Originally Posted by
livitup
Thanks for the help! Last question for now… I thought the Instant Premier Upgrade was called Y-UP in shorthand, but apparently that’s something else? I was a 1K for years a decade ago and just got back into flying this year, so I’m probably confusing two different things. Can you shed some light?
Y-UP refers to a type of first class fare that is coded as an economy fare, but with rights to sit in the first class cabin. It was part of UA's first attempt at differential pricing -- trying to make sure that F was always at least a certain amount more expensive than Y. It caused lots of problems when there were IRROPS, because agents would then explain to the customer, "sorry, you didn't read the fine print; you're not really on an F ticket and you can only be re-accommodated in Y." I believe UA has stopped selling them.
Originally Posted by
livitup
ETA: one more question… since I can’t invoice my client if I cancel last minute, but I need a receipt showing Economy tickets, would my best plan be to buy the cheapest refundable, then call in and have them refare me to F? I think I read somewhere that the Cash Buyups don’t get refunded if you cancel the ticket?
Yes. The sticker-type upgrades -- the cash buyups you get if you're looking online for an upgrade after ticketing -- are not refundable. But the lowest-cost F ticket may not be refundable either, so if you want to do this, you probably want to call in and ask for a buyup to a
refundable F ticket. If you buy up to a non-refundable ticket and have to cancel, you'll end up with future flight credit for the entire amount, including the amount that was originally refundable.