Azurik

I'm flying BOS-LAX next week on a special T-fare. If I get upgraded to business through status or paying 15,000+$50, what fare code will I be given? Z-fare with 150% EQM?

Any frequent UA'ers think the 15,000+$50 is a decent deal for a coast-2-coast flight? It's a heavy elite flight and I'd prefer the better chances with the paying route.

mahasamatman

Your fare code will not change. Once a T, always a T (unless an agent messes up).

FriendlySkies

Upgraded segments will not give you the Class of Service bonus miles that you would get if you had been booked into the premium cabin..

lixiaojuventus

First of all, is there a business cabin at all on this route? I think at most you will have domestic 757s, but not anything like three class 767/777. So your aim would be domestic first class.

Second, if successful, you will be booked into NF class, which means "upgraded first". But the class relavent for mileage accrual will still be T class.

As for if it is worth it, before the copay, I would definitely u/g with 15k miles. But for an additional $50? No, thanks! I would rather spend the $50 in a restaurant. Oh, by the way, do you have status with UA, i.e., can you get into Economy Plus? I think stuck in E- for more than 4 hours on a 757 can be painful.

1KChinito

Azurik, as many have already mentioned, a T fare class is always a T fare class. If there is irregular operation and you are re-book on a different flight, you may end up with a "Y" fare. In that case, you may receive your class of service bonus.

tjtenor4

+1. I'd burned the 15k miles on domestic upgrades before, but the minute the co-pay system went into effect, the chance of me ever redeeming my miles for domestic upgrades ever again went down to 0. For me, the UA domestic F seat/cabin/service is simply not worth any more $$ than I would already have spent on the Y-class ticket. However, my situation is different - as a 1K, I'm on top of the UDU list, and have CR-1s. If I were a non-elite, or MAYBE even a 2P who rarely flew transcons, I might consider the miles + copay option. So really, it's up to you / what you want out of the flight. Assuming you're not elite - what would buying up to E+ cost? That might be a reasonable compromise...

Azurik

I don't have status on UA yet, I just recently switched from DL to UA. I will probably make 1P by the end of this year (fly alot of transatl to Eastern Europe and Asia).'

I didn't buy into E+ yet, but doubt that would make a huge difference for me. I'm 5'8" and weigh 155lbs. From what I know, E+ only gives you 5" of legroom. I don't think a person of my stature wouldn't benefit much.

From reading what you guys wrote though, it looks like UA domestic F is not worth it? I rarely use my miles to redeem for free flights - prefer to fly and get EQM. I usually use them to book tickets for friends or using it for upgrades.

FriendlySkies

I wouldn't say that Domestic F isn't worth it, however, it is not as good as it could be. Just think about this. If you are flying in F for BOS-LAX, you will receive a meal service, free alcohol, a bigger seat and some other amenities. For a flight of that length, I would go for the upgrade...

sinoflyer

OP, remember that you are talking to a bunch of us jaded travelers who get upgraded on a regular basis. But I remember how excited I was, a long long time ago, when I used 15K miles to upgrade ORD-LAX one way just because I had saved up that many miles.

Even with the $50 copay, I still think it is worthwhile to upgrade if you want to test out how green our side of the pasture is. Besides, I believe BOS-LAX is the longest transcon in UA's system.

MLRoach

SFO-BOS is ever so slightly longer (93 miles). Past that, I believe the only longer transcon in the US is AS running SEA-MIA.

kevinsac

Ahhh....out of the mouth of babes. I guess we all asked questions like that during our introductory phase at FT!

Sorry, OP....you get miles based on the fare bucket you purchased!

sinoflyer

I stand corrected!

lax.sea.jnu

Would US's ANC-PHL this summer count as a transcon at 3379 miles? Coast to coast, same continent, I don't see why not.

tjtenor4

Could you status match from DL? If you still have gold status there, as your profile suggests, you should be able to match to 1P (Premier Executive). That would give you not only free access to E+, but also a shot at free upgrades with UDU.

And for what it's worth, I'm 5'6" and 150 lbs, so fairly comparable - but the difference between E- and E+ is still pretty noticeable, and a great perk. I highly recommend it @:-)

As previously mentioned, it's not that UA domestic F isn't worth it, it's just that while it's one thing to pay only miles for the upgrade, for many of us, the idea of shelling out more cash for the copay as well is a huge turnoff. That being said, it is one of the longer transcons, and I suppose the argument could be made that you wouldn't regret upgrading... once you're sitting in the nicer seat with your free drinks, I suppose the $50 will be pretty far from your mind

As for redeeming miles for free flights vs. using them for upgrades - this is pretty OT, but I prefer to use mine for three things, mostly in this order: 1) premium cabin awards on *A partners, 2) saver domestic Y awards on UA/CO/US/AC on short-notice trips to small regional airports when the fare exceeds ~$500 or so, 3) international upgrades on UA if I'm out of SWUs (though, again, I'm less inclined to use them for upgrades, even to int'l premium cabins, with the new copay system). YMMV

Let us know what you decide to do! If you post your exact date and flight number here, or PM me, we/I can check the upgrade availability for your flight to see if you can confirm immediately, or if you'd be waitlisted. Also, if you want to status match, check out this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...er-thread.html

Azurik

United 7340
Thu, Apr 29, 2010
BOS 12:20 PM
IAD 02:02 PM

United 0209
Thu, Apr 29, 2010
IAD 02:54 PM
LAX 05:37 PM

United 0612
Sun, May 2, 2010
LAX 08:25 AM
BOS 05:09 PM

I decided to go ahead and do a confirmed upgrade on the return. I'll let you guys know my impressions and thoughts - this is my first premium cabin adventure on UA. On the way there, I'm in coach hoping for a VDB bumped, the flight to IAD is sold out, so here's hoping!