If you read the post I quoted, you would see the poster was referring to post-merger benefits.

DeaconFlyer-I know the poster was referring to post merger benefits and so were you, in response. This thread is about pre-merger benefits & was heading OT.

Some here seem to be confusing merger related issues with those that have nothing to do with the merger, such as upgrading on UA since this was announced long before the merger became a factor.

Additional communication as the planned deadline approaches seems reasonable.

Agreed, and I'm sure it will come when there is additional information to communicate.

But there is no specific "planned deadline" out there so people here defining specific dates as expectations of the reciprocity taking effect are basing their expectations of communication on deadlines that actually do not exist.

What can I say? I'm a planner. Mid-year really means nothing. Second half says something, early 2011 says something. Mid-year is what? July 1st? But, then just that one day? I think end of May through the beginning of July is really "mid-year" and that's why I think something a little more informative would be timely. But, whatever...as they say. They'll keep us in the dark, till they are ready. I think though not a lot of people like the dark. :p

Well it means something, but not a specific date.

Yes, having a specific date would be better for us. And I'm sure that CO (and maybe UA) will publicize it just as soon as they have one figured out.

I'll definitely give this a go. I have a IAD-MiddleEast r/t in late June/early July, and E+ is wide open on both flights. I'd certainly love to avoid the $150 buyup ;)

In fairness, there are ALOT of IT issues to work through for reciprocal elite upgrades. It's never as simple as just reading the FF elite status and processing the upgrade. This is especially true on the UA side where upgrading codeshare flights has always had its unique set of dramatics.

Billiken, I had a UA res agent (who was in the US) tell me last week that it was also June 1 for E+ and UDU's on the UA side for CO elites, but they weren't able to process it yet. I'm flying LAX-ORD on June 3 on the 8am flight and bought E+ just in case. My return is Sunday morning on a 763, so I'm no so concerned just yet.

Oooh. If true this is good news. I'm not as concerned about UDU - as a lowly Silver, I rarely see the front cabin on CO metal, so I doubt I'd EVER see it on UA - but a bump into E+ will make me very happy.

Why would you say that? The upgrade rates reported on UA tend to be healthier than those reported on CO.

I've been on a number of flights in recent weeks with empties and/or non-revs in F, even after all UDUs have been processed.

To be honest? I can't believe I'm the only CO Elite flying out of EWR who's thought of jumping to a UA flight once reciprocity is in effect...

This could explain that why UA would not want to announce an exact date for "mid-2010" prematurely. They are obviously generating revenue by leaving the date uncertain to CO elites who are flying on UA metal.

UA has a sale on E+ that ends tomorrow... Perhaps we will hear something shortly after than.

Good luck with that out of DEN...

Really? I've found DEN to be one of the easier hubs to upgrade to/from/through. Easier than SFO, IAD or ORD.