MarkXS

RSSRNotInIndia (love the name!), thank you for this great information about how the options display to you when we call.

I understand this is what you believe, and no doubt what you were told and trained, if it was specifically talked about in your training at all. However, empirical evidence from 100's of FTers makes it very clear that UA does in fact block certain OA availability. Just search this forum using the term "starnet filtering" and you'll see story after story of your colleagues telling us, your customers, "I don't see that flight" after we've confirming that it is available to many other Star airline programs. Even when the rare agent attempts a manual sell in the desired booking class (I or X or whatever for the award), they don't get it. Even though I could book that flight online with ANA or AC or other *A program miles.

If UA's systems are blocking some of the availability exposed across *A via Starnet, how would you ever know?

There's obviously UA-written code creating the interface between UA's own reservation system and the Starnet Award Availability application. It seems to most of us regulars here, that UA has put filtering in place there; sometimes filtering premium cabins on partners, sometimes filtering entire flights, sometimes filtering entire airlines within a region (like LH intra-europe many times each year.)

If you don't see it, how can you know that UA didn't take it away?

Again, thanks for the info - the rundown on the process you use to find flights for us is very interesting and helpful. But I for one still believe UA is filtering out many *A flights we customers want and should be able to book as awards - they're just not telling you that they're doing it.