frequent Flyer: xxxxxx United Confirmation Number: Pxxxx

Sun., Sep. 2, 2012
United flight 1725
Depart 10:00 a.m. from New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) Arrives 12:59 p.m. into Los Angeles, CA (LAX)

T minus 22 hours and still hasn't cleared. United shows 3 of 20 seats taken.

Upgrade info? "Information about the upgrade standby list for this flight is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

Another change I like . . .

Upgrade list is now showing and he is on it.

Page shows the cabin is booked to 4 of 20.

Upgrade list is now showing and he is on it.

Page shows the cabin is booked to 4 of 20.

Just cleared along with 5 others. Of course, he can't easily change his seat now since he is inside 24 hours and checked in.

What a bunch of crap.

Just cleared along with 5 others. Of course, he can't easily change his seat now since he is inside 24 hours and checked in.

What a bunch of crap.

Check in again to change the seat.

Check in again to change the seat.

+1

Check in again to change the seat.

Thanks. I just sent him an e-mail.

I wasn't aware you could do that.

Agreed; 1K is not now what it used to be...
And, no, competition for upgrades has not lessened much!
UA financials shoudl tell the story.

And ANOTHER transcon at the window. I am 100% and we are talking about 20-30 flights here. I do not get the MASSIVE disconnect between 1K's and the UG rates:

The AC is a 737-900

You've been upgraded from New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Sun., Sep. 2, 2012. Your new seat is xx. Below is a recap of your flight information:
AvidMrFlyer
MileagePlus/Partner Frequent Flyer: xxxxxx United Confirmation Number: Pxxxx

Sun., Sep. 2, 2012
United flight 1725
Depart 10:00 a.m. from New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty) Arrives 12:59 p.m. into Los Angeles, CA (LAX)

Well - Sunday AM in the middle of a long holiday weekend should be a guaranteed upgrade.... ;)

Well - Sunday AM in the middle of a long holiday weekend should be a guaranteed upgrade.... ;)

True, just saw that. Pretty sad when you are so busy a holiday can get by you ;) ... BUT I did clear this past Monday am LAX-EWR at the window.

Most of my segments are either international or regional. On my few CPU-eligible segments I'm 5/6 pre-3/3 and 5/7 post-3/3 on similar flying patterns. (Pre-3/3 miss was ORD-SFO on Y fare due to down-gauge; post-3/3 misses were both LGA-ORD at peak time.)

I'm 2/2 for RPU (post-3/3), but both were consciously applied at or soon after booking when R>0 because I wanted to sit in F but thought the odds of a CPU would be low. (ORD-SFO r/t at peak hours, one on an A319.)

I'm 1/1 post-3/3 on an eGPU applied to a sUA flight (ORD-FRA) which cleared from H fare at T-3 days. (I'm 2/4 using paper SWU on LH. Not sure that means anything.)

I made 1K on my last flight last year so I don't have much to compare. Last year as a UA 1P/CO 0P I was 7/12 for UDU, 2/2 with CR-1, 1/3 with RDM.

In the prior 2.5 years as an ORD-based UA 2P I never got a single UDU.

Thanks. I just sent him an e-mail.

I wasn't aware you could do that.

I'm pretty sure the "change seats" link tells you to do that if you try after you're checked in.

FYI, you can return to OLCI as many times as you like to look at SDC options that may have opened up, repeatedly change your seat if better ones become available, etc. I've had flights where I've changed my seat 5+ times after originally checking in.

I'm pretty sure the "change seats" link tells you to do that if you try after you're checked in.

FYI, you can return to OLCI as many times as you like to look at SDC options that may have opened up, repeatedly change your seat if better ones become available, etc. I've had flights where I've changed my seat 5+ times after originally checking in.

It does, and this is one of the features I like about the "new" site over the PMUA .bomb, which for most of its lifespan did not allow one to change seats after checking in (they did add that toward the end at some point).

Lots of R space on both afternoon flights - call it in and tell them someone out of sync is holding things up

What line have you successfully used with agents to get them to take action in cases like this? Every time I've called they shrug and say it's an automated process they can't do anything about

I had it happen this week -- my midcon 738 flight was booked 8/20 R=5, then R7 from D-92 to D-24. No CPUs were awarded. Even at OLCI at D-24 I was put on the standby list. Then about D-20, I cleared. :confused:

BTW, do we know that CPUs come from R inventory... Or do they come from a hidden additional bucket that usually (but not always) tracks to R (which in that case would be just for instrument upgrades)?

What line have you successfully used with agents to get them to take action in cases like this? Every time I've called they shrug and say it's an automated process they can't do anything about

I had it happen this week -- my midcon 738 flight was booked 8/20 R=5, then R7 from D-92 to D-24. No CPUs were awarded. Even at OLCI at D-24 I was put on the standby list. Then about D-20, I cleared. :confused:

BTW, do we know that CPUs come from R inventory... Or do they come from a hidden additional bucket that usually (but not always) tracks to R (which in that case would be just for instrument upgrades)?

From what I've been able to draw from this forum (await confirmation), it is my understanding that CPUs don't necessarily come from R inventory. The inventory from which CPUs are drawn is some subset of R than is either equal to or less than R. The presence of R inventory does not guarantee CPU inventory.

What line have you successfully used with agents to get them to take action in cases like this? Every time I've called they shrug and say it's an automated process they can't do anything about

I had it happen this week -- my midcon 738 flight was booked 8/20 R=5, then R7 from D-92 to D-24. No CPUs were awarded. Even at OLCI at D-24 I was put on the standby list. Then about D-20, I cleared. :confused:

BTW, do we know that CPUs come from R inventory... Or do they come from a hidden additional bucket that usually (but not always) tracks to R (which in that case would be just for instrument upgrades)?

I had a phone agent tell me that the R that we see is only for miles/certs. That the CPU takes into account data managed by Revenue Management and that while it typically places people into R, it actualy has nothing to do with R. He said if there is R and I am on the waitlist, it means they are willing to accept miles/instruments, but not willing to give free upgrades. He said the CPU upgrades available are not visible or based on any buckets that an agent or the public can see.

Not sure if it was BS, but it seems to explain the issue. Now I only wish they could explain why it shows R>0 when I am waitlists with a certificate.

I had a phone agent tell me that the R that we see is only for miles/certs. That the CPU takes into account data managed by Revenue Management and that while it typically places people into R, it actualy has nothing to do with R. He said if there is R and I am on the waitlist, it means they are willing to accept miles/instruments, but not willing to give free upgrades. He said the CPU upgrades available are not visible or based on any buckets that an agent or the public can see.

Not sure if it was BS, but it seems to explain the issue. Now I only wish they could explain why it shows R>0 when I am waitlists with a certificate.

I second this information. You can always confirm a RPU/GPU instantly if R is available, but CPUs won't clear instantly from the R bucket. In essence, if you are T-24 and see you are #20 on the WL and there are 5 seats available with R>0 and have to have an upgrade, use a RPU/GPU to clear ahead of the 19 others.

What the heck is going on between LAX and SFO?

One of my employees, a 1K, is flying from LAX to SFO on the 29th. Flight 1256, a 737-900 with 20 F seats. Only three seats are assigned and UA is still selling at least 9 yet his upgrade hasn't cleared.

Give me a break.

This is my first experience with a CPU-able flight this year. Currently within the window, 9s across the board, every single fare class, sUA752, and yet no movement.

I'm not too concerned as it is only SFO-LAX, but I do find it rather absurd.

close to 100% over last 3 months

In the last week or so I got an EUA on EWR-SFO within 24 hours but it was on a Saturday. I may have been the only one to get it. This morning on SFO-ORD on a 763 wasn't expecting it at all, was #4 on the list of 47 and flight showing completely sold out at one point. Got my upgrade on the plane after sitting for 30 minutes on board about 5 minutes before doors closed. in total 5 of us cleared 3 of us within minutes of take off.

Also got EWR-IAH for tomorrow 4 days out but IAH-SJC 1 day out.

I did miss ORD-LGA tonight. Ended up #4 or 5 on the list with 8 seats up front.

Went on a nice run, now it seems to be over. 0-2 L2. See what happens on my return Thursday flights.

Thursday's DEN-SFO (only 4/20 since last week) cleared for both of us at T-47.

3/4 last week. Cleared SFO-IAH and XXX-IAH at the gate, and IAH-SFO around T-12. Didn't clear IAH-XXX, but that was on a CR7 that appeared to have at least 3 people with F class tickets, and the rest upgraded with instruments or GS members. No seats available at 1K upgrade time.

I'm starting to get a little fed up with this. I have a flight tomorrow early afternoon (not primetime) SEA->SFO on a 757-200. 14/24 F seats open and still no upgrade... T-24 hits in a few hours so we'll see what happens but is it really necessary to keep that many seats open? Also really not loving being a 1K, checking in almost exactly 24hrs in advance and being #20-25 on the UG list behind full fares :mad:

This upgrade finally cleared around the T-24 mark (assuming, since I was never notified) so that's nice. However, this morning coming back to SEA I checked in well before the 24hr mark since I was "connecting" from a flight last night and ended up #24 on the list. Another 1K guy I know on the flight had a higher fare class and was ~#15. Only 2-3 people boarded during the GS call so definitely wasn't a glut of GS on this flight...

The result of sitting on the waitlist on a W fare for my HKG flight has been that it timed out at T-24.

How could one sit with a SWU for a W fare for Half a year and not see an Upgrade? Are things really that bad?

IMO these things are Worthless!!

Now this was applied during the Merger Madness of March, so not sure if that was an issue but UA says no and it was all applied fine.

I just love the Buckets are no longer visible and neither are the upgrade lists!

Any thoughts on this one or future use of these would be great, Thanks in advance^

Before I changed my flight today to next weekend, I was 17th on the list for 1 seat on an A320. UA had offered me an upsale of $450 (about right for my lowly $600 W-fare ticket, I think--UA wasn't offering me a TOD), which I obviously declined.

When I had to change to next weekend, I went ahead and used a RPU since R was available, and despite constant assurances from folks to "just let it wait and you'll clear," the only CPUs I've cleared post-3/3 have been leisure markets or RJs. I've learned that if you haven't cleared by T-96 as a 1K on hub-to-hub, you're not going to.

The result of sitting on the waitlist on a W fare for my HKG flight has been that it timed out at T-24.

Any thoughts on this one or future use of these would be great, Thanks in advance^

The day of the week and the departure airport are relevant for US-HKG UGs. What were they?

ORD-MCI.....A320 1 day before my trip, there were 7 people who already got CPUed.
I was still on the waitlist with last seat left as 1K.......
This had never happened to me before 3/3.
For me, I have higher upgrade rate on DL as a AS MVP G than UA 1K on UA.
It's fortunate that I won't fly UA too much in the future.

Thursday's DEN-SFO (only 4/20 since last week) cleared for both of us at T-47.

That's good news for us DEN-based flyers.

I think 1k (and hopefully Plat as well) tips the scales nicely for DEN to EWR, IAD, CLE, and others.

I'm not holding my breath for ORD or IAH, though.

I should be 1K by November. Yippee!

I think 1k (and hopefully Plat as well) tips the scales nicely for DEN to EWR, IAD, CLE, and others.

You could have fooled me. I've cleared exactly one CPU to or from DEN this year: DEN-ORD. Anything else has been instrument-supported; every other CPU has failed for me, including multiple Saturday morning IAD-DEN and Sunday morning DEN-IAD flights.

Even pre-3/3, IAD-DEN and v-v was a tough route for me. I had times where as a 1K I missed standby on 3 consecutive flights on the route on the same day, and that was absent any irrops. High load factors make it a challenge.

The day of the week and the departure airport are relevant for US-HKG UGs. What were they?

Truer words were never spoken. Sat, Sun, and to a lesser degree Fri departures are brutal for GPUs to HKG.

That said, I have seen some really odd ones. My SFO - PVG for tomorrow (Sunday) cleared at booking 3 weeks ago despite being C8, but NRT-IAH Wed the 26th hasn't cleared despite showing 22 open C seats on the seat map and hardly more than that booked in all of E+?!?!

I will own up to getting 96'd on LGA-ORD-LGA this week - though I flew at very off-peak times and booked my flights SPECIFICALLY based on the available R space at the time (which UA spokesman Mr. Johnson said I shouldn't be doing :D)

The day of the week and the departure airport are relevant for US-HKG UGs. What were they?

Dep on Sat. Sept 15 and Rtn on Mon. Sept. 17 on UA 117 and UA 116.

Thanks.

I just got upgraded on the Monday flight #117 to HKG (48hrs before departure). GPU was used in July on W fare.

Well, my personal September results are in and the results remain dismal. I flew 6 CPU-able flights in September, and was upgraded on a whopping two of them, for a 33% success rate (based on flights; based on upgraded miles flown over all miles flown, the rate drops to something like 11%)

The two successes were on an RJ for 300 mile flights. The four failures included an A319, A320, and 2 PMUA 757s. Only one of the failed flights was hub-to-hub. One was a flight I've taken many times and was consistently upgraded as a 1P since the dawn of UDU.

On the last flight, yesterday, it was clear that UA held back significant inventory to sell, and was reasonable successful at it. I began at just before T-24 as #1 on the list but gradually fell to #4. I was thinking things looked pretty good with 6 open seats in F. But overnight and throughout the day approaching departure, the number of F seats dwindled and nobody else cleared.

I'm definitely seeing more and more 1Ks joining me in the exit rows lately, and I'm definitely not feeling the love from United. Personally, I feel compelled to stay to reach 1MM but I will likely be gone after that (at 0.9XX MM now).

Well, my personal September results are in and the results remain dismal. I flew 6 CPU-able flights in September, and was upgraded on a whopping two of them, for a 33% success rate (based on flights; based on upgraded miles flown over all miles flown, the rate drops to something like 11%)

The two successes were on an RJ for 300 mile flights. The four failures included an A319, A320, and 2 PMUA 757s. Only one of the failed flights was hub-to-hub. One was a flight I've taken many times and was consistently upgraded as a 1P since the dawn of UDU.

On the last flight, yesterday, it was clear that UA held back significant inventory to sell, and was reasonable successful at it. I began at just before T-24 as #1 on the list but gradually fell to #4. I was thinking things looked pretty good with 6 open seats in F. But overnight and throughout the day approaching departure, the number of F seats dwindled and nobody else cleared.

I'm definitely seeing more and more 1Ks joining me in the exit rows lately, and I'm definitely not feeling the love from United. Personally, I feel compelled to stay to reach 1MM but I will likely be gone after that (at 0.9XX MM now).

Are you getting tod offers? Or are they blacklisting you from those and saving them for kettles?

Are you getting tod offers? Or are they blacklisting you from those and saving them for kettles?

I am not getting ToD offers. The only offers I have seen are at the time of booking with hundreds-of-dollars offers to buy up to what is presumably M.

Also, I realized it is very hard to get a ToD offer when the first flight of a multi-segment itinerary isn't flown by UA, but another *A partner. Not that I would pay at this point anyway, the service in F is not worth the premium.

12 people upgraded on my Monday flight of 24 and I was denied using a GPU.

Sucks on a transcon.

12 people upgraded on my Monday flight of 24 and I was denied using a GPU.

Sucks on a transcon.

I'm about to fail ORD-LGA or LGA-ORD for the third time in a week using an RPU (Sep/Oct expiry so burning them)...short flight so not a huge deal, but c'mon - can't even get an UG using an instrument on a 733 mile route?!?!

I'm about to fail ORD-LGA or LGA-ORD for the third time in a week using an RPU (Sep/Oct expiry so burning them)...short flight so not a huge deal, but c'mon - can't even get an UG using an instrument on a 733 mile route?!?!

I have had very limited luck as well on ORD-LGA and LGA-ORD in the last 3 months. Lately the only ones that clear for me is ORD-FLL.

I'm about to fail ORD-LGA or LGA-ORD for the third time in a week using an RPU (Sep/Oct expiry so burning them)...short flight so not a huge deal, but c'mon - can't even get an UG using an instrument on a 733 mile route?!?!

It's pretty simple govt Y fares, TOD's, M-ups etc now all come before you now. I probably can't complain about my upgrade rate lately it's been very good but I've only been buying refundable fares.

It's pretty simple govt Y fares, TOD's, M-ups etc now all come before you now. I probably can't complain about my upgrade rate lately it's been very good but I've only been buying refundable fares.

Doubt there's a ton of YCAs on this route. But they are selling sub-$800 F fares w/only a 7 day advance...between that and now flying 4 E70s daily back and forth, think they're not making any $ on the route so they're cutting capacity and making F cheap.

AA starting to look much better on the route.

I'm about to fail ORD-LGA or LGA-ORD for the third time in a week ...

I have had very limited luck as well on ORD-LGA and LGA-ORD in the last 3 months.

I'm only 1/3 ORD to/from LGA. I have better luck ORD<->SFO (7/8 including 2 RPU cleared at/near booking).

Just finished an 11 segment trip, 6 on UA metal: cleared 2 GPU (both at booking) 2 RPU (both at gate), 1 CPU (at t-96), and ended up #17 on u/g list (of 46) LAX-ORD.

That's in line with my luck this year post 3/3: have cleared all instruments, but 6/9 on CPU.

Also cleared GPU on my two LH segments, one at gate, one at ticket counter the night before. Overall I'm 5/6 with paper GPU on LH.

Used an RPU on EWR-IAH for a flight for my grandmother. By the time everyone was checked in she was 5 of 52 (she was traveling on consultant travel thursday), but luckily she was the last person that cleared the upgrade. So, i count that as a win and a good use of my last RPU.

Used an RPU on EWR-IAH for a flight for my grandmother. By the time everyone was checked in she was 5 of 52 (she was traveling on consultant travel thursday), but luckily she was the last person that cleared the upgrade. So, i count that as a win and a good use of my last RPU.

Don't RPUs expire at check in?

I'm 16/18 with CPUs this year missing an IAH-LIM upgrade and ending 3rd or 2nd on the list. That normally is one of the easier upgrades in my experience. I still have 15 flights this year that are CPU eligible so we will see where the percentage ends.

All my instruments have cleared this year with the exception of 1 HNL-EWR that is still waitlisted.

Don't RPUs expire at check in?nope, you're just transferred to a different list, but the GPU/RPU/miles upgraders have priority over CPU (except GS).
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileageplus-consolidated/1354198-why-do-waitlisted-instrument-miles-supported-upgrade-requests-expire-24-hrs.html is more detailed discussion on this.

...AA starting to look much better on the route.

I'll bet you say that about all the....flights ;)

Doubt there's a ton of YCAs on this route. But they are selling sub-$800 F fares w/only a 7 day advance...between that and now flying 4 E70s daily back and forth, think they're not making any $ on the route so they're cutting capacity and making F cheap.

AA starting to look much better on the route.

I've moved a fair amount of my LGA/ORD vv ns traffic to AA. Can't beat their discount F prices, and who needs the hassle at UA. I also book away from the E70 on this route. That being said, historically this route has been no guarantee for me. Most missed upgrades over the past 5-6 years were LGA-ORD-LGA. Thank goodness it is a short flight, where E+ does nicely. I did have a lovely experience earlier in the year with an open middle seat on the A320. I bought an assortment of snack items in the airport and had a gourmet picnic inflight. Have to admit, it was nicer than F.

Regarding CPUs in general, I played that lottery game from 3/1-5/20, 11 eligible flights. I was 8/11 (missing LGA-ORD, and ORD-LGA on separate trips), but have gone with confirmed instruments since. Currently at 37 successes, and two waitlisted out of 42 attempts for the year.

I have yet to receive TOD offers, although I do believe that as a 1K they are rarely directed my way, but I do receive HOD offers at purchase and check-in.

Mr. Fish has had an abysmal 1K upgrade history this year, applying RPUs or GPUs almost every time on tough routes, and now on even easy routes, and waiting months for them to redeposit. I think he is 1 for 6 on GPUs, on both domestic and int'l flights, something like 2 for 16 using RPUs, and has only had 3 CPUs this year. We are currently WAITLISTED on a stupid MCO-EWR flight with GPUs applied more than 8 weeks in advance - non-holiday, midweek, mid afternoon flight showing F9, go figure. Trying to burn the darn things before they expire, but its damn near impossible.. Granted he often flies EWR-SFO, but he hasn't cleared a EWR-PHX or EWR-DEN round trip all year, and is usually stuck in middle seats.

Robin