CDKing

I'm assuming is there are not enough fare bucket letters remaining so a second letter was added of N

PDXRoy

So I'll try to put some closure to this sad tale of the new United:

1.) Booked the Economy B fare round trip 1 month out from the flight from PDX =>TPE

2.) Immediately applied GPU (SWU( at the time

3.) Immediately wait-listed

4.) Nothing happened at 96 hours(I am 1K)

5.) at 24 hours, email message received that wait-list had expired ( I was in the air from MUC-ORD) so I didn't see that until I got on the ground.
6.) checked in online

7.) flew 1st-class PDX-SFO and checked into United club.

8.) Agents in united club confirmed and showed me that I was #1 on Upgrade list

9.) nearing departure headed to the gate and checked with the GA.

10.) GA looked at some piece of paper had a discussion with another GA and said "You will not be getting upgraded". I asked why and he said "That is how the system works now". I walked away very puzzled.

11.) checked mobile .bomb and sure enough, I was no longer #1 and they were clearing names that were previously below mine.

12.) called premiere line and was told "I am sorry sir, I don't know what is going on, the system is new".

13.) GPU/SWU was deducted from my account (Will it get returned?))

So anyone want to take a guess at whether this is how it is supposed to work? The GA at SFO was pretty short with me(borderline rude) and I did not ask for a supervisor. I want my upgrade back as I DAMN sure would have taken my chances with a UDU on the 1.5 hour flight and now used a GPU

FlytheTail

Too bad -- there are so many glitches as you can read about in other threads. Indeed, you should get your SWU back. But you may have to be patient and diligent, with repeated follow-ups if necessary, given what a mess things are.

In the future though, I wouldn't expect an upgrade on a W fare on the weekend, especially on a Saturday. A lot of people are competing for upgrades nowadays.

mre5765

If I can find upgrade inventory to the region I am flying to as opposed to my specific destination within that region, I book the indirect route, period. I can suffer a 1 to 3 hour flight in economy, on LH, OZ, NH, etc. This thread gave OP options for a different routing. Lesson learned I hope, one which I too learned the hard way.

PDXRoy

But is was not a W fare, it was economy B which is supposed to be a instant up based on availability. This ticket was 2.5x the price of a low tier economy fare.

blue47

not on international flights.

Strom

More specifically, only on CPU-eligible flights. Instant upgrades for all Premier members on Y and B full-fare Economy tickets and for Premier® 1K® members on M fares are available on all flights that are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades, per this table:


Source: http://pss.united.com/web/en-US/cont...e/default.aspx (Captured on Mar 18 @ 5:55PM PST)

That said, the new policies are beyond confusing and extremely convoluted. It's 99% UA's fault that you spent extra $$ for no reason. For you to be #1 on the list and then not get the upgrade is maddening. The only consolation I can offer is that countless other people have had the same thing happen since 3/3 (aka the Elite Benefits Rapture).

PDXRoy

Still not understanding, from the link you posted:
For regions with a *, Global Premier Upgrades are not available on flights booked in fare classes Z, P, S, T, K, L, G or N.
Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades are not available on flights booked in fare classes Z or P in any region.
All flights between continental U.S. and Hawaii are eligible for Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades with no Economy fare restrictions.
All multi-cabin flights operated by Copa are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades, Regional Premier Upgrades and Global Premier Upgrades without fare restrictions.
Instant upgrades for all Premier members on Y and B full-fare Economy tickets and for Premier® 1K® members on M fares are available on all flights that are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades.

None of this nonsense makes any sense to me at this point. Again, from the linked page:

Priority within 24 hours
New waitlist requests for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards, Regional Premier Upgrades, and Global Premier Upgrades can be made until 24 hours prior to departure. At 24 hours from departure, waitlists will expire and automatic processing of upgrades, per the priority listed above, will continue. As customers check in, they will be placed on an airport upgrade standby list. This standby list will clear starting at two hours prior to departure, based on Premier status, fare class and time of check-in. Learn more about the upgrade standby list.

*Fare class structure in priority order is J, C, D, Z, P (for upgrades from United Business® to United First®, or United BusinessFirst® to United Global First® on three-cabin aircraft) and Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G, N (for upgrades from United Economy® to the next higher class of service on all aircraft).

**On intra-Asia flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo (NRT), Singapore (SIN) or Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), and between Tokyo (NRT) and Seoul (ICN) or Taipei (TPE), Complimentary Premier Upgrades, will begin to confirm 24 hours prior to departure.

***Complimentary Premier Upgrades on award tickets will be prioritized after the lowest paid fare class.

Again, this suggests that I should have been given the upgrade based on my B fare and my #1 positon. The GA simply denying it and removing my name without any reason given other than "this is how the system works" when it is obvious that none of them actually know HOW the system works.

dawg1k

You bolded your answer:

Complimentary Premier Upgrades do NOT apply to International flights.

PDXRoy

I used a GPU which was deducted from my account

WineCountryUA

a better answer is
Complimentary Premier Upgrades do NOT apply to many International flights.

See Upgrade benefits in the 2012 MileagePlus program for a more complete definition.

escapefromphl

I would also request a $400 or so refund for the difference between GPU upgradeable fare and lowest fare. I think you're entitled to it as they didn't actually at least waitlist you at the gate.

Baze

There are no clearance windows for GPU and RPU. It is only CPU that has the windows for the different status levels.

I am referring to your #4 where you said nothing happened at 96 hours.

WineCountryUA

A problem at looking at the online waitlist is it only shows those that have checkin. You can be #1 and then a higher fare or a higher status person checks-in and your position will drop. You can never know your true position under everyone has checked-in.
Additionally the gate list is ordered differently (different tie-breaker) then the sweep list which is also still active at the same time as the gate list -- apparently you can clear from either list, this is one of the more confusing and non-transparent part of the new (pmCO) system. (I'm still learning this -- but this is my understanding from threads in the PMCO forum.)

PDXRoy

My position went from # 1 to not even on the list with at least 28 on the list after they dropped me off.