Originally Posted by
ryan182
just a guess but it might be possible that the difference between the refundable fare (guessing Y/B?) and the Z fare was only ~$500
Actually, the fare basis was M. If the upgrade had been offered in both directions, the total fare would have approximated a Z fare. But the Z fares offered at the time were non-refundable, $400 change fee, etc., so I got what I think is a pretty good alternative. Of course, if I have to change anything, all of the goodies will go away and I'll have to start over.
One rationale I can come up with for this upgrade offer is that maybe UA expects the GRU-IAD flight to be oversold in Y and rather than wait to offer UFG's at check-in or op-up a bunch of people, maybe they are trying to snag some revenue in advance. It will also be interesting to see if I get an C>F upgrade offer, which I occasionally get on Z fares.