tjackson1178

Hey fellow United Elites...

I am going to the UK on business in June (proposed flight date June 6-26) IAH-LON (area).

This is a unique opportunity as I never get to go places where my family can join.

My company will pay for me to travel business class. I am trying to find the best way to get my family (wife and 2 kids) there with me in business class without breaking the bank. I hope to pay economy fare and secure them upgrades.

I am a 1K
I have 6 Global Upgrade vouchers in my account.
My wife spent all but 90,000 of my points.

I am not nearly as familiar as some of you die-hard road warriors in figuring out the best opportunities for these types of things...

Is there a way I can secure (guarantee) an upgrade for three to London area? Routing is not an issue. Traveling ahead a few days is not a problem, leaving a few days later is not a problem.

Thanks in advance for any insight you all can provide!

kirkwoodj

Use expert mode on united.com (can select thru your account preferences), look for R fares available (R>3), book selecting W fare. Closest you can get to 'guaranteeing' I suppose...good luck.

maduarte

Also remember to look for fare availability individually for the TATL segment if you're making a connection.

I'm assuming there's some thread about this because I think I used it myself at some point.

Often1

Also consider splitting up in 2-2. With multiple flights/day, depending on your domestic origination, it may be much easier to find 1 UG (in your case) and 2 for your spouse + 1 child or even you on one flight and spouse +2 on another.

tjackson1178

Thanks for the advice. It looks like the only guarantee is to book a "W" fare on flights that have "R" seats available. I figured that out with your help... so thanks a bunch.

It looks like the difference from discount fare "L" to "W" is about $500 seat meaning an extra $1500 to upgrade the family to ride in Business. This is reasonable to me... my wife is hedging - LOL.

So while I work to convince her to spend the extra $1500, what is the likelihood of getting an CPU upgrade from the "L" fare with a voucher? There are many flights available from Houston, Chicago, Newark into London - but we are looking at the Newark connection that currently has "R" seats available.

Sorry if this sounds complicated... just trying to figure out the best way to let my family experience business class on a TATL flight. They normally fly free in economy plus on my points.

sbm12

Not sure what you mean about a voucher but there are no CPUs on the TATL flights so that's not going to happen.

entropy

Most of the airlines tend to have "summer" business specials, they may be quite reasonable compared to buying an upgradable coach fare or the surcharge, and that's before actually spending miles.

lhrsfo

True but usually only in late July and August when European schools are also out and business travel stops.

StingWest

Yes, but only in July/Aug. I would agree with the others that you can look for "R" availability. I do this trip often, not only on UA but also on VS. Multiple R availability will not be likely, but maybe you'll get lucky. Keep an eye on connecting flights - for example I recently scored SFO->IAH->LHR on a lie-flat in R for both legs (and on the Dreamliner to LHR too!)

Whether it's worth spending $500/each for the chance of upgrading: If R is not available, I personally wouldn't do it, considering that the chances of getting all three upgrades on a flight on a W fare will be probably 40% at best. If you really want to gamble you'd have to buy a Q fare at least, and then Id give you a 75% chance!

I notice that June 6th is a Saturday - that may help your odds outbound if R is not available. US-based business flyers are unlikely to fly out then (I try to go on Tuesdays/Wednesdays and almost always score an upgrade at the last minute - but again usually on a Q fare)

davidviolin

Usually one is a 787 flight - I would pick that over the 767's. Its usually the last flight out, making it easier to sleep. Enjoy

aacharya

Also consider flying to FRA/CDG/DUB/BRU/AMS and a short hop to London for more UG chances - and perhaps a longer (except for DUB) sleep.

This is also pretty important to do on the return - owing to the very high London departure tax, which increases greatly for BusinessFirst/premium travel.

cfischer

this! Look for MUC-IAH where I am seeing often R-class available and with a short hop from LHR on LH in coach saving the terrible UK premium departure tax!

Miles Ahead

Also, book their tickets and apply their upgrades before booking yours. Buying a revenue ticket may reduce upgrade inventory.

ani90

If it is just a hope then that is fine as many hopes and aspirations are never realized. Many pax don't manage to burn their 6 GPUs in a year, and chances of burning them in one trip are probably moderate at best. So if you don't mind getting disappointed (and losing the incremental cash paid for the higher fare) then strategy of waitlisting one or more for GPU (if R<3) may be okay.

I think the key is whether it is critical to you that you all sit in BF. If so then you may have to bring in revenue tickets in the mix or consider alternate routing.

Other than suggestions of flying through BRU or any city with better R availability another consideration is flying through EWR which has far more BF capacity to LHR than IAH and it is not unusual to occasionally see R=3 on 777 or sometimes less desirable 763 timing.

EricH

I really like the daytime IAD-LHR flight but it usually seems underbooked. I always get upgraded with GPUs on W fares, but often not before day of departure.