I have a flight next week that had a schedule change a few months ago that results in a 56 MCT in LAX going from Terminal 8 to Terminal 7. I am catching the flight to SYD. I thought there may be another schedule change so held off contacting them. Reservation still notes eligible for a one time change.

My flights are: SAN-SFO-LAX-SYD.

Th reason it is not SAN-LAX is because that would result in me getting a 6am flight from SAN connecting to a 10.30pm flight to SYD.

So I was going to have an agent in the Polaris Lounge in IAD work on it last week but it was during the wild weather of the north east and they were dealing with pax trying to get home..

I called the 1K line when I got home and they asked if not traveling within 72 hours to use the Chat function. Okay I understand there are pax with urgent issues trying to get home. After waiting 60 minutes I get an agent. I explain to him I want to catch an earlier SFO-LAX flight telling him the flight number I want to swap from and the flight number i want to swap to. Chat agent starts off with so you want to change your EWR-LAX flight. Ummm no - are you looking at the reservation. Oh yes okay so you want to arrive into LAX at such and such a time (which is closish to the current time I will be arriving) and I say no and agent goes and yes sorry an hour earlier. I respond yes please. Agent says that will cost you a additional if you want to keep the business class seat to SYD. I push back and say it shouldn't cost me anything. Agent comes back and says yes you are right. So I ask again and the agent says if he makes that change I will lose my upgraded seat LAX-SYD as the class is no longer available. I push back again and agent states he checked with a supervisor and I would lose the Polaris seat LAX-SYD if I switch to the earlier connecting SFO-LAX flight. At that stage I responded do not touch the reservation. I know the Chat Agent was wrong but I sure as heck did not want to sit in coach for 14 hours. So that was 90 minutes of my life I will not get back.

I am now going to ask at SAN when I check in if they can put me on the earlier SFO-LAX flight.

It is a bad state of affairs at United atm. I feel for the agents but telling a customer they will lose their confirmed upgrade if they switch to an earlier connecting flight is a horrible feeling. I have been watching my reservation like a hawk as I know loads to Australia are high and I want ro keep 1A!