chillin2345

I'm trying to score a Polaris biz class seat TATL. Award seats are too expensive miles wise (145k miles each way). Miles + Copay is astronomical (T or L class = 20k miles + $550 co-pay each way, on top of the base econ/prem econ ticket cash price).

Instead, as a non-elite, If I buy a cash ticket in B fare class, can I avoid the upgrade copay (but pay 20k miles each way) and instantly upgrade from the economy into business at booking? Or Is this done manually by customer service after ticketing? Or is this only done closer to departure? Or can I not do this as a non-elite?

Thanks.

nd2010

Try booking premium economy (O,A,R)
That would have priority over a B fare

sannmann

Only if PZ is open will you be able to upgrade instantly. Which fare class you book into wouldn’t matter.

VRFast

Also on an O fare (highest Premium Economy fare) requires no copay when applying a MUA to Polaris. If you're in PE you will be on the waitlist ahead of anyone in regular economy (except GS).
However, an "instant upgrade" at booking would require a PZ fare available like sannmann said.

jsloan

Have you priced out the B fares? In most cases, they're considerable more expensive than the discount L/T fares plus the copay… and in the (quite likely) event that your upgrade doesn't clear, copays get refunded but a voluntary higher fare purchase does not.

There is no meaningful additional upgrade priority on the B fare compared to the L fare. As others have stated, if PZ is available, your upgrade would clear immediately, whether you purchase the B or L/T fares. And if PZ is not available, your upgrade will be waitlisted, whether you purchase the B or L/T fares.

The O fare is even more expensive than the B fare and also likely to be much more than the discount PE fares plus copay. Also, PE isn't offered in every market.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

If you don’t get the upgrade, the extra money spent on a B fare is guaranteed wasted. If you apply miles/co-pay and do not get the upgrade, you get those back. As mentioned above, B fares can be considerably more expensively be than fares below it - sometimes more than the co-pay amount.

Depending on time and route, a non-status (or lower status person) paying a higher fare for a better chance at an upgrade is throwing money out the window. If you post your route and travel date, you might get guesses at your chances.

UA could be a bit more truthful and say upfront that upgrades to Polaris from coach for non-Premiers is exceedingly rare.

zombietooth

I've noticed that P+ to Tokyo sometimes has O only a few hundred more than W. This was for purchases months out though.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

…and purchase of an O/A/R fare at least guarantees a halfway decent seat if the upgrade request fails.

Kacee

Are you sure that wasn't an R? O is typically priced higher than P and sometimes even Z.

I would be much more concerned about clearing the upgrade than paying a co-pay. I wouldn't pay above an R for purposes of upgrade priority or minimizing a co-pay. Focusing on the co-pay vs. the difficulty of clearing the upgrade is IMO focusing on the trees and losing sight of the forest.

zombietooth

Oh yes, I was shocked when I saw it, and I did book O on that itinerary, but my PP UG never cleared. Usually, I am booking R, but as a caveat to others here, at least to Japan, booking P+ and applying PPs is not a sure thing. I've failed on 2 out of 4 itineraries.

I too, would only focus on the UG. No matter what the Co-pay or miles cost, it will be thousands cheaper than J. If you see PZ or I, you should grab it immediately.

kb1992

I am surprised that P+ fare failed Polaris upgrade. Did you travel on weekends?

In theory, only GS had higher priority.

zombietooth

Mid-week to/from NRT. I've noticed that the HND flights are easier to UG.

jsloan

Waitlisted upgrades are always a crapshoot, because not only does UA sell a lot of J seats outright, they also sell a lot of TODs.

This is why you should never upfare just for the purposes of clearing an upgrade.

Kacee

Yeah, if you're going to spend extra money, spend it on a buy-up to J.

chillin2345

Thanks, everyone. Bit of a moot point now that I realized inventory is PZ0 and RN0. But here's what I was looking at. I know B is often times a higher fare, so I was shocked to see B was only $450 ish more than deep discount economy L. That's why I was thinking upfaring this ticket + MUA (mileage only) would make more sense than buying an L ticket + MUA ($450 each way copay + miles) -- Savings of about $450 on the copay going with B. But again, a moot point.

I get that this route is a pretty premium heavy and important route for UA. Am I just too far out in time to even look at award seats/upgrades? Does United tend to release more seats for upgrade/award closer-in? I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to redeeming on UA.

Thanks.



B fare pricing

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O fare pricing

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Upgrade pricing

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Award ticket pricing