Made 1K. Yey for me

I bought one of those S fares when UA was matching BA's SFO-LHR $100 each way sale a month ago. Total fare paid: $336 USD. The outbound flight departs on January 28. There is (currently) confirmed upgrade inventory for NC available on both of my nonstop segments. Another yey

I'm supposed to get 6 electronic SWUs deposited into my Mileage Plus Account in 2004. Yet another yey

The question is when.

I've asked Mileage Plus a couple of times. They understand the dilema, but no one (including a Service Director) knows when the electronic SWUs are supposed to appear in our accounts.

If I want to upgrade, I have to buy up to a V fare. Currently it's only $218 more than my super cheapie S fare. This is a leisure trip. I'm willing to pay the money, but if I don't have a way to support the upgrade at check-in, I get thrown into an E- middle seat and don't get any money back.

Mileage Plus suggested waiting until mid-January to see if the electronic SWUs post first, so that I do not waste any money. They mean well, but the confirmable upgrade spaces and the lowest V fares will be long gone by then! And you know the SFO-LHR nonstop market is particularly expensive when you get into the higher fares (when compared proportionally to lengthier flights in the UA system).

1. If the agent at Mileage Plus said she got the (lack of) info from a Service Director, is there a Supervisor or some other type of employee I should have been talking to?

2. Can Customer Relations Help on this issue?

3. If you pay up for a higher fare, can UA issue a travel certificate for the difference back down to the lowest available fare that you qualify for (at the time of such a request), on the exact same itinerary?

I suppose Coupon Connection is an option, but I feel more comfortable knowing how I can solve this using United Airlines.

I would like to add that all of the agents at Mileage Plus and Int'l Reservations have been very helpul and courteous. They all completely understood what my dilema is and they were careful to not make any promises that they cannot fulfill.

FWIW, I would also add that one of the Int'l Reservations agents made it a point to congratulate me for making 1K. She said it should be particularly enjoyable next year because they will have a lot more 1Ps but not that many 1Ks.

[This message has been edited by John26 (edited Dec 12, 2003).]