a few things that are my pet peeves with UA's approach to customers.
First off, i'm a GS flyer and i've done about 200K miles in paid int'l C this year.
I usually travel economy while in the US and its relatively infrequent (once every few months). I usually get the really expensive tickets because i rarely book far in advance, i usually book 3 days before travel due to my schedule changes a lot.
so here are my pet peeves.
1) Everyone can choose a set when they book -even the person who *never* flies united can choose their seat.
[...]
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.[...]
3 days in advance is 72 hours, i.e. when the 1Ps' upgrades clear. You are buying after the 1Ps have had a crack. There's usually not much left after the 1Ps are done, especially on popular routes and TCONs. Last minute for me is 7 days out, and on routes like DEN/BOS and DEN/IAD, my upgrades often don't clear until at the gate.
As a 1K, my e500 and full Y upgrades often clear at 100 hours.