Great scenario.
Originally Posted by
Clipper801
You are E based on 2010 travel but you do not fly very much in 2011.
In fact, by Dec. 1, 2011 you have only accumulated a total of 20,000 Status Miles and therefore received a threshold upgrade that is good until Dec. 1, 2012. (Assuming threshold does not change and the upgrade is for 12 months from date of issue.)
You book a flight with the upgrade cert. for April 15, 2012.
You do not fly again after Dec. 1, 2011 and do not even qualify for P.
So should you be able to use the upgrade cert. on April 15, 2012?
Lots of questions and lots of assumptions here. Let's wait for the eUpgrade to officially roll out to read the "fine prints"!
How does the UA scheme work in such a case when one does not re-qualify for upper tier?
With UA's Mileage Plus, upgrades are/were deposited at different intervals throughout the year. The main SWUs are available in January if you have requalified, while others are deposited after certain flight activities.
However, if you fail to re-qualify, you lose your e-upgrade account on the day that your status drops. This seems fair because the upgrades are for use as a status benefit. It acts as a further incentive to re-qualifying.
Originally Posted by
Clipper801
No, I was not talking about from a non-status to newly mint P/E/SE situation.
I was referring to the assumption that the new eUpgrade will be valid for 12 months from time of issue (speculation and we really don't know yet) plus one does not have to re-qualify as P, E and SE to use it.
A lot of us received threshold certificates in October~December are not able to use them before the end of February. If the 12-month validity is true, we shall be able to use these threshold upgrade until October~December of the following year.
I would hope so. AC upgrade policy is that the sponsor (passenger or traveling companion) must have status. As above, by giving one year validity, the passenger is further encouraged to re-qualify to ensure upgrades don't vanish from a status drop.