Originally Posted by
Beerman92
If the OP was searching for flights via the website (I'm reading the plotting they did as such) then an M-fare would still show as United Economy on the search results page (with the Premier 1K Instant Upgrade symbol visible). It isn't uncommon to see A or even F fares show up on that page when searching for economy on close in flights.
I've seen really cheap H-up fares that seem to require H availability (and maybe something like PN, too?), but book directly into A. They seem wrong on two counts:
1) They can be cheaper than M fares, so feel like yet another way to undercut 1K benefits.
2) The receipt shows that a First Class ticket was purchased, so they don't work to defraud your corporate travel department as the Y/B/M "instant upgrades" are designed to do.