SamuelS

I mostly fly DL/WS so only have peon *silver status when it comes to AC. I made two reservations on AC for a domestic hop - one for my partner with UA MileagePlus redemption, and one for myself on a normal paid reservation.

I found it interesting that my no-status partner whom is on my UA award redemption gets: Free checked bag, up front free standard seat assignment, and Zone 2 priority boarding.

On my paid ticket, I get no free checked bag, no seat assignment, and Zone 4 boarding.

I thought it was a bit of an anomaly that my no-status partner would get these perks on an award redemption, and yet as the actual status member - I receive nothing on a paid ticket for myself. Maybe it's just a benefit of UA redemptions on AC?

Does *Silver give any benefits at all on AC other than "priority waitlist"? The latter I've unfortunately found pretty useless flying YVR-YYC; the last two times I had a heavily delayed flight once and a cancelled flight second time, both times I was so far down the standby list as a *Silver for alternate flights that I had to wait ~8 hours at YVR as there were so many higher elites and they were the only ones that would clear.

rjp123

Interesting.

canadiancow

Your partner should not have had zone 2 unless they qualified some other way.

X class tickets tend be treated better than the cheapest paid offerings (eg seat assignment), but I also don't think it would entitle someone to a free bag. So it sounds like the system somehow thought this person was *G.

*S gets you the basic priority services and standby as you noted (priority reservation waitlist is separate), but I'm quite surprised that you'd be so far down the list if the status actually registered. Did your BP say UA*S ?

Santander

Priority waitlist is indeed the main benefit of *S on AC. It can be useful on the free standby routes - Rapidair, Western Triangle and YYZ-NYC, and perhaps J standby, but probably not on much else. *S is not entitled to a free bag, priority boarding, or free seat selection on AC.

FlyerTalker70

Speaking as a UA Gold member who somewhat regularly flies AC I can tell you that I receive the following when I fly with them:

• Zone 2 boarding
• An additional free checked bag
• Maple Leaf Lounge Access
• Priority CheckIn
• Priority Security

Hence, if you can somehow move some of your flights over to AC/*A partners to earn UA Gold, I'd highly recommend it.

Since 2017, I have been unable to get complimentary seat selections with AC as a UA elite which was a benefit AC used to offer.

Speaking to your specific situation, you shouldn't expect to receive anything flying AC as a UA Silver. They used to offer an additional bag for *Silver but they got rid of that 2 years ago. As for your friend, the benefits they receive depend on what status they with AC and other *A airlines along with whether they hold an AC credit card. It is possible to attach your frequent flyer number to an award ticket to use the status you have with an airline. Case in point, I'll book UA flights on Aeroplan then add my UA number into the reservation to get the Gold benefits. Also certain AC cards will give you a free bag allowance and priority boarding on award tickets.

It is also possible that a ticketing glitch has caused them to receive these benefits. I've booked Aeroplan flights on UA metal and have received complimentary upgrades to First class (something not available to anyone except the upper crust 1K and GS members). I've also booked Basic Economy flights on UA and have been able to select E+ seats straight after booking (something you shouldn't be able to do). I've also heard stories of award tickets earning miles.

Safe Travels,

James

canadiancow

That was certainly not an offered benefit any time in the past 5 years.

rankourabu

This has nothing to do with status. They simply dont offer free seat selections on low fares (but thank goodness for their broken IT that does) like they did not a long time ago.