Originally Posted by
imani
Flight #1: I will be going to be flying from BHR-ORF (depending on the airline I will either transfer at IAD or LHR). #2 has me flying from ORF to LHR then #3 has LHR to PDX. A lot of flying for a short time. I am not a seasoned traveler, so any advice would be appreciated.
To my way of thinking, paying for access to E+ for these flights (it's on all pmUA aircraft but currently not all the pmCO aircraft - although the 757s that fly from EWR all have it) is absolutely worthwhile. You have significantly more space and the premium is not very high at all. Upgrading to C is lovely but costs some multiples of your original fare and few who pay for their own tickets will be willing to afford it.
Once you reach 25,000 miles flown on UA this year you will get E+ as of right (if any such seats are available at T-24h) but miles take a little while to get registered by UA and previously booked itineraries need tweaking to recognise your new status.
So, in the OP's case and assuming he/she has no existing miles this year with UA, and further assuming that all the TATL legs will be on UA aircraft with E+ (ie not certain pmCO aircraft and not codeshares with other *A carriers), then the OP would be wise to buy the annual E+ pass.