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Expert Mode: opt-in to see upgrade visibility/fare bucket data/Issue staying enabled?

Old Nov 15, 2018, 7:53 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: seanp7
Feb 2023: Many reports that Expert Mode checkbox is being disabled automatically / randomly (in some cases, repeatedly), and users have to opt back in on the website to re-enable Expert Mode.

Note on 18 Oct 2018 the fare class for upgrades changed from R to PZ
Changes to UA's Fare Classes (19-20 October 2018)

Updated instructions (2022)
Originally Posted by Micp3208
... Try this:
My United > Settings > Special Preferences & Accomodations > Scroll down past search preferences and click Enable expert mode.
Originally Posted by UA Insider
Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you know that well be re-launching Expert Mode as an opt-in feature later this afternoon. This feature will display all fare classes when shopping for flights on united.com. You can opt-in to this feature by logging into your MileagePlus account and following these steps:
  1. Go to united.com > My Account
  2. Select Manage Profile
  3. In the Preferences section, select View All Flight Search Preferences
  4. In the Expert Mode section, read and acknowledge the customer advisements
  5. Click Save at the bottom of the page

As always, thanks for your feedback and patience over the last couple weeks while we worked to make these changes.

Shannon


Archive thread: Expert Mode: better upgrade visibility and opt-in to see fare bucket data {Archive}


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Expert Mode: opt-in to see upgrade visibility/fare bucket data/Issue staying enabled?

Old Dec 11, 2016, 5:37 am
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Clearly the poster meant to refer to Polaris business. Not a big deal IMO.

To check upgrade availability, run a search as if you were going to book that flight. Search for the specific segment by itself, even if you have it booked as a larger itinerary. Since you have expert mode enabled, you should be able to see how many seats are offered for sale in each fare class. Note that the max you will see displayed is 9, even if there are more than 9 seats for sale in that fare class. The fare class that determines economy->business upgrades is R. If you see R>0, call in and ask that your upgrade be cleared.
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 11:07 am
  #17  
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Originally Posted by CappuccinoAddict
... To check upgrade availability, run a search as if you were going to book that flight. Search for the specific segment by itself, even if you have it booked as a larger itinerary. Since you have expert mode enabled, you should be able to see how many seats are offered for sale in each fare class. Note that the max you will see displayed is 9, even if there are more than 9 seats for sale in that fare class. The fare class that determines economy->business upgrades is R. If you see R>0, call in and ask that your upgrade be cleared.
When the search results are displayed, the inventory data is under "details"
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 11:51 am
  #18  
 
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Wink

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
When the search results are displayed, the inventory data is under "details"
Thanks WC. Now I found the fare classes, currently listing as:

Available fare classes:
J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P7 PN0 R0 RN0
IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9
K0 G0 N0 XN0 X0

Now I should be watching for availability in P-R fares, with R or RN meaning the upgrade should be processed?

Right now, UA is showing 21/30 and 17/30 seats available on the flights. Hope this corresponds with actual seats available.
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 12:20 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by Harry IAH
Now I should be watching for availability in P-R fares, with R or RN meaning the upgrade should be processed?
Correct. Generally, your upgrade will clear automatically if R becomes nonzero. This, however, has been observed not to always work properly, and if you observe R>0 you can call and ask for your upgrade to be cleared manually.

We have a generally poor understanding what, exactly, RN is, but R=RN >99% of the time, so it's generally moot.
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Old Jun 14, 2018, 7:56 am
  #20  
 
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Expert Mode from Change Flight

Is there a quick way to get to expert mode from the Change Flight option in united.com? I've been checking availability by using Book a Flight, but it'd be nice if I could see availability directly from my existing reservation.
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Old Jun 14, 2018, 11:42 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by ajGoes
Is there a quick way to get to expert mode from the Change Flight option in united.com? I've been checking availability by using Book a Flight, but it'd be nice if I could see availability directly from my existing reservation.
No
Unfortunately Expert Mode is only available during a new flight search
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 8:49 am
  #22  
 
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Smile Expert mode

Am puzzled if/how to use United's Expert Mode for identifying attractive flights for upgrades, etc. Is the effort worthwhile, and if so is there a current primer on how to do this most effectively?
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 10:14 am
  #23  
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Unless you take a particular flight month in month out over a number of years, and remember how the inventory changes in the days, weeks and months prior to the flight, you will have little idea how likely it is that different booking classes will fill up. And, even if you had all that data, a) you might design a different algorithm from UA's management team's algorithm, b) UA might have changed its approach to selling premium space or c) other extraneous factors might change things.

So, as a predictive tool, Expert Mode is next to useless.
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 10:30 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
So, as a predictive tool, Expert Mode is next to useless.
But as a tool for finding which flights have confirmable upgrade space, it's stellar.
drewguy likes this.
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 10:46 am
  #25  
 
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it seems expert mode now shows up on the mobile app ^^
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 10:53 am
  #26  
 
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Yes. This feature saves the trouble going to United.com. Thanks, United IT.
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 3:39 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
But as a tool for finding which flights have confirmable upgrade space, it's stellar.
Indeed, that may be by far and away its best use (other than award travel, which is generally searchable anyway).
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 3:45 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by jsloan
But as a tool for finding which flights have confirmable upgrade space, it's stellar.
Yes, and if Seth were able to update his Tampermonkey (?) code we would be able to see at a glance without having to click on Details for every individual flight. ^
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 6:25 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by drewguy
Indeed, that may be by far and away its best use (other than award travel, which is generally searchable anyway).
I believe that Expert Mode's best use is its deterrent effect on others finding where and when United hides its PZ availability. If that were more transparent, and easily known, then there would be even less chance for FTers who build these arcane skills to fly in Polaris for a W fare.
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Old Nov 14, 2018, 11:55 pm
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by JAaronT
it seems expert mode now shows up on the mobile app ^^
Thanks for the heads up, JAaronT! Are you using the Apple or Android version of the app?
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