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Has this changed regarding companion upgrades.

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Has this changed regarding companion upgrades.

 
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Old Nov 26, 2012, 7:59 pm
  #1  
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Has this changed regarding companion upgrades.

According to this I should've put my friend on the same reservation as me so he could be upgraded. Am I reading this correctly?

Taken from UA.com


One companion traveling on a paid ticket on the same reservation as a Premier member is eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades on select flights, and may be confirmed with the same priority as the Premier member, even on the day of departure. If the companion is a Premier member, the upgrade will be processed according to the highest Premier status level in the reservation.
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Old Nov 26, 2012, 9:20 pm
  #2  
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Originally Posted by icydog
According to this I should've put my friend on the same reservation as me so he could be upgraded. Am I reading this correctly?....
yes, that is the better way

however there are a number of system problems presently with companion upgrades.
- one if does not clear by check-in, the reservation will be split. If occuring on the outbound, the benefit is lost on the return.
- Additional there was early indication companion off PNR could be added to the list but that does seem to work in practice

see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...cy-change.html for more
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Old Nov 27, 2012, 9:31 am
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It is technically possible for them to manually request a companion upgrade for another passenger on a different PNR, and doing so will in fact elevate that passenger to the sponsoring passenger's status. However, post-3/3, the rule is that this should not be done for pax on different PNRs.
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Old Nov 27, 2012, 1:26 pm
  #4  
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That's amazing. It's the exact opposite to the way CO did it

I'm flying this Saturday. At this point should I just take my upgrade (if I do indeed get upgraded) or do I have time to have UA add a companion to MY PNR---who is now on a separate PNR?
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Old Nov 27, 2012, 2:46 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
yes, that is the better way

however there are a number of system problems presently with companion upgrades.
- one if does not clear by check-in, the reservation will be split. If occuring on the outbound, the benefit is lost on the return.

see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...cy-change.html for more
Not quite true - the benefit is "reduced" on the return (companion is below the lowest Premier at that Premier level, instead of right behind the Premier). It does totally go away in IRROPs or routing changes.

It is also possible at the desk to add a companion from a separate PNR.
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Old Dec 5, 2012, 1:48 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by aacharya
It is also possible at the desk to add a companion from a separate PNR.
It's "possible" in the sense that the system will allow it to be done, but it's not permitted per the rules unless the separate PNRs were originally one. So if the agent is aware of the rules and wants to follow them, they won't do it just because two people are on the same flight.
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Old Dec 7, 2012, 9:34 am
  #7  
 
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Originally Posted by Steve M
It's "possible" in the sense that the system will allow it to be done, but it's not permitted per the rules unless the separate PNRs were originally one. So if the agent is aware of the rules and wants to follow them, they won't do it just because two people are on the same flight.
This is a common misconception, even among agents, and it is NOT TRUE. I have had to ask GAs to contact their help desk and every time they have gotten off the phone with an apology and an offer to put my fiancee (or whomever the travel companion is) on the UG list with my status. Not only can the PNRs be separate, but the fare basis doesn't even have to be the same.
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Old Dec 7, 2012, 11:55 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by o mikros
This is a common misconception, even among agents, and it is NOT TRUE. I have had to ask GAs to contact their help desk and every time they have gotten off the phone with an apology and an offer to put my fiancee (or whomever the travel companion is) on the UG list with my status. Not only can the PNRs be separate, but the fare basis doesn't even have to be the same.
The lack of a clear statement (or specific listing as a benefit) from UA only helps feed the confusion.
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Old Dec 7, 2012, 12:41 pm
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
The lack of a clear statement (or specific listing as a benefit) from UA only helps feed the confusion.
I agree. I can only think that they want to avoid, for example, me walking up to some random girl and asking if she'd like to join me in F as my companion. The benefit is set up for those actually traveling together, though enforcement of such is practically impossible.

As an additional data point, recently I was flying XXX-DEN-PHX and my fiancee was flying YYY-DEN-PHX, obviously on a separate PNR. However, I was able to add her to the UG list with me for DEN-PHX as a travel companion. [Incidentally, neither of us cleared.]
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