Calguy, as you may have surmised, for some people (free) upgrades are important, for some people they are not important.
Originally Posted by
calguy32
Please excuse my ignorance, but could you tell me what RPUs and SWUs are?
RPU = Regional Premier Upgrade, on United, “These one-way, one-cabin upgrades are confirmable as early as time of ticketing on select United- and Copa-operated flights within certain regions.” Basically a one way upgrade with a region (e.g. North America) that costs you nothing, which is requested after a ticket is purchased, and then “cleared” by United, at any time up until departure, based on a formula that is allegedly simple and transparent but in reality is rather complicated and veiled. RPUs are awarded upon reaching certain BIS (butt in seat) thresholds (75,000, 100,000) on United.
Other airlines have similar instruments with different names. “Stickers” refers to Americans 500 mile upgrades, which apparently used to literally be stickers which were affixed to paper tickets. Now they are electronic, or “eVIPs”. For JFK-LAX one would use 5 (five) 500 mile upgrades in each direction, once again cleared by the airline based on fare class, elite status, date of purchase, phase on the moon, your astrological sign and whether or not you were nice to your mother this week!
SWU = System Wide Upgrade or on United GPU (Global Premier Upgrade), same as above but may be applied to ANY one way itinerary, e.g. New York to Tokyo.
Originally Posted by
calguy32
And is there a website that breaks down all the different fare codes?
Yes, there is or are. I’m not familiar with them but others here are very familiar. Pay attention to the forums and you’ll see references to these sites and if you’re interested and willing to put in some time you soon be an expert.