Might be a dumb question, but I was wondering if anybody has ever successfully requested an upgrade, paying in miles (on UA, I think it's 15,000 for a one-class upgrade on North America-Europe flights), who doesn't hold status of any kind. I know that it would take a perfect storm of low load factor, no status holders waiting for upgrades, traveling on a refundable ticket, and other alignments of the stars to do so. I've tried and failed multiple times and was just wondering if anybody else has successfully done this.

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity.

The answer is yes. In fact, there are some people (who usually travel on slow days) who have had a 50% success rate without status or expensive tickets.

However, as you note, one certainly can't count on being able to upgrade and the odds are not in your favor (without status).

Very interesting--thanks for the reply. So I guess the moral of the story is that I should keep trying, even if the odds are against me. Perhaps it will work one of these days.

Wouldn't a similarly useful question be 'Has anyone ever flown when there were empty seats in F?' If there's an empty seat in F, one would assume that anyone could have upgraded into it, including those without status.

Personally, I've been on many flights that went out only half-full in F.

Not recently, but yes, when I was a general member, I was able to use miles to upgrade on United flights. However, with the UA's new practice of holding back award inventory, plus their planned implementation of new co-pay fees, it's really apples and oranges now.

Hobo--not necessarily. If you're on a 2-class aircraft, and the higher level of service is only half-full, then yes, it would seem to be a valid statement(although I was always under the impression that certain bargain basement or sale fares were not eligible for upgrades, even if there is nobody in the premium cabin, but I could be wrong). If you're on a three-class aircraft, though, which describes most long-haul planes, then my understanding is that you need to "buy" two upgrades to get from coach to first (maybe three, if Economy to Economy+ is considered an upgrade, which I'm not sure about). Of course, you can ask the same question about business, but I believe that load factors tend to be higher in business than they are in F.

No, the moral of the story is to try to book flights with open NC or NF space and confirm immediately. Don't just hope it will work out.

If NC or NF is available status does not matter. That said, as others have pointed out, with UA holding back upgrade inventory it has become more difficult.

As a self-described ordinary, everyday traveler... I am 2 for 2 upgrading from Economy to Business. Both times without status and in cheaper fare buckets. For what it's worth, both upgrades were requested within 24 hours of the flight. One the night before and one at check-in. Both flights were trans-atlantic.

When upgrading TATL, it is 15,000 miles to upgrade IF you are booked in full-fare economy (Y or B)... and the only other time you can book w/ miles is when you are booked in M or H, where it costs 30,000 miles each way. It's not that hard to find upgradeable inventory IMHO. If ou book a month in advance, it is quite easy. I've yet to be turned down, even without status.

You generally cannot buy a double upgrade. You need to buy a C ticket and upgrade to F. But the OP asks, in general, about upgrading, which includes both Y to C, and C to F. For the general member who doesn't fly up front all that much, they are apt to see a bigger bang for their buck going from Y to C on a 3-cabin, then from Y to F on a 2-cabin.

And flying on a non-upgradeable fare has little to do with the configuration of the aircraft. You won't be able to upgrade regardless of load!

As already mentioned.. it isn't (or at least wasn't!) particularly hard IF there is availability that allows it all to be confirmed at time of booking..

I booked an "H" (IIRC) return SYD-LAX for a buddy last year... and using the guidance available here on FT!! used his miles for the upgrades both ways... 30K each in that case..

No problem at all....

Thanks all...and hobo, thanks for the elaboration. To be honest, I wasn't sure if Economy to Economy Plus was considered an upgrade or not, and I didn't realize that you can't buy a double upgrade (seems odd...if you have the miles to spare and have spent the $$$ to reach that point, it seems that you should be able to purchase any upgrade combo you wish. Then again, from a marketing/ROI perspective, maybe not). I think you're absolutely right--Y to C is a more profound service upgrade than C to F.

This thread has been quite enlightening. I look forward to any further discussion.

I'll add another question to the mix...can you purchase an upgrade on, say, LH or LX using UA miles without status on any? Now that I think about it, my attempts to upgrade have always been on partner airlines, not on UA itself. This probably makes a big difference.

8 months ago, I had *zero* status. I was "member". I upgraded IAD to LHR and LHR to SFO with 60,000 miles on discount economy fares.

there are also various way to check on line to see if a flight has upgrade seats available. i did it months ago and had success. your original moral is close. do keep trying. also... do lots of homework checking all the flights. its worth it. good luck.

Yes - I had >50% success upgrading SEA-ORD and SEA-DEN using miles in the days before I had status.