Hey everyone,
I think I've read the whole thread now and am still not quite sure what's going to happen in my specific scenario:
--1K traveling with one no-status companion
--Flying IAD-DEN tomorrow (less than 24 hrs out), then DEN-HNL two days later (hence not a connection, a separate trip with separate RPUs applied), then some travel in Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines, then UA back home OGG-DEN-IAD. Everything is currently on the same PNR.
--RPUs requested for all UA flights
--DEN-HNL cleared, nothing else is
--Not going to clear upgrade for IAD-DEN since there's only one seat left.
--I want to avoid the split.
1K desk has assured me on two separate occasions that as long as I pay attention at check-in for IAD-DEN and don't click the wrong box, we won't split, and therefore will be fine all the way through until return, at which point we'll have to be careful again to avoid the split then. But what I've read here suggests that if I don't remove the RPUs for IAD-DEN before checking in, I won't have an option and it will split anyway. So, a few questions:
1. Should I call and remove the RPUs now, or is my fate sealed at this point since it's under 24 hours? It's still showing as one PNR online.
2. If I manage to avoid the split during that first checkin process, will I be able to checkin normally for DEN-HNL (for which we've already been cleared into First), or will that trigger a split too? Put another way, will having cleared RPUs in the reservation also cause an autosplit?
3. If we do get split, what's the best way to manage things on the return so that my companion doesn't lose free bags, group 1, etc?
Thank you for any advice.