The original poster had a W class fare. What about S and T fares? Would those be upgradable with an e-SWU?
I looked at the UA website, but as a 1P I could not find the rules for SWU fare eligibility.
I did a Flyer Talk search for "SWU fare eligible", "SWU fare bucket" and "upgrade fare bucket", but did not find any definitive description of e-SWU fare eligibility. I'm sure I recall discussion of this when the new e-SWUs were issued, but can't find it.
Of course, as it is electronic, one can no longer simply read the back of the coupon!
Looking at
Post #1 of the
Thread listing all known UA revenue and award booking codes and a summary of each one I found this in an interesting history of SWU evolution over the past few years:
For 2004 UA for the first time went to ELECTRONIC "SWU's" - and all 1Ks got 6 deposited into their accounts, and 'Million Milers' who are also 1K got an extra 2, and 1Ks who flew certain specific mile targets during 2003 got extras as well. These e-certs generally expire end January 2005. (Although my 6 expire end March 2005 as they were issued late.)
Importantly, these allowed lowball Int'l fares like V, Q and W classes to be upgraded.
What else does "like" include?
See also The Unofficial Guide to United Airlines (click on "Upgrades" and "Systemwide Upgrades").
http://www.mileagerunner.com/united/
Upgradable Fares: This upgrade may be used on United Business (C,D) or United Economy (Y,B,M,H,Q,V,W) booking classes.
Again, sorry I didn't find the earlier thread. I expect many a 1K will know this information off the top of their head, and won't mind sharing. Thanks.