tomj888

DEAR MODERATORS, I TRIED TO FIND A THREAD THIS IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR BUT I DID NOT SEE IT IN THE FIRST TWO PAGES OF POSTS. I APOLOGIZE IF THIS IS MORE THAN REDUNDANT.

About to take my first domestic flight on PMUA. I'm a MM and 1K flyer. I used miles to upgrade to F on IAH to MIA b/c reading the forums it appears everything is for sale on CO. I checked F availability this morning 26 hours prior to flight and it (new .bomb) shows 5 seats. Went to mobile app and it shows 4 seats. Called useless 1K desk. Got right thru, then when I asked for upg status was put on hold for 10 min as the agent tried to sort it out. She came back and said NO seats. When I told her what I saw on .bomb and mobile .bomb she was perplexed. By that time, I was done and told her how sad I was that UA is now treating its most loyal members like. Hung up the phone and started to wonder where to take my 125K/yr miles to going forward. OR do I wait it out for 6 months to see if the pendulum starts to swing back to the middle.
My Question is, are most upper end elites finding this to be true? I'm glad I can still get exit rows. When will those be taken away from elites at the time of purchase?

SEA1K4EVR

Huh? Are there just 4/5 first class seats in F class for sale or are there seats in R class showing available and you're still waitlisted? There is no difference now than how it's ever been in the past with United.. there has to be upgrade space available, not just seats for sale. Has nothing to do with poor customer service.. they're just trying to sell some seats. Your upgrade will likely clear eventually.

cordelli

Some United elites never had the ability to reserve exit rows at time of purchase.

WineCountryUA

Sorry, but I having a hard time undertanding your post, so if I may ask a few questions

You said you used miles to upgrade -- did you get upgraded or did some segments get upgraded or were you waitlisted?

When you check the site -- did you check the seatmap or the upgrade inventory. The seatmap can be misleading.

If you are waitlisted and there is no upgrade inventory (R/RN), even with unfilled sets, you will need to wait until they release inventory or at the gate went you will have priority over CPU folks.

This seems standard, what was it you found unusual?

tomj888

Prior to integration, I was usually upgraded within the 100 hour window. I would get an email saying I was upgraded. That has not happened on this flight. Within 100 hours for outbound and return.
I checked seat map.
I've been waitlisted since I purchased tickets. Used miles as I have hundreds of thousands to guarantee upgrade on IAH to MIA segment. Was offered a choice to spend 672$ to upgrade return from MIA to LAX. No way Jose on that one. In the past, I"ve automatically made that upgrade w/o having to use upgrade instruments *CR1) or SWU (never on anything domestic other that ps).
As for customer service they had no clue. Could of been a new agent or an agent who is overwhelmed by all of the negative feedback.
That's what I found unusual.

zrs70

Only by reading what you wrote in your post, it doesn't sound like terrible customer service at all. The phone was answered quickly, and the agent worked hard to try to find out what was going on.

We don't know (from your post) if the agent was curt or rude or argumentative.

We DO know from your post that you told her that UA is treating loyal members like SH-T.

WineCountryUA

The paid offer was probably an offer to upfare you to M and do an instant upgrade. The inventory for instant upgrades (PN) is different from complimentary upgrades (CPU -- aka UDU). This is new for UA flyers.

Another change is miles will have priority over CPU.

You will see many reports CPU is not working or only partially working during this transition.

flyer215

Could HAVE been. Could've been.

Please not "could of been" -- that makes my brain dump core when I attempt to parse it.

Often1

OP still hasn't answered the question. Is there R inventory?

The seat map is, of course, meaningless. All it means is that there are unselected seats. Those seats could have been sold and simply not yet selected (many people select at check-in).

Whether OP has been UG in the past has zilch to do with whether there is an R seat available in F for his upcoming flight.

travel.flier

I'm confused - what's the terrible customer service? Is it that you didn't get upgraded yet? If that's the case, buy an F ticket if you want a guaranteed seat. Otherwise, go on the waitlist and gamble.

I do have one suggestion though: this should be merged to the thread "least substantive things to complain about"

DillMan

Wait, so your comparative sample is all your years as a 1K on one side vs. a single flight post integration on the other side. So hundreds of flights vs. a single flight.

Sounds a bit lopsided to me. Who knows....maybe someone with an entourage bought out the F cabin save that single seat still for sale in F (as you saw at checkin). Maybe there was a special event going on that mopped up all those seats. Maybe you'll clear at the gate. I think it is highly unreasonable to expect UA to upgrade you if there is only 1 or 2 seats available. You didn't check actual inventory so you certainly do not know this was not the case.

WineCountryUA

OP did mention a upfare opportunity at checkin (PN most likely), so flight was not sold out.

Often1

OP should have taken the offer. He's not going to find the grass greener elsewhere.