2012 "Upsell Offers to Business/F (UFC, PCU)" Questions/Discussion [Paid Upgrades]
Jan 3, 2012, 10:32 pm
#16
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,169
Sitting in a meeting room today with 2 folks, one an expiring 1K, another a US elite.
Jan 4 LAX-NRT
1K paid $2200 (travel continues to SE Asia) and WL with SWU
US elite paid $1400 (same itinerary). Upon online-check in offered $589 upgrade to C. "opt for opulence"
(I told him to decline due to being old config).
The 1K wasn't aware of the massive downgrades to MP (and United generally) due to the infestation of CO. It was great to have a ready-made example for our quick discussion on the topic. He booked his March trip on SQ later in the afternoon. ^
Jan 4 LAX-NRT
1K paid $2200 (travel continues to SE Asia) and WL with SWU
US elite paid $1400 (same itinerary). Upon online-check in offered $589 upgrade to C. "opt for opulence"
(I told him to decline due to being old config).The 1K wasn't aware of the massive downgrades to MP (and United generally) due to the infestation of CO. It was great to have a ready-made example for our quick discussion on the topic. He booked his March trip on SQ later in the afternoon. ^
Jan 3, 2012, 10:45 pm
#17
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
In my case, I 'knew' that the liklihood of an SWU clearing was very close to zero... And I am travelling with my wife, so two SWU's clearing? Probably not.
My choices?
- Buy Y ($2.5K each R/T) and plan to sit in E+
- Buy Y (W) and SWU - I do not recall what the W fares cost.
- Buy Y and hope for a miles plus copay upgrade - 30,000 miles plus $500 (I think)
- Spend lots of miles for business award seats... Standard awards.
- Spend $7.8K R/T to buy C class seats (Z)
Then I read yyzprincess' post and decided to try her suggestion. Bought low fare Y, applied for (and waitlisted for) a miles/copay upgrade to C. Looked for the the Premium Upsell offer, and bought it. $5K per seat for F SFO-SYD R/T.
If I had been confident that my SWU's would clear, I probably would not have gone with this option.
The fact that it ended up booking in to A was not consequential to my decision... However, I am glad it did and I will take the extra 50% EQM and RDM!
My choices?
- Buy Y ($2.5K each R/T) and plan to sit in E+
- Buy Y (W) and SWU - I do not recall what the W fares cost.
- Buy Y and hope for a miles plus copay upgrade - 30,000 miles plus $500 (I think)
- Spend lots of miles for business award seats... Standard awards.
- Spend $7.8K R/T to buy C class seats (Z)
Then I read yyzprincess' post and decided to try her suggestion. Bought low fare Y, applied for (and waitlisted for) a miles/copay upgrade to C. Looked for the the Premium Upsell offer, and bought it. $5K per seat for F SFO-SYD R/T.
If I had been confident that my SWU's would clear, I probably would not have gone with this option.
The fact that it ended up booking in to A was not consequential to my decision... However, I am glad it did and I will take the extra 50% EQM and RDM!
I had absolutely zero problems either direction. Nobody questioned the double upgrade. We went to the SFO IFL for a couple of hours on our outbound, and today to the Air NZ lounge for an hour or so at SYD. Thanks UA.
I ended up buying the same tickets for my children as well, and it definitely made our first days in Australia and our first day back here so much easier as we all slept for 6 + hours in the very comfortable F suites.
All in all, very happy with the choce I made. 4 Y tickets were about $10K, and there is no way my SWU's would have cleared on this route on our dates. So, for an extra $10K, we all four flew R/T in F.
Some stats:
Booked with my UA MP Visa - triple RDM's - so $20K of tickets = 60K RDM's
Booked in to A so I received 18,543 RDM's each direction with the elite bonus. Family received 11,126 RDM's each direction since none have status. 11,126 (150% of 7,417) EQM's too for the A class booking.
Jan 3, 2012, 10:53 pm
#18
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,169
Jan 4, 2012, 1:04 am
#20
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 211
IAH-LAS Round Trip
Purchase T fare
Offered $503 each way
PCU-Offered on co.com
Hell to tha no
Purchase T fare
Offered $503 each way
PCU-Offered on co.com
Accept it?
Jan 4, 2012, 8:52 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Will upsell price go down?
SFO-KIX $999 each way from (K) and (S) fare respectively to business
Still lots of seats available for mid-March flight.
SFO-KIX
F6, A6, C9, D9, Z9, Y9, B9, E0, M9, U9, H9, Q9, V9, W9, T9, S9, K9, L9, G9, XY9, NY9, XF0, NF0, J9, XC1, NC8
KIX-SFO
F7, A7, C9, D9, Z9, Y9, B9, E0, M9, U9, H9, Q9, V9, W9, T9, S9, K9, L9, G0, XY0, NY0, XF0, NF1, J9, XC3, NC9
Any chance the price will go down in the next couple months? I know my mother was offered $300 each way at kiosk last year on a same flight.
Many thanks for your feedback.
Still lots of seats available for mid-March flight.
SFO-KIX
F6, A6, C9, D9, Z9, Y9, B9, E0, M9, U9, H9, Q9, V9, W9, T9, S9, K9, L9, G9, XY9, NY9, XF0, NF0, J9, XC1, NC8
KIX-SFO
F7, A7, C9, D9, Z9, Y9, B9, E0, M9, U9, H9, Q9, V9, W9, T9, S9, K9, L9, G0, XY0, NY0, XF0, NF1, J9, XC3, NC9
Any chance the price will go down in the next couple months? I know my mother was offered $300 each way at kiosk last year on a same flight.
Many thanks for your feedback.
Jan 4, 2012, 9:07 am
#22
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: 12 stops from ORD
Programs: UA, AA, DL
Posts: 992
Rec'd a PCU e-mail for my flight (UA907 SFO-ORD, 1/7/12, 3 cabin 67)
U/g is waitlisted
$65 buy-up to C
Fare bucket W
Flight is F4,C9,NF2,NC0 and showing 7 seats unassigned* in C and 5 in F
Declined**
*I know the seat map is not a good indication
**it's a matter of principle with me when it comes to paying cash to upgrade when I'm already on the waitlist
U/g is waitlisted
$65 buy-up to C
Fare bucket W
Flight is F4,C9,NF2,NC0 and showing 7 seats unassigned* in C and 5 in F
Declined**
*I know the seat map is not a good indication
**it's a matter of principle with me when it comes to paying cash to upgrade when I'm already on the waitlist
$300 is what I always saw on ORD-SFO in 2011, so I'm wondering if the $65 offer is either .bomb screw-up or a typo by Goalie.
Jan 4, 2012, 9:25 am
#23
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Chicago
Programs: QF P1,UA 1K,HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 143
ORD-FRA
I was offered y(L) to c $999 ORD-FRA.
I declined, if it were the returned I would have considered it.
I declined, if it were the returned I would have considered it.
Jan 4, 2012, 9:31 am
#24
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,428
Jan 4, 2012, 11:04 am
#25
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SEA
Programs: DL Plat, AS MVPG, Bonvoy Plat/LT Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,263
Jan 4, 2012, 11:04 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Hiding under the trees in Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K 2.5MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,306
Offered Y -> F on ExPlus regional jet between Denver and Calgary for $150. Declined. One-fifty would buy about a hundred of the snack boxes they serve in First on those RJs.
Jan 4, 2012, 11:22 am
#27
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: Lifetime (for now) Gold MM, HH Gold, Giving Tootsie Pops to UA employees, & a retired hockey goalie
Posts: 28,878
Upgrade update
Originally Posted by goalie
Rec'd a PCU e-mail for my flight (UA907 SFO-ORD, 1/7/12, 3 cabin 67)
U/g is waitlisted
$65 buy-up to C
Fare bucket W
Flight is F4,C9,NF2,NC0 and showing 7 seats unassigned* in C and 5 in F
Declined**
*I know the seat map is not a good indication
**it's a matter of principle with me when it comes to paying cash to upgrade when I'm already on the waitlist
U/g is waitlisted
$65 buy-up to C
Fare bucket W
Flight is F4,C9,NF2,NC0 and showing 7 seats unassigned* in C and 5 in F
Declined**
*I know the seat map is not a good indication
**it's a matter of principle with me when it comes to paying cash to upgrade when I'm already on the waitlist
).
Jan 5, 2012, 7:04 pm
#28
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton GLD, Marriott Plat, NEXUS/GE
Posts: 2,872
Offered NC->F for $389 on 1/2 for LAX-JFK. Declined and enjoyed row 9 instead.
Jan 6, 2012, 9:58 am
#29
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K, HH Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hertz 5*, Avis First
Posts: 115
ORD-DSM w/ return 2/10-2/12
3/4 legs on E70, one ER4
W on the outbound, S on return
$75 per leg to go Y-> C at booking.
Declined. Have 3A or 3F on all the E70 legs and i'll roll the dice w/ CPU.
3/4 legs on E70, one ER4
W on the outbound, S on return
$75 per leg to go Y-> C at booking.
Declined. Have 3A or 3F on all the E70 legs and i'll roll the dice w/ CPU.
Jan 6, 2012, 1:16 pm
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: SPI
Programs: AA Gold, UA LT Plat, Mar LTT
Posts: 18,147
Glad you cleared!!
Dave