Originally Posted by
ContinentalFan
Just a heads up for the future, check out the B fare before you buy. Many times this year, when I have time to kill, I’ve gone up the fare ladder and seen a nice steady progression with higher and higher fares. I get to B and bam, the fare drops to about 1.5x to twice the price of an N. It doesn’t happen that often; however, having said that, it happened this week on LAX/SFO and on LAX/EWR in a few weeks.
The process for upgrades is stratified, so it would only help against people in your elite status band. Unless you’re GS or perhaps 1k, it’s likely not going to have an impact.
I'm not sure that UA is offering the discounted B fares internationally, but I agree that if one were to try this -- which I still don't recommend -- the B would be the first fare I'd look at, especially if OP is connecting, as the ability to confirm an upgrade instantly on the connecting flight, or to wait for PN rather than PZ, may make a material difference there.