Last week I flew United non-stop from SFO to LHR. I booked a seat in Economy Plus) I am a Platinum member) but requested an upgrade to business with miles + copay. This did not clear the waitlist, which is not unusual for such a busy route. Upon boarding I found myself seated in row 20, which is apparently "Premium Plus". I thought this was not available until March next year so just assumed it was a stroke of luck while they are fitting the planes out. However, I've now realized that United pocketed the copay and miles for the business class upgrade and provided an inferior product.

OK, the seat is a bit better than Econ Plus, but otherwise the service was absolutely identical. The possibility of being placed in Premium Plus was not mentioned when I requested the upgrade. As far as I'm concerned this is an outright bait-and-switch. Would anyone seriously pay the same for an upgrade to Premium Plus as to Business ?

I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience. I have asked UA to refund the fee, but I would be surprised if they do given past interactions with customer service.