ORD-SFO-ORD or The Upgrade Gods are fickle (long)
Sep 11, 2000, 6:40 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Chicago, IL (ORD)
Programs: AA Gold, UA Premier Exec, Starwood Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 1,100
ORD-SFO-ORD or The Upgrade Gods are fickle (long)
The Upgrade Gods are smiling
9/8 UA ORD-SFO 2A 747-200
I had spent miles at time of reservation to get my upgrade confirmed right away. Got to ORD, checked in & was assigned seat 2A. When I got to the gate, to my delight, parked there was a 747-200 which meant I received the vaunted double upgrade! Not sure if it was an equipment change but I didn't care as I got to turn left and continue all the way to the front of the plane. FC ended up being full but with only 3 or 4 employees sitting in Employee class (at least that I could tell). Service ended up being very nice, the food was good and, with the exception of about 5 minutes of bumpiness, a smooth flight. We got into SFO on time and I proceeded to make my way to the SuperShuttle to get into town. It ended up being quite a wait since few people were travelling to the same area & SuperShuttle has a policy of 3 stops max there. Considering the weather was fabulous, it didn’t make the wait seem too bad.
I was finally able to make my way over to the house of dgolds, my most generous host, who let me stay with him & saved me about $450 in hotel costs or burning lots of Starpoints. I almost felt as if I were at a Starwood since I found what is the nicest Platinum amenity I’ve ever received! It was a white & dark chocolate piano from the Westin in Santa Cruz! He even had a welcome card with my name on it! What a wonderful surprise! As he was away, I went off exploring with visitor’s map in hand and found my way to the historic F line streetcar where I decided to go to Fisherman’s Wharf. Pier 39 was every bit the tourist trap I expected but the SF Bay was just beautiful! I was fortunate to be there around sunset with hardly a cloud in the sky and no fog. I also decided I’d check out the availability of tickets for the ferry to Alcatraz the next day. After getting my tour tickets and doing a little shopping around Pier 39, I left to find my way to the Hard Rock Café. Since I have friends that collect pins and things from the Hard Rock, I was going more for them than for myself but since I was there & it was dinner time, I decided to eat there. The Hard Rock may not be gourmet cuisine at it’s best but you at least know what to expect. Afterwards, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I made my way back to Pier 41 to catch the boat to Alcatraz. It ended up being another gorgeous day weather-wise and the ferry ride was quite enjoyable. Touring the prison itself was both interesting and unsettling. For anyone who decides to do the tour, I highly recommend getting your tour ticket with the audio headset for the guided tour as told by some former inmates and guards. It was quite fascinating; the total isolation of the prison yet only a little over a mile to the city where there was so much happening. I returned to dgolds home to help him get ready for the pre-dinner party. The festivities were a great success with almost 2/3 of the dinner attendees stopping in at David’s first. We all made our way to the restaurant where the food was quite good and the company was exceptional! We all introduced ourselves and HoneyBaby had the foresight to bring nametags for everyone which made socializing with new friends that much easier. All too soon, the night was over and we parted.
On Sunday, David was nice enough to take Austman and me sightseeing around the city, especially since it was my first trip to San Francisco. We got to ride down the crookedest street in the world, go to Coit Tower to see the magnificent view of the city from there and went walking across part of the Golden Gate Bridge. With it being another day of perfect weather, it was a wonderful time. After a very good lunch at the Cliff House restaurant, it was, sadly, time to get to the airport for my flight.
The Upgrade Gods are not pleased
9/10 UA SFO-ORD-MKE (sort of)
In order to save me some money on this flight, my travel agent arranged my ticket to end up in MKE but I was just going to get off at ORD and not take the last leg of the ticket. Here, I had also paid for the upgrade with miles at time of reservation where I was slated to have seat 2D (I didn’t get to see the equipment type which is just as well because I would’ve cried had I missed on a 2nd double upgrade). Due to air traffic flow control at ORD, they were limiting the number of flights landing so after waiting at the gate for a bit, my flight was delayed almost an hour. As we got closer to the departure time, the desk called a group of us up to let us know that they expected a further delay and didn’t think we would make our MKE connection so they sent us down to the previous flight that had been delayed but was leaving in 10 minutes. When I asked about my upgrade, they told me that First, and Business classes were both full so I had to sit in coach.
The plane ended up being a 767 with no Economy Plus. Although I’m not a tall person, I still felt cramped but fortunately, was able to get a window seat. It ended up being a decent flight with great FAs and a choice of 2 hot entrees in coach as well as 2 drink services! The food was better than expected but personal video didn’t seem to be working quite right so I didn’t see any movies but did manage to get Air Show working towards the end. We arrived at ORD and I immediately went to the RCC to get my downgrade kit for my lost upgrade. The agent there offered to print me a segment upgrade or 4 500 mile certificates. Thanks to FlyerTalk and knowing the rules that the segment coupon is confirmable at time of reservation, I took my upgrade coupon and checked the monitors. Wouldn’t you know it but my original flight arrived only 15 minutes after my new flight and since my MKE “connection” was delayed 15 minutes, I would’ve been able to stay on the original flight!!! Needless to say, I think I’ve learned my lesson on hidden cities.
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time and especially to dgolds, Rudi & Comicwoman for making the whole trip possible!
------------------
Regards,
- Anna
9/8 UA ORD-SFO 2A 747-200
I had spent miles at time of reservation to get my upgrade confirmed right away. Got to ORD, checked in & was assigned seat 2A. When I got to the gate, to my delight, parked there was a 747-200 which meant I received the vaunted double upgrade! Not sure if it was an equipment change but I didn't care as I got to turn left and continue all the way to the front of the plane. FC ended up being full but with only 3 or 4 employees sitting in Employee class (at least that I could tell). Service ended up being very nice, the food was good and, with the exception of about 5 minutes of bumpiness, a smooth flight. We got into SFO on time and I proceeded to make my way to the SuperShuttle to get into town. It ended up being quite a wait since few people were travelling to the same area & SuperShuttle has a policy of 3 stops max there. Considering the weather was fabulous, it didn’t make the wait seem too bad.
I was finally able to make my way over to the house of dgolds, my most generous host, who let me stay with him & saved me about $450 in hotel costs or burning lots of Starpoints. I almost felt as if I were at a Starwood since I found what is the nicest Platinum amenity I’ve ever received! It was a white & dark chocolate piano from the Westin in Santa Cruz! He even had a welcome card with my name on it! What a wonderful surprise! As he was away, I went off exploring with visitor’s map in hand and found my way to the historic F line streetcar where I decided to go to Fisherman’s Wharf. Pier 39 was every bit the tourist trap I expected but the SF Bay was just beautiful! I was fortunate to be there around sunset with hardly a cloud in the sky and no fog. I also decided I’d check out the availability of tickets for the ferry to Alcatraz the next day. After getting my tour tickets and doing a little shopping around Pier 39, I left to find my way to the Hard Rock Café. Since I have friends that collect pins and things from the Hard Rock, I was going more for them than for myself but since I was there & it was dinner time, I decided to eat there. The Hard Rock may not be gourmet cuisine at it’s best but you at least know what to expect. Afterwards, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I made my way back to Pier 41 to catch the boat to Alcatraz. It ended up being another gorgeous day weather-wise and the ferry ride was quite enjoyable. Touring the prison itself was both interesting and unsettling. For anyone who decides to do the tour, I highly recommend getting your tour ticket with the audio headset for the guided tour as told by some former inmates and guards. It was quite fascinating; the total isolation of the prison yet only a little over a mile to the city where there was so much happening. I returned to dgolds home to help him get ready for the pre-dinner party. The festivities were a great success with almost 2/3 of the dinner attendees stopping in at David’s first. We all made our way to the restaurant where the food was quite good and the company was exceptional! We all introduced ourselves and HoneyBaby had the foresight to bring nametags for everyone which made socializing with new friends that much easier. All too soon, the night was over and we parted.
On Sunday, David was nice enough to take Austman and me sightseeing around the city, especially since it was my first trip to San Francisco. We got to ride down the crookedest street in the world, go to Coit Tower to see the magnificent view of the city from there and went walking across part of the Golden Gate Bridge. With it being another day of perfect weather, it was a wonderful time. After a very good lunch at the Cliff House restaurant, it was, sadly, time to get to the airport for my flight.
The Upgrade Gods are not pleased
9/10 UA SFO-ORD-MKE (sort of)
In order to save me some money on this flight, my travel agent arranged my ticket to end up in MKE but I was just going to get off at ORD and not take the last leg of the ticket. Here, I had also paid for the upgrade with miles at time of reservation where I was slated to have seat 2D (I didn’t get to see the equipment type which is just as well because I would’ve cried had I missed on a 2nd double upgrade). Due to air traffic flow control at ORD, they were limiting the number of flights landing so after waiting at the gate for a bit, my flight was delayed almost an hour. As we got closer to the departure time, the desk called a group of us up to let us know that they expected a further delay and didn’t think we would make our MKE connection so they sent us down to the previous flight that had been delayed but was leaving in 10 minutes. When I asked about my upgrade, they told me that First, and Business classes were both full so I had to sit in coach.
The plane ended up being a 767 with no Economy Plus. Although I’m not a tall person, I still felt cramped but fortunately, was able to get a window seat. It ended up being a decent flight with great FAs and a choice of 2 hot entrees in coach as well as 2 drink services! The food was better than expected but personal video didn’t seem to be working quite right so I didn’t see any movies but did manage to get Air Show working towards the end. We arrived at ORD and I immediately went to the RCC to get my downgrade kit for my lost upgrade. The agent there offered to print me a segment upgrade or 4 500 mile certificates. Thanks to FlyerTalk and knowing the rules that the segment coupon is confirmable at time of reservation, I took my upgrade coupon and checked the monitors. Wouldn’t you know it but my original flight arrived only 15 minutes after my new flight and since my MKE “connection” was delayed 15 minutes, I would’ve been able to stay on the original flight!!! Needless to say, I think I’ve learned my lesson on hidden cities.Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time and especially to dgolds, Rudi & Comicwoman for making the whole trip possible!
------------------
Regards,
- Anna
Sep 11, 2000, 8:51 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Chicago, IL (ORD)
Programs: AA Gold, UA Premier Exec, Starwood Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 1,100
To educate those in our membership who don't fly UA (like cigarman), Employee class is our "affectionate" term for first class on a 3 class aircraft. Question, does CO have any 3 class aircraft?? 
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Regards,
- Anna
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Regards,
- Anna