Originally Posted by
rmadisonwi
One advantage (and a very important one) to running CPUs in advance is it opens up E+ seats for silvers at check-in, which, in turn, opens up regular Y seats for those without seat assignments. Especially nowadays with BE fares needing seat assignments at check-in (or do they get them at the gate? not sure), holding CPUs until the gate isn’t just a question of the GA’s workload for the upgrade, it’s also about lots of other people’s seat assignments that follow.
All because occasionally someone had something, gave it up, and couldn’t get it back?
That is an advantage to the lowest level elites who know that they can change their seat assignment at the expense of people flying in paid F who pay for flexibility.
While UA should not move an upgraded pax out of Y to acommodate the paid F pax, it also should not upgrade Y freebies, e.g. CPU's until the paid F are taken care of.