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July 3, UA 962 747-400 OP
After a week in high desert in California including two graveyard shifts lasting 11 hours, I want to fly home in comfort; I was dead tired. So I decided to go for an upgrade for the first time.

I called UA reservation and got graded to business class, 13G using miles. BTW, I was told that it will cost me 2500 miles. At the gate this morning, I was asked about upgrade award coupon and I told her what I did. She told me that I should gotten an award coupon from the customer service and issued me a coach seat.

When I protested, she simply told me that she gave me a good seat, an exit row seat. I thought at least she should hold the seat til I get the award coupon from the customer service. I should have wrote down her name and name her on the complain letter to UA.

I went to the customer service desk and asked for upgrade. The customer service rep took my MP number and hand me back the same boarding pass! The miles were deducted from my account for nothing. When I told her that 46C was not in business section she re-issued me a new boarding pass, 13G. I was told that since I check-in already, the upgrade will cost me 5000 miles instead of 2500 miles. This wan't the end of the story. As I was walking toward the gate, I noticed the name on the boarding wasn't mine! I had to go back to the customer service desk to correct the problem. Luckly, there was still seats left for upgrade. If there wasn't any seat left, I would have been VERY upset!

This was my first time on the upper deck of 747. I loved the seat! It was far better than ones on AA business section on its 767s.
It was easy to sleep on business seats. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif It was worth spending 5000 miles. BTW according to the UA award chart, one class upgrade is 5000 miles and I didn't know one can be upgraded using only 2500 miles.

I learned a thing or two from this flight. Next time I WILL ask for direction/details on procedures when trying for something for the first time. I feel I become a little more experienced flyer; I still have long way to go...

Dan.

Dan, I think the confusion comes from this:

1) If using 500 Mile Upgrade Certificates, your one-way upgrade would have been 2500 miles in certificates.

2) If using Miles from your Account, the one-way upgrade (from a full fare Coach ticket) would have been 5,000 miles from your account.

I think Reservations assumed you were using the 500 Mile Certs and that's how they booked it.

But as far as the rest of the events, not United's best effort, for sure! http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

I hate it when people at United (or any other people for that matter) don't understand exactly what you're telling them. I hate it even more when they pull incompetent stunts like some of these.

That being said, the biz class seats on the 747-400 absolutely rule. I wish I had one in my living room. Beats the first class seats of most aircraft hands down.

The Friday trip of UA962 is a 747-400 OB. That's the configuration with 3 rows of coach just ahead of the mid-plane lavs. I sat in 46C on Friday, in a full plane. Problem with 46C is that it's a very busy spot just outside the galley. For a flight that spends more time than this in the air, no problem. On a flight this short, with both meal and snack service, it's almost always a very busy spot to be. (And one of the FA's spilled a whole tray of ice on my feet.) Brrr!

Tom