Originally Posted by violist

For myself, I'd be satisfied with OP's 55 minutes, but then I don't mind
fixing problems or getting compensation or both.

Downunder girl's 2 hr 38 strikes me as substantially generous, plus she
has the additional trump card of UA839 - if it looks bad for her connection,
owing to weather or otherwise, they would certainly book her on that and
probably give her original routing credit. If she really wanted to stand by
for a previous flight, I imagine that she could just appear early at the gate
and not have to pay anything - might have to be in coach, but 337 miles
on a 733, well, first isn't such a big deal. What I'd do in her situation:
either stick with the original itin, which should be fine, as even if there's
a disparity between takeoffs and landings, 158 minutes is a lot; or else
show up really, really early - either for the 4:50 flight, as it's a 752 and
almost guaranteed to have F space, or for something in the noon range,
which would be likely to have F space plus give her the potential for
several hours' wandering in San Fran, one of my favorite cities to do
several hours' wandering.