Originally Posted by
mfirst
understandable - and maybe the best option is when/if the opportunity comes to change from Sat to Fri, to use my status and beg?
I don't think there's any begging involved. If you have status with UA, same-day change (which includes a flight the night before) is within policy, provided that there is availability in your current fare bucket.
If you are looking for previous-calendar-day
standby, which requires only an empty seat in your cabin, regardless of fare bucket -- that's more likely to involve begging.