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]
May 9, 2019, 6:08 pm
#2806
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 315
Wait were you able to getting waitlisted by talking to customer service through twitter instead of calling?? I tried calling yesterday and got the same "you can only waitlist for revenue tickets". I'm trying again now. I've been on hold waiting for an agent for for 30 minutes.
UPDATE: After speaking with another agent today that said I could not be waitlisted for an award ticket, I asked if he would let me speak to someone else about it since I already spent so much time on hold. He transferred me to a supervisor. The supervisor was able to put me on the waitlist for the business saver award and deducted the extra 30k miles from my account. It took him a very long time but he did it and my online account says I'm waitlisted for I class. Total time spent on the phone including yesterday and today (1 hr 56 mins).
UPDATE: After speaking with another agent today that said I could not be waitlisted for an award ticket, I asked if he would let me speak to someone else about it since I already spent so much time on hold. He transferred me to a supervisor. The supervisor was able to put me on the waitlist for the business saver award and deducted the extra 30k miles from my account. It took him a very long time but he did it and my online account says I'm waitlisted for I class. Total time spent on the phone including yesterday and today (1 hr 56 mins).
May 12, 2019, 12:09 pm
#2807
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 315
YES! My waitlist cleared and my KOA-LAX leg is now on First! I am pretty shocked to be honest. I thought, why would they release seats when they know I'm waiting for them :-)
May 17, 2019, 11:07 am
#2808
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 315
I have many questions about this :-)
1. How do I get the money refunded that I spent for the plus seats, now that my upgrade cleared?
2. Would having a United credit card bring up more availability for a situation like this, international business class with 1 or 2 domestic legs which are hard to get in first? I got rid of my United card because I rarely fly coach anymore and the extra availability is only in coach. But would it find more availability when the domestic leg is only in coach, and then I could waitlist to first?
3. Does the waitlist to first only works on UA metal? Does it only work in the US?
4. On blogs, I read a lot about a different scheme where you actually book economy with miles along with a waitlist to business/first. Many people said it worked, but then later people were saying United changed their system and it didn't work anymore. I'm shocked it ever worked. But I'm wondering if this is why so many United reps I talked to said "you can't waitlist on an award ticket", because they were thinking about this other thing. It would also explain why they kept saying how many more points it would be. So maybe in a case like mine it's important to be very clear that you have a Business Class award, but 1 leg wasn't open.
1. How do I get the money refunded that I spent for the plus seats, now that my upgrade cleared?
2. Would having a United credit card bring up more availability for a situation like this, international business class with 1 or 2 domestic legs which are hard to get in first? I got rid of my United card because I rarely fly coach anymore and the extra availability is only in coach. But would it find more availability when the domestic leg is only in coach, and then I could waitlist to first?
3. Does the waitlist to first only works on UA metal? Does it only work in the US?
4. On blogs, I read a lot about a different scheme where you actually book economy with miles along with a waitlist to business/first. Many people said it worked, but then later people were saying United changed their system and it didn't work anymore. I'm shocked it ever worked. But I'm wondering if this is why so many United reps I talked to said "you can't waitlist on an award ticket", because they were thinking about this other thing. It would also explain why they kept saying how many more points it would be. So maybe in a case like mine it's important to be very clear that you have a Business Class award, but 1 leg wasn't open.
May 17, 2019, 12:06 pm
#2809
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,395
4. On blogs, I read a lot about a different scheme where you actually book economy with miles along with a waitlist to business/first. Many people said it worked, but then later people were saying United changed their system and it didn't work anymore. I'm shocked it ever worked. But I'm wondering if this is why so many United reps I talked to said "you can't waitlist on an award ticket", because they were thinking about this other thing. It would also explain why they kept saying how many more points it would be. So maybe in a case like mine it's important to be very clear that you have a Business Class award, but 1 leg wasn't open.
As long as you don't use the word "upgrade," it wasn't a matter of the agents confusing your situation for Plan B; it was just bad agents.
May 17, 2019, 1:55 pm
#2810
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Left Coast
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM, HH Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold (UA comp)
Posts: 1,353
That system, called "Plan B," still works, although it may disappear when they move to fully-dynamic awards on November 15. (Nobody really knows). I suspect what people are complaining about is that UA changed the priority order of these waitlisted awards; they used to have very high priority, and now they seem to be prioritized like an upgrade instrument.
As long as you don't use the word "upgrade," it wasn't a matter of the agents confusing your situation for Plan B; it was just bad agents.
May 20, 2019, 8:32 am
#2811
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
2. Would having a United credit card bring up more availability for a situation like this, international business class with 1 or 2 domestic legs which are hard to get in first? I got rid of my United card because I rarely fly coach anymore and the extra availability is only in coach. But would it find more availability when the domestic leg is only in coach, and then I could waitlist to first?
Having the UA credit card (if you otherwise have no status) will improve the number of routable awards with Business space on the overwater segment because it will make more domestic connections available in Economy (XN). The card does not improve Saver Business award space though.
May 21, 2019, 9:47 pm
#2812
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
Interesting.. cleared an IN waitlist from J5 PN3 PZ0 Y4; flight is now J4 PN2 PZ0 Y4 (don't have exact count on Economy purchases in the hours around this). F is only 4/12 assigned, so I'm not sure how blocked it is but this one feels like it was cleared by a human in RM to straighten up an overbook.
May 30, 2019, 9:00 pm
#2813
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
Trying to book JN Standard Award EYW-EWR-CDG. Mixed cabin: EYW-EWR is J0 Y6, EWR-CDG is J7 Y9. Is waitlist required if J (and not I) opens up on EYW-EWR or can I simply call and change if I see that its J1 again? Is there a fee to change cabin class?
May 30, 2019, 9:07 pm
#2814
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,395
I would ask to waitlist for JN now. If you do not waitlist, they will likely charge a fee to make the cabin change later. While waitlisting for JN is less common than waitlisting for I, it's still possible in the system. (Whether or not an agent will know how to do it... good question).
Jun 5, 2019, 6:54 am
#2815
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: All of them, UA-Plat, 1MM*G
Posts: 881
Apologies if this has already been answered in the previous 46 pages, but here goes. I booked Economy Saver seats (XN class) on a TATL. I called in to be waitlisted for Business Saver. After a long delay and a consultation with a supervisor, the agent reported that this had been accomplished and the extra miles debited from my account. When I go online to look at my reservation, I see IN class requested for the outbound, but I class requested for the return. Does this make any practical difference (i.e., IN>0 while I=0)? If so, what should I do? Currently I am Gold. Thanks.
Jun 5, 2019, 7:46 am
#2816
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,395
It's possible that IN might open while I will not. However, I wouldn't recommend doing anything about it; IN is supposed to be reserved for Platinum and above, so it sounds like the agent did you a favor in one direction.
Jun 5, 2019, 6:30 pm
#2818
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: IAH & HOU
Programs: UA GS & Marriott Titanium
Posts: 443
Hi all - quick question. I'm looking at a CPH-AMS-IAH routing and want to waitlist for biz on AMS-IAH (coach is available). The SAS operated CPH-AMS flight is available in first, but i only want to switch to biz if the AMS-IAH leg clears. Is that possible or am I going to be automatically placed into F on SAS and then out the higher mileage even if the TATL doesn't clear? I really don't even want the SAS F seat in the first place if i can book at the UA redemption level (60k points) rather than Star Alliance level (70k). Any help on how to request this is much appreciated. On my first call, the agent said I couldn't waitlist at all, so that was sweet. Thanks in advance!
Jun 5, 2019, 7:12 pm
#2819
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: All of them, UA-Plat, 1MM*G
Posts: 881
Hi all - quick question. I'm looking at a CPH-AMS-IAH routing and want to waitlist for biz on AMS-IAH (coach is available). The SAS operated CPH-AMS flight is available in first, but i only want to switch to biz if the AMS-IAH leg clears. Is that possible or am I going to be automatically placed into F on SAS and then out the higher mileage even if the TATL doesn't clear? I really don't even want the SAS F seat in the first place if i can book at the UA redemption level (60k points) rather than Star Alliance level (70k). Any help on how to request this is much appreciated. On my first call, the agent said I couldn't waitlist at all, so that was sweet. Thanks in advance!
Jun 5, 2019, 7:12 pm
#2820
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,395
Hi all - quick question. I'm looking at a CPH-AMS-IAH routing and want to waitlist for biz on AMS-IAH (coach is available). The SAS operated CPH-AMS flight is available in first, but i only want to switch to biz if the AMS-IAH leg clears. Is that possible or am I going to be automatically placed into F on SAS and then out the higher mileage even if the TATL doesn't clear? I really don't even want the SAS F seat in the first place if i can book at the UA redemption level (60k points) rather than Star Alliance level (70k). Any help on how to request this is much appreciated. On my first call, the agent said I couldn't waitlist at all, so that was sweet. Thanks in advance!
That said, the default behavior would be to switch you to business on both segments and charge the 60K. Whether or not you'd be able to get a partial refund, automatically or from an agent, I can't say. If you'd prefer to err on the side of caution, you can make it clear that you want to remain seated in economy on CPH-AMS. The agent should be able to make it work as a mixed award, although it may take a couple of tries before you get an agent who can do it.