I suppose my tale of confusion is not much different from everyone else's:

-- went to check us in for our return (separate PNRs) from EZE. I was immediately added to the upgrade list and could watch progress on the mobile app. My wife's itinerary, however, was completely missing, despite the fact that she had flown down to EZE on it.

-- called the 1K line. Was on hold for 30 minutes and it took another 10 minutes to resolve the problem. Ultimately her itinerary was restored, though she lost her primo seating assignment.

-- arrived at the EZE gate for word on my upgrade. Was number 3 on the list with 4 seats left when check-in for the flight stopped. The GA upgraded the number one person on the list and then there was an agonizing 20 minute wait. The GA finally called me and the #2 person over and explained that she had seats for us, but could not assign them. It took a total of 3-4 people working for 40 minutes to assign those two seats. I have no idea what the complication was. I was the last one on the plane and sat in my wife's old seating assignment.

On the upside, I am flying domestic legs on Monday. The upgrades for both cleared roughly at the 96 hour mark. This is my first full itinerary purchased and ticketed since the 3/3 cutover. Maybe it's a sign of progress?

If you are on international itinerary in C or F class, they should be able to admit you based on your boarding pass.

But in general they no longer seem to be able to scan boarding passes and automatically verify club membership entitlement - and really want to see/scan physical Club cards

Yes, I was at the JFK UC early last week and they indicated that the scanners no longer worked (although the scanners do work in select cities). To make matters worse, the MP number is now partially masked on your boarding passes. So, they can no longer manually input the MP number from your BP.

lol !!!

Shannon,

Previous CO system, Platinum and Gold have different priority when it comes to waitlisting for award seats (besides the status itself, there was a unique priority code on each waitlist for Platinum vs. Gold). I called in today and found out that both Platinum and Gold are put under the same priority code (they called it BC, while BA is for GS, and BB is for 1K). I assume this is intentional and not any system issue? I also assume within BC, Platinum still has higher priority than Gold assuming both request the waitlist at the same time? Just want to be clear because the agent I talked to do not know the answer.

Thanks,
Kiam

[QUOTE=mianyclax;18220138]After two unanswered emails over the past two weeks, I just got off the phone with Mileage Plus customer service (first the automated, then the agent, then the supervisor) to ask why my new card hasn't arrived yet. The agent told me I had already received the card in December (she meant the little sticker extending the card's expiration to March 3). After five fruitless minutes without her being able to tell me when the card will arrive, she transferred me to the supervisor. This second person told me I could simply print a new card online, despite my insistence that that option is disabled on the UA website. I finally had to go online and read her the message before she would acknowledge it. In the end, she could only tell me that my card had been mailed and would arrive within two weeks (of course, the website told me within a week--and that was over a week ago; moreover, since when does mail take two weeks to get to Los Angeles?). Since I leave next Monday, this is hardly a solution. [QUOTE]

Well, you could try calling MP again and hope that you can speak to someone else; it really does seem to work, at least it has for me these past few weeks. I was in the same situation on March 2, for a March 3 flight to London. I explained to the MP agent that I wouldn't be able to access lounges without a card and she sent an email, stating something like, Star Alliance Lounge Personnel, Please extend Firstname Lastname United 1K and Star Alliance Gold benefits. Some blurb about how there are known issues since the merger getting cards on time to MP members, etc.

I didn't need to use it the email printout anyway, since I was in a premium cabin and got lounge access with my boarding pass. There is a *A lounge access thread; you may want to review it to see if you need to be worried about it after all. Also the *A webpage has a lounge finder section, and just pretend that you have no MP status when you get to its pull-down menus. Just use the ones with your cabin class, and use the menus for paid club membership (if you have one) to find out if you even need your MP card. You may not.

Good luck and try to enjoy your trip!

Shannon,

I've been having a terrible problem with not showing up on the waitlist until I'm literally at the gate - if at all.

Pre-3/3, this happened on a PMCO flight and I'm guessing it was the "glitch" involving connecting from a PMUA flight.

Post-3/3, this also happened. I checked the United app and United.com and didn't show up on the upgrade list. I didn't see my name actually on the list until I got to the gate at SFO.

This is getting ridiculous at this point, and I think there is a real issue with my listing in the SHARES system.

On another issue, how come I can't check-in online for international itineraries anymore? I had no problem with that pre-3/3 on United.com or the app, but I couldn't check-in until the airport just yesterday on an itinerary ending up in YYZ. This significantly prejudices my ability to upgrade, if I actually am ever waitlisted, and it also creates problems if I hit traffic or otherwise end up at the airport later than is ideal.

The new (PMCO) system requires you to validate your passport with a live agent on a regular basis. Initially and if you have gone a certain time period since last international flight, you will need validity at the airport and no be able to check-in until that is done. Not sure what the min time period is ( I have heard 90 days and also heard 180 days). So unless you are a regular frequent international traveller, this will be regularly occur.

I have tried Ask Alex several times, and have yet to have a satisfactory response. This is my latest encounter.

**************

Alex: Hi, I'm Alex, your united.com guide. I've been designed to make your time on our website as fast and efficient as possible. Just type in a question, keyword or phrase below and I'll take you to the information you're looking for.
You Asked: When will Star Alliance Upgrades be available? I have gotten many inconsistent answers.
Alex: On this Web page, you will find information on the benefits MileagePlus Premier members receive on the Star Alliance network. View Page
Here's More:
Star Alliance
Premier benefits
Upgrade Award Timeframe
You Asked: I asked when sill star allinace upgrades be available. The answer is not on the webpage.
Alex: On this Web page, you will find information on the benefits MileagePlus Premier members receive on the Star Alliance network. View Page
Here's More:
Star Alliance
Premier benefits
You Asked: Is there anyone besides you to help? The answer to the question I asked is not on the webpage. If it was on the webpage, I wouldn't have asked the question.
Alex: Thank you. I'm glad I could be helpful.
You Asked: This is one for the record books. I said you weren't helpful. When will star alliance upgrades be available?
Alex: On this Web page, you will find information on the benefits MileagePlus Premier members receive on the Star Alliance network. View Page
Here's More:
Star Alliance
Premier benefits
Upgrade Award Timeframe
Ask Virtual Travel Assistant

**********

"Ask Alex" is a search tool, this is not SIRI technology or any form of AI -- just a simple search. Asking open ended questions on items not on the website is a waste of time (its and yours).

BTW, there has been no formal announcement yet when *A upgrades will be available.

Well, I'm shocked that you expected anything from a "Virtual Travel Assistant", but then I realized that unitedhub.com has URL="http://hub.united.com/News/Web/Pages/ask-alex-for-help-with-your-search.aspx"]an entire page dedicated to how useful Ask Alex will be throughout the merger[/URL].

Nonetheless, I am pretty sure you'll have more luck with cleverbot.com than Ask Alex. I certainly did:
Yeah, that proves it. I really think Cleverbot is much better than Alex.

Personally, calling Alex a "search tool" is an insult to search tools.

I'm not sure why UA couldn't just have a regular site search box; Alex doesn't seem to provide any added value other than taking up space at the top of the screen.


IMHO, this is an issue, then. Given US passports are valid for 10 years, and UA.com has the passport expiration date, having to revalidate it regularly to be able to check in is a big fail.

I take it this has to be done at the kiosk during check-in? For example, can I just go to the airport now and show my passport, for travel later this week? (sorry for sounding dumb, it's been a while since I traveled internationally.) By the way, is it really important to have the passport number saved in United.com? It doesn't seem to want to save.

I hope that this is not long term true, especially for us lot who fly United. If United have seen a passport with a 10yr validity, and assuming their system accepts the passport number, then they should go on the basis that us passengers will be using that same passport. I always get asked to show it as I drop my bags, so if there is a problem the airline will pick it up prior to flight. btw just saved my passport details into my MP profile so I will see if it still keeps the info in a week's time.

It has one, though it's not that visible and it's easy to miss. There is a link at the bottom of the page Search united.com that takes you to pss.united.com/web/en-US/apps/search/default.aspx