GeorgeJ

Is it unusual for 2 miles/cash upgrades to not have cleared a few days before the flight with 5 seats remaining in First? Premiere rep I just spoke to says that until check-in has happened, that the waitlist is in alphabetical order. Rep I spoke to last month told me I was first/second on the upgrade waitlist..

Anyone know how much date requested matters? I requested the upgrades last August, not too long after the flights hit the schedule..

This last rep said that it was likely that if the upgrades happened, it would be after the 24-hours for on-line checkin; sometime between then and at the gate..Seems like they would normally do it quite a bit before then..

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Sorry - there's no timeframe. United chooses if and when it releases seats for upgrades. United may decide to sell the upgrades for cash at check-in. Otherwise, you get 'em when United decides. Calling is a useless exercise unless you see R inventory available.

Upgrade priority goes by Premier status, fare class, and then request date. Anyone with higher status than can request an upgrade today and immediately move ahead of you on the waitlist. At least you're ahead of CPUers (except GS customers).

By "2", do you mean two people on same the reservation? If so, and if United only releases one upgrade (R) space at a time, you will both be passed over and the upgrade given to a solo traveler. If you're 1,2 on waitlist, it may go to 3. Your best chances for an upgrade will be to split the reservation. Caveat - if your companion is no status, that will reflect in upgrade queue. One or both or neither will get the upgrade after splitting. Before splitting, both of you will either get an upgrade or you both will not. You chances of at least one upgrade improves by splitting.

GeorgeJ

OK, thanks. I'll just assume then that the upgrades won't clear since I'm only Gold..

I'm sure they'll offer them to me for cash at online check-in then!

findark

No, it's not unusual. If there are still 5 seats left after check-in and you haven't cleared, that would be odd but far from unheard-of. Also note that seatmaps are not accurate indicators of load - is this 5 unassigned in F, or an inventory F5?

As noted, your upgrade request is sorted according to status, then fare class, and then time of request. You will be mixed in with everyone using an "instrument" (RPU, GPU, or miles+cash) to upgrade your flight, and ahead of elites waiting for a complimentary upgrade except Global Services members and 1Ks on Y, B, or M fares.

GeorgeJ

The reservations agent told me there were 5 seats remaining in First. There are no complimentary upgrades on the Houston to Hawaii routes...

Kacee

OMG nothing but misinformation from UA reps.

Upgrade - if it happens - could come at anytime from now until they're ready to close the door. Most likely would be right around T-24, around T-2, or within 30 minutes of departure. Good luck!

GeorgeJ

Which was the misinformation? That the upgrade waitlist until check-in is alphabetical? Or that the one rep saw that I was first on the list at that time?

tcp1

Or, like has happened to me three times this year, when you're sitting in your seat in E+ about 60 seconds before the door closes... At which time you can still be downgraded when someone shows up late.

It ain't over until you're up in the air.

jsloan

Definitely the first part -- prior to the day of departure, the waitlist is sorted by status, then by fare class, and then by time of request (earlier is better). The day-of-departure standby upgrade list is sorted by status, then by fare class, and then by time of check in (again, earlier is better).

It's likely that the second part was made up as well. Agents aren't really supposed to tell people their status on the waitlist, and I certainly wouldn't trust the position they gave me if they also told me it was sorted alphabetically.

Customers who clear the waitlist are listed alphabetically.

Also, just FYI -- if you don't clear in advance, your request will be transferred to the day-of-departure standby list, which will be cleared at the gate. Only people who have checked in for the flight will appear on that list. It is not uncommon to be #1 or #2 if you check in 24 hours before the flight, only to float down the list slowly as higher-status passengers will check in.

While there are no CPUs on the IAH-HNL route, keep in mind that every Plat gets 2 RPUs and every 1K gets at least 4. Pretty much every Plat/1K/GS with an available instrument is likely to use one on any given Hawaii flight.

Kacee

This part:

And this one:

That you are one and two on the waitlist, who knows, but you can never rely on what they tell you about that.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Well (now that we know which route it is), the good news is it's a leisure route that'll see few last-minute F purchases and not too many Premiers buying tickets at last minute and applying certificates. You have a decent chance for the upgrades (depending what "a few days from now" means to you). Good luck!

Aloha!

sexykitten7

[strike]Actually, I don't think that's true.[strike] Coincidentally I just did the same thing this week (SAN-OGG RT) on a split PNR (SAN TA split without my knowledge).

Since this is a MUA, a res agent told me the computer can see the miles came from an elite account. Well lo and behold, my GM "companion" got a free bag and oddly enough group 1 boarding (higher than me as we hadn't cleared into First).

Only 2 seats left the whole day and thankfully we were still 1/2 at the airport. Went to the gate to get our upgrades and the people in front of us were asking about the cash price! It was $390. Thankfully they didn’t bite and we got our seats.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Companions get the same bag benefits if travelling together. You may not think it's true, but you were just lucky. Don't read anything into a glitch (the BG1 your companion got also suggests a glitch) - or he/she may have gotent an upgrade on a leg and was unaware of it. Here's the policy (and it applies to split PNRs). : "Waitlist confirmation priority is based on the Premier status of the traveler. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation". If two seats were available and only two people were requesting MUAs, status didn't matter - you were a Silver at 1 & 2 and got an upgrade - he/she could have gotten one w/o status. Forget what any agent tells you on the phone - most of them have a very shallow understanding of the rules and how the list clears.

nomad420

I have had companions traveling with me on a split PNR get thrown a bone occasionally of free bags and early boarding (with me) but never did I see them get upgrade waitlisted at my status level (unless of course traveling on same PNR). This has caused me head ache and embarrassment many times over the past years when I had bought my companions ticket with mine and the PNR got inadvertently split (i.e. auto check in days).

sexykitten7

Good points! I agree that catching the upgrade doesn't prove status since we were the only instrument-supported people left. He was likely classed as a GM by the system. And now that I think about it, he was upgraded LAX-SAN. So does that grant free bags in OGG?

So complicated! Just when you think you understand the system...

Oh dear! I wonder if the GA can move them (or upgrade out of order)?