I'm scheduled to fly IAD-ZRH in March. I have a Swiss ticket and its on United metal. Since I typically fly only USAirways and am not very familiar with UA or Swiss rules, I'm struggling to figure out the best way to get upgraded from economy on this flight.

Business of first would be great, but even economy-plus would be nice.

I know being *Gold (with US) is not going to help me, and neither will my US miles. If I can get my hands on a couple SWUs would that help? Are there different SWUs for United and Swiss, and if so, which would I need for this flight? Are SWUs even transferable?

Any other options to move up (even just to e+)?

Thanks!