Originally Posted by
sinoflyer
I would have handed over the CC and asked the FA to charge me for it. If that couldn't wake the FA up to the silliness of the notion that the drink was only meant for economy, then you have a receipt to write to UA with. It would be easily traceable back to the FA for some talking-to, or retraining.
This is probably why they are not stocked up front. It would become a more common drink for F passengers, cost too much money, and be too difficult to supply in sufficient quantities. They would not be able to reasonably charge for it as there is an expectation of a free bar in domestic F.
I am in general not a fan of UA drink pricing. I offered to use a drink coupon + my free 1K Y beverage to get one, but it was not possible, only paying full price. Small price to pay for it in my opinion, but kind of silly policy.''
EDIT: Yes, I am aware that technically 1Ks should get a single moscow mule or anything but large wines in Y for free. But I operate in the world of reality where FAs have other things going on than memorizing all the rules, and even if they did, providing consistent food and beverage service is neither the primary job description nor a primary goal of US based airlines.