as
transpac noted first (posted in the UA formum) there is a recent changement of rules
http://www.ual.com/page/article/0,1360,3113,00.html
7.) Only available to Star Gold traveling on a same-day international ticket.
This is indeed a new restriction (a changement from the 2002 rules that I have in front of me in a printed version), and one more reason for me to even more reduce my future inner-North-American UA bookings (when seperated from my international trips).