Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archived thread, the active thread is UA Upsell Offers to Business/First/PP at Purchase and Day of Departure (TOD)
UA Upsell Offers to Business/First at Purchase and Day of Departure (TOD) [Archive]
#1501
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 960
They should have sweetened your wife's offer because she probably isn't a frequent flyer, and they want to addict her.
#1502
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: EAU
Programs: UA 1K, CO Plat, NW Plat, Marriott Premiere Plat, SPG Plat, Priority Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,712
It's unknown whether this is malicious or just a symptom of United's IT being nless-than-stellar. Chances are your offer is based on you buying up to an auto-upgrade B-fare and hers is based on buying up to a regular -UP coach fare that books into F.
You can try temporarily removing your FF number from your profile and seeing if that changes your pricing.
You can try temporarily removing your FF number from your profile and seeing if that changes your pricing.
#1503
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,426
EWR-DFW, 1K on W fare with GPU applied.
Dec 2, $79 offered to First.
#5 on waitlist two to three hours before flight, several FC seats available for sale, 4 seats showed opet on seatmap.
Ended up #8 on waitlist, NOT ONE E+ became available during last three hours before flight, so I'm guessing all FC seats went to kettles buying up.
Dec 2, $79 offered to First.
#5 on waitlist two to three hours before flight, several FC seats available for sale, 4 seats showed opet on seatmap.
Ended up #8 on waitlist, NOT ONE E+ became available during last three hours before flight, so I'm guessing all FC seats went to kettles buying up.
#1504
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1k, SPG Plat 100
Posts: 619
This week was offered the usual $199 ORD-SFO, only difference being it was Y->F on a 744, so the offer was slightly more attractive. Underlying fare class was U.
#1505
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,366
Newbie question from AA regular
I bought a ticket for my son to fly from ORD to CHS on a UA regional carrier (I think GoJet). This was about 2 weeks ago. The ticket cost about $400. After buying the ticket I poked around to see if I could find a decent seat for him. He was assigned a seat in the back (this was a CRJ) but I was offered the ability to upgrade him to E+ for $65 or to F for $265. I passed on the opportunity.
Today I felt a pang of guilt and looked at the seat change options again. To my surprise, I was offered the same options but for lower prices: $45 for E+ or $65 for F! This was a no-brainer and I grabbed the F seat for $65.
My question is: Is this how upgrades work on UA? That they are sold to random non-status people at lower and lower prices as the departure date gets closer (it's still 2 weeks away)? Is this what people mean when they refer to TOD?
If so, all I can say is: I'm very happy not to be a UA elite. Crappy way to treat your elites (even though it benefited me).
Today I felt a pang of guilt and looked at the seat change options again. To my surprise, I was offered the same options but for lower prices: $45 for E+ or $65 for F! This was a no-brainer and I grabbed the F seat for $65.
My question is: Is this how upgrades work on UA? That they are sold to random non-status people at lower and lower prices as the departure date gets closer (it's still 2 weeks away)? Is this what people mean when they refer to TOD?
If so, all I can say is: I'm very happy not to be a UA elite. Crappy way to treat your elites (even though it benefited me).
#1506
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,686
Yes, that's the game.
#1507
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,892
This usually, but not always, means that if you had waited to book, you could have bought an F ticket for $465 (vs. the coach ticket for $400 at the time you bought).
Sometimes it means something a little different (because buy-up offers sometimes ignore advance purchase restrictions and just trigger based on fare class and fare availability).
Sometimes it means something a little different (because buy-up offers sometimes ignore advance purchase restrictions and just trigger based on fare class and fare availability).
#1508
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: EWR, PHL
Programs: UA1k 3MM, AA Plt, peasant on everybody else, elite something or other at a bunch of hotels.
Posts: 4,637
So they are showing them by selling F seats out from under them for cheap. Of course, their shabby treatment of elites has absolutely nothing to do with UA's relative under-performance on the revenue front for the past several quarters when compared to AA or DL.
#1509
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1
New to all of this...
UA 1577 LAX-DEV 1/10
Silver
Checked in T-24, seat map show two available seats in first class cabin. Was #7 on upgrade list so didn't expect to clear. Offered TOD upgrade at check-in for $119. Took it because I really need to check an overweight bag anyway.
Curious thing is now seat map shows 10 open first class seats. Expert mode shows this:
F1, A1, JN1, C1, D1, Z1, ZN1, P1, PN1, R0, RN0, IN0, I0, Y9, YN9, B9, M9, E9, U9, H9, HN9, Q9, V9, W9, S9, T9, L0, K0, G0, N0, XN0, X0
Somewhat of a newbie so I'm not really understanding what's going on here.
UA 1577 LAX-DEV 1/10
Silver
Checked in T-24, seat map show two available seats in first class cabin. Was #7 on upgrade list so didn't expect to clear. Offered TOD upgrade at check-in for $119. Took it because I really need to check an overweight bag anyway.
Curious thing is now seat map shows 10 open first class seats. Expert mode shows this:
F1, A1, JN1, C1, D1, Z1, ZN1, P1, PN1, R0, RN0, IN0, I0, Y9, YN9, B9, M9, E9, U9, H9, HN9, Q9, V9, W9, S9, T9, L0, K0, G0, N0, XN0, X0
Somewhat of a newbie so I'm not really understanding what's going on here.
#1510
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP (3MM), DL PM, BONVOY TITANIUM, HYATT GLOBALIST, HILTON DIAMOND, IHG DIAMOND AMB, et al
Posts: 5,912
-FlyerBeek
#1511
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
#1512
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,366
Thanks for all the eye-opening responses. Small wonder there are so many UA veterans defecting to AA. Well, now I know to use UA as my secondary carrier since I can apparently get dirt-cheap upgrades at the expense of elites!
#1513
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 81
I had a strange experience on 12/24. I was offered an upgrade for $89 on a PTY-IAH segment after purchasing the ticket. I accepted, but somehow it did not stick. No upgrade, no credit-card charge.
Is this common?
Is this common?
#1514
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,419
Others have gotten the upgrade they were offered by complaining to DOT.
#1515
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1k, SPG Plat 100
Posts: 619
It's unknown whether this is malicious or just a symptom of United's IT being nless-than-stellar. Chances are your offer is based on you buying up to an auto-upgrade B-fare and hers is based on buying up to a regular -UP coach fare that books into F.
You can try temporarily removing your FF number from your profile and seeing if that changes your pricing.
You can try temporarily removing your FF number from your profile and seeing if that changes your pricing.
As for these issues being a product of bad IT, a revenue-generating system would never be allowed to be that dysfunctional. It is absolutely deliberate.