Originally Posted by UA Insider

Hi mghorton, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I want to ensure you, and anyone else who may hear this, that this is absolutely not the case. I'm sorry you were misadvised. If you redeem a mileage upgrade award, Regional Premier Upgrade (RPU) or Global Premier Upgrade (GPU) and don’t clear the waitlist within 24 hours of your flight, the system will automatically place you on the upgrade standby list when you check-in. We are in process of getting some good information into the hands of our co-workers to ensure that this process is understood.

To offer a bit of background, I think where the confusion has come into play is that, previously United customers could request to upgrade using a systemwide or regional upgrade on the spot, at the airport. Now, if space is not available, these requests must be made at least 24 hours in advance either online or over the phone. I'm afraid some took this to mean that being put on the upgrade standby list at the airport was no longer possible. This is an incorrect interpretation. So long as you’ve redeemed the mileage, RPU or GPU in advance, then you should be on the standby list. We're working to get this message re-communicated.

Shannon