Originally Posted by
slawecki
that's not very clear. you get ug because you beautiful, or an ug with miles? i spent a lot of time on the lh board. even honors guys never got free ug.
you say "me, many times on united. are you really saying that many times, nyc or some such to europe, you got an ug to c class from y? i saw an lot of nr's on ua in c going to europe, i don't know how they got there.
I have had many operational upgrades on transatlantic flights for free. They are far more than one out there, and there are quite a few threads here where others have gotten them.
They do happen, and with a bit of seat selection planning you could, at one time, significantly increase your chance of getting one. I would also guess that most people who had a system that was working for them on even an infrequent basis would not be discussing it on a message board, as that's for sure the quickest way to get it shut down.
For example in the how to upgrade Star Alliance Master thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-...rs-thread.html
Op ups Common on certain flights (eg some transatlantic). Processed in order of status - UA M+ top elites then *G.