Originally Posted by
dhuey
according to a CSA I spoke with, I can withdraw this upgrade request (which is still pending) for $200 and get the miles back. Or I can hope that it never goes through, in which case I get the 15,000 miles back for free.
Is she going to let the ticket value go away? Because if she wants to save any of the ticket value, she'll have to cancel it before departure (unless it's a refundable ticket), which means no chance to let the upgrade definitively fail, and a redeposit fee to return the miles.
In fact, since a no-show will cancel the ticket, I don't see any way to avoid the redeposit fee unless (i) she flies and misses the upgrade, or (ii) you find an agent who's willing to waive the fee.
$200 for 15,000 miles is 1.3 cpm, which is less than UA sells them for.