MilesBuzz! - UA/*A: Has Anyone Ever Successfully Upgraded Using Miles Without Status?

Might be a dumb question, but I was wondering if anybody has ever successfully requested an upgrade, paying in miles (on UA, I think it's 15,000 for a one-class upgrade on North America-Europe flights), who doesn't hold status of any kind. I know that it would take a perfect storm of low load factor, no status holders waiting for upgrades, traveling on a refundable ticket, and other alignments of the stars to do so. I've tried and failed multiple times and was just wondering if anybody else has successfully done this.

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity.

Might be a dumb question, but I was wondering if anybody has ever successfully requested an upgrade, paying in miles (on UA, I think it's 15,000 for a one-class upgrade on North America-Europe flights), who doesn't hold status of any kind. I know that it would take a perfect storm of low load factor, no status holders waiting for upgrades, traveling on a refundable ticket, and other alignments of the stars to do so. I've tried and failed multiple times and was just wondering if anybody else has successfully done this.

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity.

The answer is yes. In fact, there are some people (who usually travel on slow days) who have had a 50% success rate without status or expensive tickets.

However, as you note, one certainly can't count on being able to upgrade and the odds are not in your favor (without status).

Very interesting--thanks for the reply. So I guess the moral of the story is that I should keep trying, even if the odds are against me. Perhaps it will work one of these days.

Wouldn't a similarly useful question be 'Has anyone ever flown when there were empty seats in F?' If there's an empty seat in F, one would assume that anyone could have upgraded into it, including those without status.

Personally, I've been on many flights that went out only half-full in F.

Not recently, but yes, when I was a general member, I was able to use miles to upgrade on United flights. However, with the UA's new practice of holding back award inventory, plus their planned implementation of new co-pay fees, it's really apples and oranges now.

Hobo--not necessarily. If you're on a 2-class aircraft, and the higher level of service is only half-full, then yes, it would seem to be a valid statement(although I was always under the impression that certain bargain basement or sale fares were not eligible for upgrades, even if there is nobody in the premium cabin, but I could be wrong). If you're on a three-class aircraft, though, which describes most long-haul planes, then my understanding is that you need to "buy" two upgrades to get from coach to first (maybe three, if Economy to Economy+ is considered an upgrade, which I'm not sure about). Of course, you can ask the same question about business, but I believe that load factors tend to be higher in business than they are in F.

So I guess the moral of the story is that I should keep trying, even if the odds are against me. Perhaps it will work one of these days.No, the moral of the story is to try to book flights with open NC or NF space and confirm immediately. Don't just hope it will work out.

If NC or NF is available status does not matter. That said, as others have pointed out, with UA holding back upgrade inventory it has become more difficult.

The answer is yes. In fact, there are some people (who usually travel on slow days) who have had a 50% success rate without status or expensive tickets.

As a self-described ordinary, everyday traveler... I am 2 for 2 upgrading from Economy to Business. Both times without status and in cheaper fare buckets. For what it's worth, both upgrades were requested within 24 hours of the flight. One the night before and one at check-in. Both flights were trans-atlantic.

When upgrading TATL, it is 15,000 miles to upgrade IF you are booked in full-fare economy (Y or B)... and the only other time you can book w/ miles is when you are booked in M or H, where it costs 30,000 miles each way. It's not that hard to find upgradeable inventory IMHO. If ou book a month in advance, it is quite easy. I've yet to be turned down, even without status.

Hobo--not necessarily. If you're on a 2-class aircraft, and the higher level of service is only half-full, then yes, it would seem to be a valid statement(although I was always under the impression that certain bargain basement or sale fares were not eligible for upgrades, even if there is nobody in the premium cabin, but I could be wrong). If you're on a three-class aircraft, though, which describes most long-haul planes, then my understanding is that you need to "buy" two upgrades to get from coach to first (maybe three, if Economy to Economy+ is considered an upgrade, which I'm not sure about). Of course, you can ask the same question about business, but I believe that load factors tend to be higher in business than they are in F.

You generally cannot buy a double upgrade. You need to buy a C ticket and upgrade to F. But the OP asks, in general, about upgrading, which includes both Y to C, and C to F. For the general member who doesn't fly up front all that much, they are apt to see a bigger bang for their buck going from Y to C on a 3-cabin, then from Y to F on a 2-cabin.

And flying on a non-upgradeable fare has little to do with the configuration of the aircraft. You won't be able to upgrade regardless of load!

As already mentioned.. it isn't (or at least wasn't!) particularly hard IF there is availability that allows it all to be confirmed at time of booking..

I booked an "H" (IIRC) return SYD-LAX for a buddy last year... and using the guidance available here on FT!! used his miles for the upgrades both ways... 30K each in that case..

No problem at all....

Thanks all...and hobo, thanks for the elaboration. To be honest, I wasn't sure if Economy to Economy Plus was considered an upgrade or not, and I didn't realize that you can't buy a double upgrade (seems odd...if you have the miles to spare and have spent the $$$ to reach that point, it seems that you should be able to purchase any upgrade combo you wish. Then again, from a marketing/ROI perspective, maybe not). I think you're absolutely right--Y to C is a more profound service upgrade than C to F.

This thread has been quite enlightening. I look forward to any further discussion.

I'll add another question to the mix...can you purchase an upgrade on, say, LH or LX using UA miles without status on any? Now that I think about it, my attempts to upgrade have always been on partner airlines, not on UA itself. This probably makes a big difference.

8 months ago, I had *zero* status. I was "member". I upgraded IAD to LHR and LHR to SFO with 60,000 miles on discount economy fares.

there are also various way to check on line to see if a flight has upgrade seats available. i did it months ago and had success. your original moral is close. do keep trying. also... do lots of homework checking all the flights. its worth it. good luck.

Yes - I had >50% success upgrading SEA-ORD and SEA-DEN using miles in the days before I had status.

I've done this is the past - as long as there is upgrade space showing as available there is no problem with using miles to get a confirmed upgrade. As others have noted, UA's holding back of the NC and NF inventory is the problem.

Upgraded on UA several times on Trans-Pacs. I became 3P in July and 2P in October 2008.

Jan 2007 - SFO-LAX-NRT and KIX-SFO: business class, open jaw
Sept 2007: SFO-NRT: business class, one way
March 2008: NRT-SFO-NRT: business class
August 2008: NRT-SFO: business class, one way

Not sure what the chances are now of getting those upgrades, but they weren't impossible.

I'll add another question to the mix...can you purchase an upgrade on, say, LH or LX using UA miles without status on any? Now that I think about it, my attempts to upgrade have always been on partner airlines, not on UA itself. This probably makes a big difference.I believe that it used to be possible to upgrade high fare bucket tickets on other *A carriers with UA miles, but not anymore.

But zcat18 you do not seem to understand that upgrading with miles has little (for your purposes) to do with status. If NC or NF space is available, and you've puchased a ticket in a qualifying fare bucket, then upgrades are confirmed immediately regardless of status. Status only comes into play if you are waitlisted.

Re E- vs E+, E+ is not a higher class of service thus one cannot "upgrade" to it. While E+ seats are sold to GMs at a premium it is not by definition an upgrade.

Most of the answers seem UA-centric, so here's a view from another airline.

A little over a year ago, I wound up having to fly on American trans-Atlantic. I'm not an elite with AA (yet -- should make Million Miler soon, mostly from non-flight miles, and that will make me Lifetime Gold), but on the day of departure I asked at LHR whether I could upgrade using miles, and was told "sure". Needless to say, I did so.

_____________________
MM=> UA 100.7%, AA 99%

gre- Thanks for the explanation!

Counsellor- Sometimes I wonder if I should switch to AA as my airline of choice. All miles programs are equally frustrating, but sometimes I wonder if AA makes things just a bit easier than United does. I've just had consistently bad luck with AA from a service and on-time performance perspective, so I became a United guy by default (plus, *A is the best alliance in terms of global coverage, IMHO).

Sometimes I wonder if I should switch to AA as my airline of choice. All miles programs are equally frustrating, but sometimes I wonder if AA makes things just a bit easier than United does.

Yes, United seems to hold potential upgrade seats until the last minute, which can get very frustrating. However, AA did charge me a $100 fee (I think it was) for processing the upgrade since it wan't requested something like two weeks before departure. Last I heard, United has no such fee (shhh!) and allows last-minute upgrades. Just last week I had to fly trans-Atlantic on one day's notice, bought the ticket (a "V" class ticket) on United, and upgraded using an SWU. Went right through, no muss, no fuss -- and no "late booking" fee.

As always, YMMV.

If flying on a H/M fare I've used UA miles certs to upgrade from LH Y to C frequently, although rarely does it clear in advance, but I'm 5/5 over the past 1.5 years in both directions at the airport (remember it's only one segment that upgrades, any connections stay where you bought them, and you need to have the CERT in hand...)

To quote A Tribe Called Quest, "before I had status and before I had pager..." I requested an upgrade from C to F on a LAX-SYD flight, and got it.

It helped that it was a refundable fare...in fact, it was that legendary mistake fare, the r/t LAX-New Zealand for $1300.

Funny, that trip got me status on UA...and I haven't gotten an upgrade since!

I sat next to a woman on UA's Friday evening IAD-SEA flight. She had no status with UA, but had managed to upgrade at the kiosk using miles. I was pretty surprised, as I assume this is a fairly tough upgrade.

The strange part is that while a non-status pax was able to upgrade to F using miles, I (as a 1K) did not get my meal choice! Apparently they only had been catered to 13 of the chicken entrees (for a 24 F 757). I questioned whether there were actually 13 other 1K's / GS's in the cabin, and she replied, 'everyone here has 3 stars tonight', which obviously wasn't true considering that I was sitting next to a GM!

I sat next to a woman on UA's Friday evening IAD-SEA flight. She had no status with UA, but had managed to upgrade at the kiosk using miles. I was pretty surprised, as I assume this is a fairly tough upgrade.

The strange part is that while a non-status pax was able to upgrade to F using miles, I (as a 1K) did not get my meal choice! Apparently they only had been catered to 13 of the chicken entrees (for a 24 F 757). I questioned whether there were actually 13 other 1K's / GS's in the cabin, and she replied, 'everyone here has 3 stars tonight', which obviously wasn't true considering that I was sitting next to a GM!

5000 miles coming your way :) :D

5000 miles coming your way :) :D

Huh? Was I do a skykit?

This is the first time I've never received my meal choice, and while I did question the FA to see if procedures had been followed (since she was not very apologetic about it) I just ate the rubbery pasta and went on.