Originally Posted by
PV_Premier
and how he knows so definitively that it was sold for that price.
Originally Posted by
j2simpso
I would've jumped at that offer and I typically stick to buying the lowest k fares possible. (Potentially) 8,590 more miles due to an up fare to P and 17 and a half hours in Polaris J. That's also the amount of a copay for UA's miles+smiles upgrade. Even if I had a GPU I would've leapt on it. Much better to have Polaris seat in hand than a set of GPUs on the battlefield.
-James
both excellent questions. I was originally booked to go YYC-DEN-LAX-SYD. At DEN, I volunteered to give up my seat for $1,000 certificate and was re routed through IAH, but the seat map sucked and I only had the choice of middle seats.
I was also given the $700 offer to upgrade (side note, a different screen within the app presented me with a $2,700 offer, don’t know why there was a difference) and the UA club agent confirmed I could upgrade for $700, but they wouldn’t take the certificate as payment. I thought about taking it, but I’m paying on my own dime with Canadian pesos. I’ve lived through many hours of economy discomfort so this wasn’t such a big deal. Also would rather spend that cash (and the redeposited GPU for that matter) on another vacation, or mileage run to retain 1k for another 6 upgrades next year, since it will be a slower travel year for me. Also didn’t need anymore PQM’s for 2018 so that was not a factor.
How do I know it was sold for $700? When I got to IAH an aisle seat opened up so I took it. When I got on the plane the guy sitting in the opposite aisle said hi. We were chatting and it turns out his wife bought it for $700. I didn’t ask his status but he said he finished 4th on the list (I was 13th), so either he was a 1k in a very high fare class, or a GS.
My own opinion: discounted offers for 1k/GS would be an acceptable balance between UA being able to monetize the cabin, and at the same time not selling out elites.