Feb 22, 2017, 12:57 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Active thread Consolidated "Waitlist for Award Seats Questions/Issues"
Waitilisting for awards
Click for the current rules from United
Member experiences:
At the airport if you have not yet cleared:
Note: The correct priority term here may in fact be a code that is one of WAI, WBI, WCI, or WDI depending on status. The is per GG ONESTANDBY lines 32-55.
Note: PR-1 status is given to those who "paid" the requisite miles for an upgraded seat (i.e. biz) when only the non-upgraded space (i.e. coach) was available. The PR-1 status is to clue the system (and agents) in so that it is clear that you have been "displaced." (NOTE: once you have obtained PR-1 status, should there be any change to your ticket, e.g., an involuntary reroute by UA due to missing a connection, the PR-1 status will most likely get dropped and you must have it reattached (esp. before any UGs are given to others).
Unfortunately at T-24, many GAs do not get this concept. Use the above to plead your case but be prepared to be unsatisfied. One method that can get you to a higher level of understanding is the UC. Their staff seem to not only have a better understanding of the issues, but they can contact the gate and exert some influence on the less informed GAs, AND they seem to have more of an interest in helping PAX. If you can get into the UC, it will be worth your while.
**Note: If you get the UG on the long haul, the higher level of award miles you are using (like with the GPU) are considered used up regardless of the short haul. You will not be charged the lower level # of miles (i.e. refunded the diff between the lower level and the higher level you paid in advance), rather the higher level award miles will be considered spent. That is the risk you take when you do Plan B.
Waitilisting for awards
Click for the current rules from United
From the above link:You may redeem miles for travel in United Global First, United First, United Business or United BusinessFirst, even if the space is not available. In these cases, United Economy in the same award type must be confirmed, and the front cabin will be waitlisted. If the courtesy waitlist does not clear, it will expire 24 hours before itinerary departure, and you will automatically be added to the airport upgrade standby list upon check-in. In these cases, you will be confirmed on a space-available basis by a United airport representative at the gate once the flight has closed for check-in. For United BusinessFirst and United Business travel awards, the difference in miles will be refunded when the United BusinessFirst or United Business class segment of the trip could not be confirmed. Waitlist requests may only be made over the phone with your local United Customer Contact Center.
- You must have a confirmed segment to wait list for different cabin and/or a different flight.
- Can only waitlist for UA/UX operated flight, cannot waitlist for partner flights. Can waitlist for UA/UX flights on a mixed itin.
- Maximum number of WL segments in a PNR is 2.
- When confirmed segment is on a partner, you can waitlist for UA operated alternative.A report of being refused waitlisting for Economy{mixed reports - need further confirmation/clarification}.
At the airport if you have not yet cleared:
Note: The correct priority term here may in fact be a code that is one of WAI, WBI, WCI, or WDI depending on status. The is per GG ONESTANDBY lines 32-55.
The agent should give you “PR-1 status” which gives you top-priority status and moves you to the very top of the upgrade standby list, ahead of employees and everyone else trying to upgrade with miles+cash. If one agent won’t put you on the list as a displaced Business class passenger with PR-1 status then find another one who will. With this status the odds of you getting a business class are very high if there are still open seats (or if anybody no-shows).
If the agents in the airport are all clueless you should direct them to look
up “gg onestandby” in their system (they’ll know exactly what this is)
and look around lines 85-89 which spell out the details of the procedure for
this award.
If the agents in the airport are all clueless you should direct them to look
up “gg onestandby” in their system (they’ll know exactly what this is)
and look around lines 85-89 which spell out the details of the procedure for
this award.
Unfortunately at T-24, many GAs do not get this concept. Use the above to plead your case but be prepared to be unsatisfied. One method that can get you to a higher level of understanding is the UC. Their staff seem to not only have a better understanding of the issues, but they can contact the gate and exert some influence on the less informed GAs, AND they seem to have more of an interest in helping PAX. If you can get into the UC, it will be worth your while.
**Note: If you get the UG on the long haul, the higher level of award miles you are using (like with the GPU) are considered used up regardless of the short haul. You will not be charged the lower level # of miles (i.e. refunded the diff between the lower level and the higher level you paid in advance), rather the higher level award miles will be considered spent. That is the risk you take when you do Plan B.
Consolidated "Waitlist for Award Seats Questions/Issues [ARCHIVE]
Feb 28, 2019, 12:26 pm
#2731
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: None - previously UA
Posts: 4,864
There is little evidence that this is still the case, and quite a bit of evidence that it is, in fact, no longer true.
That said, on the gate list, I'd expect someone with a waitlisted award to be ahead of non-GS CPUs, but not necessarily ahead of instrument upgrades. I'd expect someone using the credit-card CPU benefit to be last among their status level (that one I'm sure of).
That said, on the gate list, I'd expect someone with a waitlisted award to be ahead of non-GS CPUs, but not necessarily ahead of instrument upgrades. I'd expect someone using the credit-card CPU benefit to be last among their status level (that one I'm sure of).
Feb 28, 2019, 12:46 pm
#2732
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,394
I don't have hard evidence, just anecdotal evidence, I had to get manually applied as the last time I didn't transfer automatically to the airport list. The United club agent added me and with just silver status, I was almost dead last on the upgrade list that was about 70 deep, I went over to politely explain that I should have been waitlisted higher as I had paid for Premium cabin etc. She agreed and made some adjustments and I jumped to number 1 on an IAD-SFO flight. So perhaps she gave me a higher priority than she should have or that the computer does. It's also possible the system is adding folks with the wrong priority, but I guess that would be a feature, not a bug.
There is no logical reason to assume that waitlisted saver awards should be ahead of upgrading passengers at the gate, given that saver awards will only open prior to the gate if all upgrades have already been processed. In other words, the PZ (upgrade) bucket is ahead of the I (saver award) bucket in the inventory priority, so it really doesn't make any sense for that to invert at the gate.
Feb 28, 2019, 1:34 pm
#2733
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: None - previously UA
Posts: 4,864
I would argue that neither dead last nor #1 was correct. It sounds like you originally got put in with CPU status, and then got put in with PR-1 status. When people are transferred automatically to the waitlist, they seem to be mixed in with instrument upgrades. Per the wiki, the GG lines that used to indicate PR-1 was applicable have been changed.
There is no logical reason to assume that waitlisted saver awards should be ahead of upgrading passengers at the gate, given that saver awards will only open prior to the gate if all upgrades have already been processed. In other words, the PZ (upgrade) bucket is ahead of the I (saver award) bucket in the inventory priority, so it really doesn't make any sense for that to invert at the gate.
There is no logical reason to assume that waitlisted saver awards should be ahead of upgrading passengers at the gate, given that saver awards will only open prior to the gate if all upgrades have already been processed. In other words, the PZ (upgrade) bucket is ahead of the I (saver award) bucket in the inventory priority, so it really doesn't make any sense for that to invert at the gate.
BTW that post basically also confirms why you don't get on the upgrade list if you check in prior to 24 hours before your flight. What **should** happen is that the check-in process should check the waitlist, remove you and add you to the standby list even before 24 hours. But they aren't ever going to fix that.
Mar 1, 2019, 10:04 am
#2734
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 4
So later this month I have an Economy Saver booking, and both segments say:
"Waitlisted You will be automatically confirmed on this flight if space in your request class United Polaris business (I) becomes available."
The combined itinerary shows Available fare classes:J4JN4C4D4Z4ZN4P2PN0PZ0IN0I0
If I search the segments separately, I get:
International Available fare classes:J9JN9C9D9Z9ZN9P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
Domestic Available fare classes:J3JN3C0D0Z0ZN0P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
I've never done this before, so I'm wondering what my odds of getting the upgrades are, and if I should do anything before checkin opens.
"Waitlisted You will be automatically confirmed on this flight if space in your request class United Polaris business (I) becomes available."
The combined itinerary shows Available fare classes:J4JN4C4D4Z4ZN4P2PN0PZ0IN0I0
If I search the segments separately, I get:
International Available fare classes:J9JN9C9D9Z9ZN9P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
Domestic Available fare classes:J3JN3C0D0Z0ZN0P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
I've never done this before, so I'm wondering what my odds of getting the upgrades are, and if I should do anything before checkin opens.
Mar 2, 2019, 4:39 pm
#2735
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 22
Wanted to share a successful waitlist for Polaris J from AKL to SFO. I don't have any status, and I don't have the United Explorer card. I booked way in advance on April 2018 for one way economy award tickets for 2 pax for AKL-SFO for our trip on Feb 2019 and waitlisted for business class seats. I didn't want to get separate tickets for each passenger and had both passengers in the same ticket. I know chances for the waitlist to clear were higher if we have 1 passenger per ticket, but I took the risk.
Kept watching for business class availability but didn't see any come up. On Nov, we got an email that our AKL-SFO waitlist cleared and we were confirmed in business class. I didn't need to call to get the confirmation. We got the confirmation almost 2 months prior to our departure.
Waitlisting for 2 people in the same ticket is doable, but one thing we did was to waitlist just the long haul leg. We booked a separate first class award ticket for our onward trip from SFO-ORD.
Kept watching for business class availability but didn't see any come up. On Nov, we got an email that our AKL-SFO waitlist cleared and we were confirmed in business class. I didn't need to call to get the confirmation. We got the confirmation almost 2 months prior to our departure.
Waitlisting for 2 people in the same ticket is doable, but one thing we did was to waitlist just the long haul leg. We booked a separate first class award ticket for our onward trip from SFO-ORD.
Mar 2, 2019, 5:03 pm
#2736
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: None - previously UA
Posts: 4,864
Mar 2, 2019, 10:48 pm
#2737
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,410
So later this month I have an Economy Saver booking, and both segments say:
"Waitlisted You will be automatically confirmed on this flight if space in your request class United Polaris business (I) becomes available."
The combined itinerary shows Available fare classes:J4JN4C4D4Z4ZN4P2PN0PZ0IN0I0
If I search the segments separately, I get:
International Available fare classes:J9JN9C9D9Z9ZN9P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
Domestic Available fare classes:J3JN3C0D0Z0ZN0P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
I've never done this before, so I'm wondering what my odds of getting the upgrades are, and if I should do anything before checkin opens.
"Waitlisted You will be automatically confirmed on this flight if space in your request class United Polaris business (I) becomes available."
The combined itinerary shows Available fare classes:J4JN4C4D4Z4ZN4P2PN0PZ0IN0I0
If I search the segments separately, I get:
International Available fare classes:J9JN9C9D9Z9ZN9P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
Domestic Available fare classes:J3JN3C0D0Z0ZN0P0PN0PZ0IN0I0
I've never done this before, so I'm wondering what my odds of getting the upgrades are, and if I should do anything before checkin opens.
Mar 3, 2019, 7:06 am
#2738
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 4
I'm crossing my fingers that Z9/ZN9 less than a month out is a good sign. The seating chart shows 15 unclaimed business seats today, although it was 16 for my original post.
The domestic segment is up to J4/JN4 with 5 seats showing, but I'm more pessimistic there.
I have alerts set on ExpertFlyer in case it doesn't happen automatically, so I'm guessing that's all I can do until checkin.
Mar 3, 2019, 8:51 am
#2739
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,410
AKL-SFO and SFO-PHL.
I'm crossing my fingers that Z9/ZN9 less than a month out is a good sign. The seating chart shows 15 unclaimed business seats today, although it was 16 for my original post.
The domestic segment is up to J4/JN4 with 5 seats showing, but I'm more pessimistic there.
I have alerts set on ExpertFlyer in case it doesn't happen automatically, so I'm guessing that's all I can do until checkin.
I'm crossing my fingers that Z9/ZN9 less than a month out is a good sign. The seating chart shows 15 unclaimed business seats today, although it was 16 for my original post.
The domestic segment is up to J4/JN4 with 5 seats showing, but I'm more pessimistic there.
I have alerts set on ExpertFlyer in case it doesn't happen automatically, so I'm guessing that's all I can do until checkin.
I don't think the domestic segment has any chance of happening unfortunately.
Mar 9, 2019, 5:29 am
#2740
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 4
Unfortunately, I wouldn't consider Z space within 30 days to be particularly encouraging. Although AKL-SFO is one of the easier routes to upgrade overall, I would feel better if they opened PN space. You should get added to the upgrade list automatically at check-in, and this might be your best shot to get a seat.
I don't think the domestic segment has any chance of happening unfortunately.
I don't think the domestic segment has any chance of happening unfortunately.
Mar 9, 2019, 11:51 am
#2741
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,410
Mar 17, 2019, 1:12 pm
#2742
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Denver
Posts: 509
Sorry if this is already answered, I didn't see it in a quick search...
If I'm booked on Aeroplan business class award, with the final segment being on United, but only economy, can I still call and waitlist for business class on that flight? Or do you have to have booked with United directly for the waitlist option?
If I'm booked on Aeroplan business class award, with the final segment being on United, but only economy, can I still call and waitlist for business class on that flight? Or do you have to have booked with United directly for the waitlist option?
Mar 17, 2019, 1:22 pm
#2743
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,838
correct
Mar 17, 2019, 5:25 pm
#2745
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MCI
Programs: UA 1K, WN A+
Posts: 54
Hello,
This is a question about post IN wait listing. I have a three leg flight from MCI-SFO-AKL-ZQN.
I was wait-listed on a domestic leg MCI-SFO (XN-IN). Wait list ended and I cannot check in due to one way reward flight.
Called the 1K line got a greenhorn, and called back.
Talked to web support, told I could not check in due to one way ticket. Asked if I could get added to the CPU list. (I have the CC)
She did call and try to have me added, but said she could not. However mentioned she added me to the IN list AGAIN.
I have read many threads about this, and have only seen a few mentions of this.
I would appreciate anyone who has experienced this type of situation weighing in.
Thanks!
This is a question about post IN wait listing. I have a three leg flight from MCI-SFO-AKL-ZQN.
I was wait-listed on a domestic leg MCI-SFO (XN-IN). Wait list ended and I cannot check in due to one way reward flight.
Called the 1K line got a greenhorn, and called back.
Talked to web support, told I could not check in due to one way ticket. Asked if I could get added to the CPU list. (I have the CC)
She did call and try to have me added, but said she could not. However mentioned she added me to the IN list AGAIN.
I have read many threads about this, and have only seen a few mentions of this.
I would appreciate anyone who has experienced this type of situation weighing in.
Thanks!