UACO has made the calculus here very difficult. Certainly split your husband off, he'd prevent any possible UG and as a non-status on his own res he may get a cheaper buy up offer at checkin. You and your son will be eligible for the UG in advance, if you can clear together. If you want the highest chance of UG for you, you'll have to split from your son at checkin time to get on the upgrade standby list. This of course makes your son's upgrade situation on the return murky, it's wildly inconsistent if he'll be upgrade eligible.
Originally Posted by
thaliajen
Thanks for the info. I'll try calling UA again. As for no Complimentary Upgrades for Gold, is that b/c of ORD? I've been getting my upgrades from DTW-iAH and IAH to wherever, about 90 percent of the time. Granted, I usually book pretty late (within a week of my departure) and always travel solo. But I avoid ORD like the plague.
The hub doesn't matter a lot, it's status and fare. Did you book this vacation last minute for a high fare like you do for your other trips?