Something's not right here... Not saying it's your fault, but what you're describing seems a bit strange...
1) Everyone can choose a set when they book -even the person who *never* flies united can choose their seat. And for a lousy $25 they get the best seats in the plane. For me that means that i have *never* experienced a economy plus seat. I find it insane that as UA's top status flier i will never get a good seat despite getting expensive tickets with them. I contrast that with SQ who will only allow their top tier customers pre-book a seat. If you have no status you can't choose a seat until you check-in. Seems like a good way to reward loyalty. I don't know how much UA is making off the $25 economy plus access -but it seems like this could still be compatible with having a no-reserved seat policy for non-status customers.
What routes are you flying that there isn't a single E+ seat at the time you book? I know there are elite-heavy flights on which E+ fills up fast, but for you to never experience E+ leads me to suspect something is wrong. One possibility is that booking so close in, all the windows/aisles are taken, leaving only blocked middles. I'm sure the UGS desk can open one up for you, probably in an exit row. Are you calling UGS or just taking what the website/travel agent/phone agent gives you?
2) upgrades are always processed really late. I know that UA talks about upgrading GS 120 hours or so in advance but honestly -that is complete hogwash. I have never been upgraded in advance on a domestic flight. It always comes down to hanging out in the gate, waiting until everyone has boarded -and if you are lucky you get an upgrade. So what is wrong with that? since upgrades are almost always processed after boarding commences it means that if i don't get upgraded i won't have any space in the overhead compartment for my carry-on. With the latest "pay for a bag" scheme overhead space is a premium and suddenly i have to choose between hoping for an upgrade or sitting with my bag on my shoes for the entire flight. Again as a top status customer this seems like i'm getting a pretty crappy deal from united. Why not process upgrades before boarding -seriously, how many extra revenue passengers are they getting these days 45 minutes before boarding? And aren't the rules such that if you don't check in 45 minutes before boarding you are denied anyway? So why not just process it before boarding instead of 15 minutes before takeoff.
Again, which routes are you flying? How often are you successful in upgrading? Is it possible that you are not waitlisted -- it doesn't happen automatically, you know. If you were a 1K, this might make sense, but a UGS that never clears a domestic upgrade?!? No way. Something is not right.
3) Following on from my rant from number 2. If i am upgrading and i have to wait until 15 minutes before boarding before i know if i get the upgrade there is another consequence. I can now no longer choose to go an buy a sandwich and a soda before takeoff. With 15 minutes left there is just too little time to go and get that purchase done in most terminals. Again, if this is a sinister plot for the top tier status fliers to force them to pay the $5 for the lunch box (or whatever the price is) then it's silly -with a lot of travelling i eat only first class cabin food or i bring it on myself. I can only eat so many of those lunch boxes before i get tired of them.
I totally understand this -- I often get caught in this trap. Conventional Wisdom on FT, of course, is that "if you want F, pay for F, otherwise be thankful for what you get."
When I'm in this situation, I go talk to the GA to size up the situation. Best to do this when there aren't a million people waiting in line behind you. Basically, the question is, how good is your chance to clear? The GA certainly will know where you stand on the waitlist, as well as the status of other potential F pax. Often, they will say "F is checked in full," when in fact there will almost certainly be misconnects that will free up space. A kind GA will let you know where things stand with enough time to get some extra food. Especially for a UGS.
4) i like the premium check in and security for top tier status with UA. That actually works well and saves me a ton of time. thanks for that one and don't change it!
Me too!
