I had read some rumors of star gold upgrades on Avianca and so decided to forego online check-in to give it a go at the counter. Got to the counter as a star gold (United) and asked if there was anything better for me seat wise and the guy at check in said "Sure, you're Star Gold, I can put you up to business right here in the system for free." I have no status with Avianca and my star gold got me into first class on a flight from GRU to BOG. The Avianca employee made it clear that in their system they can upgrade any star gold for free when there is room. He told me there were 8 seats open and it wasn't an issue. Thought I'd just let people know so they can give it a go to get a free star gold upgrade when flying Avianca.