The ability to get upgreded into Business is now dificult on the SIN route since the capacity was cut in half.
I have gotten extensions on certs through the Customer Relations Dept. Just make sure you use the Premier number, NOT the (united.com) published number as Bozos in a different country answer those lines and only say "NO" to every request!
Note that the old stock for these (handwritten) upgrades or "service checks" as they were called were NOT TRANSFERRABLE so exchange of them is not a viable option.