If it's any comfort, I used to get upgraded all the time as a pre-merger United 1K as well, but no longer. I used to fly DEN-SJC regularly in the day of the 500 mile certs, and I almost never flew in the back. By contrast, I recently flew DEN-BOS with family, and I couldn't even get upgraded either direction using RPUs. This was flying out on a Tuesday and back on a Wednesday. Looking at the upgrade list, almost everyone paid to be up there, and I know I was offered an upgrade for somewhere in the $200 range each way. I had similar experiences last year flying DEN-LAX weekly, although that was during peak travel times. It seems that United has found a price they can sell their first class product! Not worth the price to me though.