United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - What is Confirm Upgrade option when checking in?

Given the option to pay $579 to confirm upgrade on my ORD-AMS flight tomorrow when I was checking in.

Already requested upgrade on my M-class flight when I booked using 20K miles plus $300 co-pay. 1K member. Upgrade did not clear at T-24 hrs even with 8 seats available, so I decided to pay the 579 and was instantly upgraded.

Did I just pay $579 on top of the $300 and 20K miles that I already forked over? Or is the 579 in place of that, and I'll get back the miles and $300 co-pay?

PS... United owes me ~$2K in refunds for co-pays, for a bunch of flights I never cleared. They quickly refund the miles, but never refund the money for me. Called a couple times, but grew impatient after being on hold and bounced around several times. Eventually somebody will help me, I hope.

It is instead of, not in addition of.

And call back or email 1Kvoice, you should get this back. Dispute the charges with your credit card if you need to.

1. As to the UG on the specific ORD-AMS flight, you've paid $579 and have been UG (I presume). Your miles and the $ associated with the request should now be refunded.

2. As to the other refunds you are due, you haven't explained what they're for. But, presuming they are owed, you can dispute each $ charge with the issuing bank for your CC. This places UA in the position of having to justify the decision not to refund. If UA either doesn't respond or does not properly document the reason(s) for not refunding within X days, you will see your refund through the chargeback process. You will need to file a dispute as to each individual charge.

Thanks good to know. I really needed the upgrade with meetings a few hours after I arrive. I've never seen this option before. Figured this was just a new way for United to get more money out of us. Rather that sweating it out at the gate, you pay for the peace of mind to confirm the upgrade 24 hours ahead of time.

PS... United owes me ~$2K in refunds for co-pays, for a bunch of flights I never cleared. They quickly refund the miles, but never refund the money for me. Called a couple times, but grew impatient after being on hold and bounced around several times. Eventually somebody will help me, I hope.
My understanding is that UA doesn't charge you for the copay until the upgrade is confirmed at check in. The miles are pulled at time of upgrade request but not the copay.

$579 versus 20K miles & $300, means the the miles were worth 1.4cpm. Given the low cpm and the instant upgrade, the $579 sounds like a good deal.

~2K is for co-pays for upgrades. Both miles and credit card is charged immediately when upgrade is requested, so it could be a couple months before you know whether the upgrade clears. Normally it is credited back 7-10 days after the flight, but never in my case. I just haven't done a through follow up, as I had to figure out the flights and which ones I used GPUs on, which ones I used miles and money on, and which segments weren't upgraded. Somehow the website only keeps last 8 or 10 reservations, so I can't look up past reservations even with confirmation codes even though flights occurred this April and May.

Credit card dispute is a good idea if I can't make progress with MP folks.

Thanks all.

My understanding is that UA doesn't charge you for the copay until the upgrade is confirmed at check in. The miles are pulled at time of upgrade request but not the copay.

Not true, they take the dollars out the moment you make the request, even if you've been put on the WL. Just happened to me...

Thanks good to know. I really needed the upgrade with meetings a few hours after I arrive. I've never seen this option before. Figured this was just a new way for United to get more money out of us. Rather that sweating it out at the gate, you pay for the peace of mind to confirm the upgrade 24 hours ahead of time.
Or you could look at it from the positive standpoint: UA is an operating business which sells different products, some premium and some not. You purchased a non-premium product and made what I consider to be a good business decision to spend the extra money to assure yourself of a better trip in order to be better prepared for business the next day.

You could also spend less cash and some miles and have a shot at the premium seat, but the difference between the two is that you don't want to run the risk of the steerage seat.

My understanding is that UA doesn't charge you for the copay until the upgrade is confirmed at check in. The miles are pulled at time of upgrade request but not the copay.

It used to be that way before the merger. Now they charge you both miles and copay at the time of request.