Upgrade denied
 

After being a OnePass Platinum member for several years, I moved from Houston to SF and lost my status. I never realized how horribly One Pass treats its non-status members.

I booked a trip from SF to EWR using miles and used the First class reward. Although First wasn't available on the outward bound flight, the agent told me that I would be first in line for an upgrade since I has paid for the ticket using points.

Now, a day before the flight, I learned that apparently they never put me on an upgrade list and I will not be upgraded. The upgrade standby list shows that eight other passengers were upgraded this morning, and I'm not even on the list of people to be upgraded. When I called, the agent told me that she can't even be put me on the upgrade standby list until I arrive at the airport, and then I will be put in line behind all the elites who are already on it. In other words, instead of being first in line like the agent told me when I made the reservation, I will be last in line.

It pays to be loyal to Continental, but they sure are vindictive to anyone who loses their status.

if you paid for your ticket with miles then your ticket is not eligible for an upgrade

I'm not familiar with OnePass, but I think what the OP was saying is that he bought an F ticket with miles, but F was not available for one of the segments. So, technically, he had paid for F. I'm guessing what the OP misunderstood is that (s)he would be first on the upgrade list at the airport (after informing an agent of the situation), and not first on the EUA list...

I read it as the OP had redeemed for a F reward but confirmed in Y, playing the "Plan B" game. They were apparently never waitlisted by the agent when booking the reward (first potential CO mistake) and then were not listed as a displaced F passenger at the airport (second potential CO mistake). Displaced F passengers (a/k/a PR-1 standby list) do show on the PDA site as pending, though I'm not sure how they show after they move into F.

OP, can you confirm that you redeemed a F reward and confirmed initially into Y? How many miles did you redeem and do you remember the code on your OnePass statement for the redemption?

FWIW, I don't think that this is related to your loss of status as much as it is related to CO rarely processing rewards in this way and just not getting it right because they don't do it enough.

I think you hit the nail right on the head , this happened to me not too long ago and the agents refused to put me on the Upgrade list.

Ill never forget her quote after I asked her to be put on the list
"I have been doing this for twenty years, If you know so much about CO why don't you work here " :rolleyes:

This has happened to me as a platinum elite, and has nothing to do with being vindictive on CO's part. It's a matter of the agent making a mistake and not placing you on the upgrade list when you booked the ticket with miles. Next time, it would be a good idea for you to check back well before the EUAs run to ensure that you'll be upgraded when a seat opens up. Don't wait until the day before the flight. Just call every few days to ask if there's a seat in F available.

This happened to me when I booked a reward ticket. I had to affirmatively request to be put on the waitlist.

The OP should get his/her miles back is she paid for F and did not get it. However, let this be a lesson to all, do not assume you are on the waitlist. Always check your reservation as it will tell you if you are on the waitlist.

If you redeem F and can only confirm Y Don't they tell you , that you will not get your miles back if F does not clear ?

Confirmed and reconfirmed
 

Sorry for the misunderstanding, yes, I redeemed an F reward, but they could only confirm me initially into Y.

And I called customer service over and over again to confirm that I was on the waitlist (as recently as last night.) And each time they told me that I was on the waitlist and that the upgrade would be processed as soon as they released the seats.

By the way, I got an e-mail from Continental this morning titled "Continental Airlines Waitlist Notification for Confirmation for XXXXXX." The entire body of the e-mail said: "We're sorry, but continental.com was unable to complete your request due to a technical problem." Shortly thereafter, they upgraded eight others and I'm not even on the waitlist.

When I called customer service this morning, they told me that every Elite passenger must be upgraded before I will be upgraded, despite the fact that I already paid for F with miles. Seems pretty unfair.

The CSR got it wrong. Sortof. If you have not cleared by T-24h you do have the waitlist removed. At that point EUAs can run (and it seems that they did). But also at that point you should be added to the airport list as a PR-1, putting you above everyone else as a displaced F passenger. So there is a window there where you aren't actually on the top of the list.

But you should be listed as a PR-1 at the gate.

Lots more details about how it works in the FAQ post about it (though that post is focused on BF rewards it should work the same).

If you haven't flown yet you still have a pretty decent shot of getting someone at the airport to put you on the list correctly as a PR-1. But no one on the phone will be able to help you at this point as your only chance is at the airport.

PS- Welcome to FlyerTalk!! I didn't notice that this was your first post with us when I was reading before.

It is, in fact, unfair. And contrary to their own rules for how upgrades are supposed to be processed. Sorry you the short-end of this stick, perhaps they can rectify at the airport when you inform them that you are a displaced first class passenger.

I find amazing there were 8 seats available for upgrade on a transcon between SF and EWR.

Thanks. I'm hoping that this was just a technical problem on CO's part and that this is not really how they treat their customers. CO has always been my favorite airline and I gloat about my fond memories with them to anyone who will listen. Since moving from Houston, I've had to hold my nose and fly United, but I still fly CO whenever I can. This experience with CO, however, has left a bad taste in my mouth.

A few things ive seen in my experience....

your online res should have shown an additional segment, with a statment in red. "this segment has been waitlisted." does CO not do this anymore?

you can book a RT F reward and only confirm in F on some segments. you should get a refund if you dont get F, but only if all segments on that 1/2 of the trip is in Y. eg. SFO-EWR-SFO. if the outbound doesnt clear, you should get miles back as the entire OW portion of that trip did not clear. if it was SFO-IAH-EWR-IAH-SFO, and only certain segments didnt clear, you would not get a refund as portions of each of the OW's did clear.

seats have to open in the F reward fare bucket for you to be moved up. you can be on the waitlist, but if seats in that fare bucket dont open, you'll never get upgraded. seats in the upgrade bucket (EUA's and mileage upgrades) may open, and those passsengers will get up'd, but you will still be in the back. very silly CO policy in my opinion.

Yep, they still do this and I had the additional segment up until this morning. Also, the seat map has always shown several empty FC seats. 24 hours before the flight, the additional segment erased, CO filled all the open seats with the eight EUA's. Now, I'm not even on the upgrade standby list.

I fall into the second category - this is 1/2 of the leg to Delhi. So it looks like I get no refund.

I doubt those were recent upgrades but rather a list of passengers who booked Y and were upgraded at purchase to F. IME, buying full Y causes you to show as "upgraded" on the pda site.

And you will not be until you are at the airport and ask to be placed on the PR-1 list as a displaced passenger. You do understand this now, right?? I've only posted it three times. ;)

Thanks for the explanation.

id still raise a fuss. my little bro didnt get confirmed in domestic F on our return from GIG even after the GIG agent swore he was on list and would receive a seat while en route to IAH.

PC agent in IAH confirmed that numerous elites were up'd. i sent a in a nice, but stern, letter to CO. they refund me 30K of the 70K used for the BF RT. that was a bit much on CO's part, but very nice of them regardless.

Oh yes, I understand. But First is already full, and there are three people on the upgrade standby list, so I'm sure being put on the standby list upon arrival at the airport will be a futile effort.

Well, you would go ahead of the 3 people on the standby list and in case someone no-shows (or changes) you'll get their seat. Maybe unlikely, but not impossible.

Is this ability to stand by for first class on an F award that could only be confirmed in coach (Plan B) applicable for non-elites? I believe that if this were an international segment then only elites can stand by for BusinessFirst. Is the policy less restrictive for domestic itineraries?

See "Standby for International Rewards" on this page.