Keith Flyer Maven

Hello:

Apologies for the newbie questions. I'm a brand new Premier Gold (via status match). Flying with my daughter (3 1/2 years old) tom'w domestically, different reservation numbers, but reservations were manually linked in UA's system. Both of us flying on saver award tickets.

I was just upgraded automatically. My daughter was not. I called UA who told me they cannot put the reservations back in the same record (they were once the same, then were split three ways when my wife needed to fly earlier), which means they cannot process the upgrade for my daughter.

Obviously, I have two easy solutions: call UA and downgrade myself back into coach. Or I could buy her an upgrade via additional miles, but 12,500 for a midcon CRJ F seat looks like a ripoff (I guess it's 2 seats, really, mine and hers, but still...).

But do I have any other options? Is there a way to get her to benefit from my status and have her be courtesy upgraded beside me? What if I leave things as they are and go the airport? Would she likely be upgraded beside me at check in? At the very worst, I assume the passenger seated next to her would happily swap for my F boarding pass and I could switch on the plane, but i'm not sure i want to deal with that....

Are there any other options here? Ideally, we'd both fly in F, but I understand if that's not possible. Again, I am a UA rube, for which I apologize.

Thank you in advance for any help or ideas.

If it matters: here's the load from EF: F1 A1 Z1 P1 Y9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G9 N9

tkey75

You named your options. Be responsible. If you're not comfortable spending the miles, downgrade yourself immediately and get two seats together. AFAIK, you can't travel in separate cabins, anyway.

Madone59

How does that happen?

SEA1K4EVR

Even if your daughter had remained on the same PNR as you..she would not have been eligible for an elite upgrade because you're traveling on an award ticket. There are no companion upgrades on awards...only paid tickets and you do indeed have to be on the same reservation. You will not be able to upgrade her with additional miles either unless you pay a change fee...because you'd be changing her type of ticket from economy to first class..not simply upgrading.

You could ask the agent at the airport because exceptions get made from time to time...however the most likely outcome here is that you'll need to downgrade... or.. enjoy your time in F and let the stranger next to your daughter babysit! I'm just joking of course..

WhyPayRent

I would highly doubt that a GA would upgrade your daughter. As you point out, you can downgrade now and sit with your daughter or wait until tomorrow and 'upgrade' the person sitting next to your daughter. If it were me, I would call and downgrade myself so the upgrade goes to the next person on the upgrade list versus some random person. Either way, my bet is that you are sitting in the back. (Unless you just leave her back there...)

SEA1K4EVR

Domestic award tickets are CPU eligible if the mileage account holder where the ticket was purchased from has one of the Chase credit cards that add that benefit.

Seat 1F

Downgrade yourself to be with your daughter in coach.

38,000feet

Indeed. Did you pay the fees with a Chase MP card, OP?

cordelli

Funny thread.

You are seriously considering not resolving this and getting a seat next to her on the hopes they will upgrade her at the airport?

You need to decide which is more important, you and your daughter sitting together or you getting benefits from your status.

Don't be so sure it's going to be as easy as just swapping seats with somebody, the person next to her may have kids to take care of and won't swap.

I can't believe you actually called and did not just get the seats together, instead leaving a 3 1/2 year old alone in coach.

Phil Level

There have been a handful of other threads with similar situations (kids & parent moved to separate seats)

Seems the common sense advice is to arrive at gate before they start boarding, explain the seating to the GA, and let the GA and FA work it out. In the end, they will manage to seat the kids next to the parents.

raehl311

I would leave it as-is. Since these are award tickets likely purchased from the same awards account, if you are CPU eligible, so is the daughter, and if you were at the top of the list, she should be close.

So, maybe she still gets upgraded.

If not, surprise whoever is sitting next to her.

Obviously you can't sit in separate cabins.


Exception is if the two tickets were not purchased out of the same account, in which case the daughter may not upgrade at all.

You can also just tell the GA when you get to the gate to put you back in Y if any chance of upgrade for your daughter appears futile at that point.

SFOPhD

This is the key issue in my mind and the reason I would call back and downgrade myself before the airport.

WineCountryUA

I tend to be with the crows that states fix it now and don't wait till travel. BTW, at F1, it is not a sure thing, that you daughter will be upgrades with miles or CPU. Any (late booking) UA Gold will be higher of the list.

while some have reported companions being upgrades, the website is clear

Non-NonRev

+1

The best-laid plans and common-sense solutions have a way of going wrong at the worst possible time. Take care of the situation NOW, when you're in control of the variables.

escapefromphl

Since the reservations split she is not probably not CPU eligible without you manually adding her at the airport. I would try to arrive early as it may take as much as 20 mins for the ticket agent to do this, and she should inherit your status. If she doesn't clear then sit in coach with her and give your F seat to whoever is in your old economy seat.