Jun 30, 2013, 9:22 am
Last edit by: PTahCha
I am flying on LH, but the ticket was not issued by LH; it is a code share. May I use a paper GPU?
Yes, the terms and conditions printed on the paper GPU are explicit on this point. Note that starting in 2014, when PQD-based elite qualification starts for 2015, flights on LH metal but not on UA 016 ticket stock earn zero PQDs, so we hope these terms and conditions continue.
How soon should I attempt to request to be added to the upgrade wait list (aka as the grading list)?
Because LH policy is to not upgrade a pax if there are not enough meals for that cabin, and because catering, even in FRA, requires as much as three hours notice, you should plan to present your request 3.5 hours before the flight departs.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC, how many GPUs do I need?
Two.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. When I check in at AAA, can I be added to the upgrade list for BBB-CCC?
Policy says no. There have been exceptions reported.
Can I be added to the upgrade list over the phone?
Policy says no.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. When I check in at AAA, can the LH people there alert catering in BBB that I intend to upgrade BBB-CCC?
Policy says yes. In practice, it rarely works. There have been exceptions reported.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. AAA-BBB is not LH metal, BBB-CCC is LH metal. When I arrive in BBB there won't be any LH people airside to request addition to the grading list. What should I do?
Exit the airside area of BBB 3.5 hours before the next LH flight from BBB departs and head to the LH check in counter.
I have reserved a special meal. May I use a GPU and eat my special meal?
Policy says no. A special meal will prevent you from being upgraded.
As a pax departing in F on LH metal may I use the LH FCL or FCT?
Yes.
As a pax arriving in F on LH metal may I use the LH FCL?
Yes.
As a pax departing in F on LH metal may I use the UA GFL?
Yes if not departing from IAD. In IAD you may be directed to the LH Senators Lounge , which is contrary to the Star Alliance lounge access policy and may not be official; see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20895856-post36.html .
As a pax arriving in F on LH metal may I use the UA GFL?
No.
If I am connecting in a station that has an FCT, and I am departing on LH metal in F, may I use the FCT?
Yes.
What are my chances upgrading from J to F on LH metal?
In general, very good. The earlier you try, the better.
If I go to the airport the night before departure, can I be added to the grading list?
Policy says no, but there have been exceptions reported, such as someone who has an overnight layover.
If I go to the airport the day of departure, but before I am ready to check bags, can I be added to upgrade list?
Yes.
I am traveling on a fare class that is not explicitly listed as permitted or prohibited on the paper GPU. May I use my GPU?
If the fare class prices out to less than any one of the prohibited fare classes, then assume no.
If the fare class prices out to more than any one of the permitted_ fare classes, then assume yes.
Does the person who sponsored the upgrade have to be present when the upgraded is requested?
No.
Does the person who sponsored the upgrade have to be traveling on the same flight?
No.
Do I call the 1K desk or the MileagePlus service center to get a paper GPU?
The latter. If you try the former, it is likely the 1K agent will confuse this request with a Star Alliance upgrade request, and then tell you that your fare class is prohibited. Keep in mind that outside of M+, few UA employees have ever seen a paper GPU for use on LH.
What is the number of the MileagePlus service center?
See http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/contact/mileageplus/contact.aspx .
Or call the GS/1K phone line and select the "MileagePlus Servicing" option.
I called that the MileagePlus service center and the agent had no idea what I was talking about.
Call again.
The new policy requiring the paper GPU certificate to match an LH flight number and pax name means I cannot have any "on hand" when flying a TATL on UA metal to and from Germany in case of irrops and rebooked to LH metal, right?
According to new policy, correct. However, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20728446-post248.html documents a case where the LH employee only cared about the pax name on the GPU matching the name on the ticket.
Are flights operated by Privatair dba LH eligible to use a LH GPU Certificate?
According to, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21655941-post362.html, yes.
Yes, the terms and conditions printed on the paper GPU are explicit on this point. Note that starting in 2014, when PQD-based elite qualification starts for 2015, flights on LH metal but not on UA 016 ticket stock earn zero PQDs, so we hope these terms and conditions continue.
How soon should I attempt to request to be added to the upgrade wait list (aka as the grading list)?
Because LH policy is to not upgrade a pax if there are not enough meals for that cabin, and because catering, even in FRA, requires as much as three hours notice, you should plan to present your request 3.5 hours before the flight departs.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC, how many GPUs do I need?
Two.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. When I check in at AAA, can I be added to the upgrade list for BBB-CCC?
Policy says no. There have been exceptions reported.
Can I be added to the upgrade list over the phone?
Policy says no.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. When I check in at AAA, can the LH people there alert catering in BBB that I intend to upgrade BBB-CCC?
Policy says yes. In practice, it rarely works. There have been exceptions reported.
I am traveling from AAA-BBB-CCC. AAA-BBB is not LH metal, BBB-CCC is LH metal. When I arrive in BBB there won't be any LH people airside to request addition to the grading list. What should I do?
Exit the airside area of BBB 3.5 hours before the next LH flight from BBB departs and head to the LH check in counter.
I have reserved a special meal. May I use a GPU and eat my special meal?
Policy says no. A special meal will prevent you from being upgraded.
As a pax departing in F on LH metal may I use the LH FCL or FCT?
Yes.
As a pax arriving in F on LH metal may I use the LH FCL?
Yes.
As a pax departing in F on LH metal may I use the UA GFL?
Yes if not departing from IAD. In IAD you may be directed to the LH Senators Lounge , which is contrary to the Star Alliance lounge access policy and may not be official; see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20895856-post36.html .
As a pax arriving in F on LH metal may I use the UA GFL?
No.
If I am connecting in a station that has an FCT, and I am departing on LH metal in F, may I use the FCT?
Yes.
What are my chances upgrading from J to F on LH metal?
In general, very good. The earlier you try, the better.
If I go to the airport the night before departure, can I be added to the grading list?
Policy says no, but there have been exceptions reported, such as someone who has an overnight layover.
If I go to the airport the day of departure, but before I am ready to check bags, can I be added to upgrade list?
Yes.
I am traveling on a fare class that is not explicitly listed as permitted or prohibited on the paper GPU. May I use my GPU?
If the fare class prices out to less than any one of the prohibited fare classes, then assume no.
If the fare class prices out to more than any one of the permitted_ fare classes, then assume yes.
Does the person who sponsored the upgrade have to be present when the upgraded is requested?
No.
Does the person who sponsored the upgrade have to be traveling on the same flight?
No.
Do I call the 1K desk or the MileagePlus service center to get a paper GPU?
The latter. If you try the former, it is likely the 1K agent will confuse this request with a Star Alliance upgrade request, and then tell you that your fare class is prohibited. Keep in mind that outside of M+, few UA employees have ever seen a paper GPU for use on LH.
What is the number of the MileagePlus service center?
See http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/contact/mileageplus/contact.aspx .
Or call the GS/1K phone line and select the "MileagePlus Servicing" option.
I called that the MileagePlus service center and the agent had no idea what I was talking about.
Call again.
The new policy requiring the paper GPU certificate to match an LH flight number and pax name means I cannot have any "on hand" when flying a TATL on UA metal to and from Germany in case of irrops and rebooked to LH metal, right?
According to new policy, correct. However, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20728446-post248.html documents a case where the LH employee only cared about the pax name on the GPU matching the name on the ticket.
Are flights operated by Privatair dba LH eligible to use a LH GPU Certificate?
According to, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21655941-post362.html, yes.
Update to Lufthansa (LH) GPU Certificate Request Process
Feb 12, 2013, 3:51 pm
#1
Company Representative, United Airlines
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Chicago, Houston, or somewhere in between
Posts: 2,176
Update to Lufthansa (LH) GPU Certificate Request Process
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to let you know about some upcoming adjustments to the way you request Global Premier Upgrades (GPU) on Lufthansa.
As many of you know, the current process involves requesting a generic printed certificate from the MileagePlus Service Center, and then presenting it to Lufthansa on the day of departure. The lack of unique information has made it difficult for Lufthansa to track usage of these certificates, so United and Lufthansa have agreed to certain modifications that will allow us to better understand where this product is most used. Ultimately, this information will enable us to strive for a more reliable, secure and seamless product experience in the future.
Starting March 1, when you request a GPU certificate for use on Lufthansa, we’ll ask you to provide some additional information:
This information, with the exception of flight date, will be printed on the certificate before it is mailed to you. After that, the redemption process with Lufthansa remains the same.
Lastly, we understand that travel plans can change, and so long as the name of the traveler and the flight segment remain the same, the certificates will be honored by Lufthansa (on a space-available basis). However, it will be at Lufthansa’s discretion to honor the upgrade should any other flight details change. Since this remains a per-segment upgrade product, we do recommend printing certificates specific to each LH segment you might which to upgrade on your full itinerary.
Thanks as always for your feedback, and if you have any questions I’ll do my best to answer them. We've posted additional details on the GPU information page as well as the Lufthansa partner page on united.com
Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager – Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
I wanted to let you know about some upcoming adjustments to the way you request Global Premier Upgrades (GPU) on Lufthansa.
As many of you know, the current process involves requesting a generic printed certificate from the MileagePlus Service Center, and then presenting it to Lufthansa on the day of departure. The lack of unique information has made it difficult for Lufthansa to track usage of these certificates, so United and Lufthansa have agreed to certain modifications that will allow us to better understand where this product is most used. Ultimately, this information will enable us to strive for a more reliable, secure and seamless product experience in the future.
Starting March 1, when you request a GPU certificate for use on Lufthansa, we’ll ask you to provide some additional information:
- First and last name of the traveler who will be presenting the certificate to Lufthansa
- Departure and arrival city/airport of the flight segment to be upgraded (reminder: GPUs are used on a per-segment basis on LH)
- Flight number and flight date
- Confirmation number of itinerary associated with segment to be upgraded (this can be the Lufthansa confirmation number or the confirmation number of another airline/travel agency you used to book your ticket)
Lastly, we understand that travel plans can change, and so long as the name of the traveler and the flight segment remain the same, the certificates will be honored by Lufthansa (on a space-available basis). However, it will be at Lufthansa’s discretion to honor the upgrade should any other flight details change. Since this remains a per-segment upgrade product, we do recommend printing certificates specific to each LH segment you might which to upgrade on your full itinerary.
Thanks as always for your feedback, and if you have any questions I’ll do my best to answer them. We've posted additional details on the GPU information page as well as the Lufthansa partner page on united.com
Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager – Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
Feb 12, 2013, 3:59 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2007
Programs: UA, AA, LH, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Hertz
Posts: 1,759
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 9000 (Bold): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10A551 Safari/8536.25)
This is a horrible change given the fact that the certificates remain printed on paper. Getting an upgrade on LH flights is far from certain and having to redeposit the GPU before being able to use it again practically renders them unusable in most cases. Think of families that have multiple members traveling at different times on LH flights (as in my case).
This is a horrible change given the fact that the certificates remain printed on paper. Getting an upgrade on LH flights is far from certain and having to redeposit the GPU before being able to use it again practically renders them unusable in most cases. Think of families that have multiple members traveling at different times on LH flights (as in my case).
Feb 12, 2013, 4:01 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: West Coast
Programs: UA 1K 2MM, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 264
Maybe LH can cut to the chase and print "Upgrade Denied" right on the certificate too. That way we can save time and mail it right back. :-)
Feb 12, 2013, 4:01 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Gold/1MM, AA EXP, Marriott Plat
Posts: 963
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 9000 (Bold): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10A551 Safari/8536.25)
This is a horrible change given the fact that the certificates remain printed on paper. Getting an upgrade on LH flights is far from certain and having to redeposit the GPU before being able to use it again practically renders them unusable in most cases. Think of families that have multiple members traveling at different times on LH flights (as in my case).
This is a horrible change given the fact that the certificates remain printed on paper. Getting an upgrade on LH flights is far from certain and having to redeposit the GPU before being able to use it again practically renders them unusable in most cases. Think of families that have multiple members traveling at different times on LH flights (as in my case).
This printing of especially the flight information on there could also potentially drive up shipping costs and re-shipping, especially for those of us who have last minute trips (i.e., the SWU needs to be FedEx'd)
Last edited by AndrewT84; Feb 12, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Feb 12, 2013, 4:04 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, AA, WN, DL
Posts: 4,091
Thanks for the update Aaron. Not shooting the messenger, but this just is not as well thought out as UA/LH thought.
Consider the high likelihood of a paper certificate NOT clearing for the specific flight, and now the flight information is printed on it; and it will be at the DISCRETION of LH agents to honor it for another segment in the future? What happens if you have another flight where there isn't enough time to send the unused one back, and/or there isn't enough GPU's left in the account to issue another one while the unused one is being sent back?
I can understand, to a certain extent, the name being assigned to the certificate. It's annoying, but it doesn't make it next to impossible to salvage a future LH flight the way all the details need to be filled in.
For some of us who like to be seen as their savior amongst their business colleagues, having a couple spare certificates to upgrade colleagues on flights have definitely made a good impression; which by this process, will make impossible.
Consider the high likelihood of a paper certificate NOT clearing for the specific flight, and now the flight information is printed on it; and it will be at the DISCRETION of LH agents to honor it for another segment in the future? What happens if you have another flight where there isn't enough time to send the unused one back, and/or there isn't enough GPU's left in the account to issue another one while the unused one is being sent back?
I can understand, to a certain extent, the name being assigned to the certificate. It's annoying, but it doesn't make it next to impossible to salvage a future LH flight the way all the details need to be filled in.
For some of us who like to be seen as their savior amongst their business colleagues, having a couple spare certificates to upgrade colleagues on flights have definitely made a good impression; which by this process, will make impossible.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:12 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
Not a widely used feature, but a heck of a devaluation.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:13 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: USA
Programs: UA (1K, 2MM), AA, Avis, National
Posts: 867
Requesting paper certificates is already a nuisance. Having to get a certificate re-issued if the upgrade failed to clear only adds insult to the injury.
Somehow I get a feeling that UA & LH do not want me to use the upgrades.
Somehow I get a feeling that UA & LH do not want me to use the upgrades.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:16 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 46
Aaron, this is absurd
Just do away with this option and stop the charade.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:22 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: UA 1K, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 568
Update to Lufthansa GPU Certificate Request Process
Would be helpful if UA Insider could clarify how the above mentioned problems will be addressed before a change is made. Many thanks.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:28 pm
#10
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: DCA
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 1,653
Feb 12, 2013, 4:33 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: None - previously UA
Posts: 4,864
I'm actually fine with this, I was planning on using 4 for my partner traveling solo. I think I read that there were occasionally issues before, if the sponsor wasn't present at check in. So now with her name on it there should be no issues...
Now if LH could just stop the nonsense of not upgrading because of meals not being catered, will LH get any advance notice from UA of passengers intent to upgrade?
Hopefully this is a just a change on the way to this being completely electronic, paper anything in this day and age is somewhat backward.
Now if LH could just stop the nonsense of not upgrading because of meals not being catered, will LH get any advance notice from UA of passengers intent to upgrade?
Hopefully this is a just a change on the way to this being completely electronic, paper anything in this day and age is somewhat backward.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:34 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Raleigh
Programs: United GS 2MM,, Marriott/Starwood Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 754
Seeing as the Germans are known for being "by the book", the odds of being able to re-use failed certs seems low.
So here is another change which (somehow) benefits UA at the expense of the customer. Another example of how (not) to run a customer-centric business.
Feb 12, 2013, 4:54 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Jersey Shore/YYZ
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 12,521
Would be helpful to have an explanation of the actual problem that UA and LH believe needs to be solved. Why was it hard to track usage on the old system? Someone just needed to type in the info.
Seeing as the Germans are known for being "by the book", the odds of being able to re-use failed certs seems low.
So here is another change which (somehow) benefits UA at the expense of the customer. Another example of how (not) to run a customer-centric business.
Seeing as the Germans are known for being "by the book", the odds of being able to re-use failed certs seems low.
So here is another change which (somehow) benefits UA at the expense of the customer. Another example of how (not) to run a customer-centric business.
Feb 12, 2013, 5:03 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: San Francisco/Tel Aviv/YYZ
Programs: CO 1K-MM
Posts: 10,762
Aaron, I thing this is a terrible change; I'm curious if you guys included any SWU-users in the change discussions.
Since LH upgrades can't be confirmed in advance, its basically a guessing game if its going to work. Someone might have been flying BOS-FRA-DXB, they have only one SWU, if you tie it to the flight O/D and date, say, BOS-FRA, you don't get it, then FRA-DXB you can't roll the dice there.
Actually, there's a GREAT way you can make this work better. You can work with LH to have CONFIRMABLE e-upgrades. Those you can track easily, no mailing, no mess. Its better for us and its better for you.
Since LH upgrades can't be confirmed in advance, its basically a guessing game if its going to work. Someone might have been flying BOS-FRA-DXB, they have only one SWU, if you tie it to the flight O/D and date, say, BOS-FRA, you don't get it, then FRA-DXB you can't roll the dice there.
Actually, there's a GREAT way you can make this work better. You can work with LH to have CONFIRMABLE e-upgrades. Those you can track easily, no mailing, no mess. Its better for us and its better for you.
Feb 12, 2013, 5:10 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, AA, WN, DL
Posts: 4,091