Originally Posted by
twitch76
... book Y, print the receipt, and then change the flight to F.
Originally Posted by
AKLifetimeFlyer
I second this. Many airlines allow you to “upgrade” after booking within the seat selection process. AS is not one of them. You have to exchange your Y ticket for an F one.
exactly
that said, cue the nay-sayers who will advise OP about potentially violating corporate travel and/or ethics policy (submitting a false receipt with an expense report), even though the difference between expensed Y and flown F came out of OP's own pocket
speaking as one who has traveled on business for 10 employers over ~40 years, and who has done this more than a few times, I have only had a handful of inquiries from people in the approval/accounting/audit chain about a ticket number mismatch, but *never* has *anyone* rejected my answer: "Ticket was reissued when I paid for an upgrade out of personal funds"
in the old days of paper tickets, UA was far better than other airlines about returning the original passenger coupon (receipt) after an exchange at the airport or a city ticket office