Waitlisted miles+copay upgrade expired - not on list at the gate!
I don't normally use miles+money upgrades, but then again often don't book a qualifying fare code. As I was in U on this trip I decided to try it...
I was booked DTW-ORD-MUC for my return leg. I had placed an upgrade request using miles + copay approximately a week before departure. I was on the phone with reservations a few days prior to departure for another topic, but the agent cheerfully noted that my upgrade position "looked good." 24 hours prior to departure I received a VERY confusingly-worded email that the upgrade waitlist had expired (implying that the wait list would not be cleared at the gate -- but why would that be?) Just inside 24 hours I called to change to a different DTW-ORD flight (as I needed some more time in ORD). The agent at the time confirmed that I was "still on the list" for my miles and copay upgrade. The DTW-ORD flight cleared at the gate (but now I think this was a CPU). In ORD (where I spent all day working) I noticed that I was NOT on the upgrade list per the mobile app. I checked TWICE at the United Club counter and both times the rep confirmed to me that I was "on the upgrade list" for my ORD-MUC flight -- even after my pointing out that I didn't show up on the mobile app's upgrade list. Getting to the gate and seeing myself quite clearly NOT on the list, I inquired with the GA and was rudely brushed off with the answer "miles + copay upgrades can't be waitlisted". Even though we were an hour from departure, she refused to let me switch to a GPU. Once on the flight, the guy next to me told me he was #4 on the list... using MILES AND A COPAY! To recap:
<Rant to United> It's unclear what combination of clueless telephone reps, uninformed GAs or SHARES shenanigans caused this, but the net result is one very unhappy 1k customer. I'm 1k, was ticketed in U and should have been near the top of that list. I took a huge bruising at work because I was NOT able to finalize a contract and close the biggest deal in our pipeline the next morning. </Rant to United> <Plea to Flyertalk Community> Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently (besides use a GPU)? </Plea to Flyertalk Community> |
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
<Rant to United>
It's unclear what combination of clueless telephone reps, uninformed GAs or SHARES shenanigans caused this, but the net result is one very unhappy 1k customer. I'm 1k, was ticketed in U and should have been near the top of that list. I took a huge bruising at work because I was NOT able to finalize a contract and close the biggest deal in our pipeline the next morning. </Rant to United> As for that being your reason for not closing the deal, sorry, but I'm not buying it.
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
<Plea to Flyertalk Community>
Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently (besides use a GPU)? </Plea to Flyertalk Community> |
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
... Getting to the gate and seeing myself quite clearly NOT on the list, I inquired with the GA and was rudely brushed off with the answer "miles + copay upgrades can't be waitlisted". ...
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
...Even though we were an hour from departure, she refused to let me switch to a GPU. ...
It may be no new upgrade request after T-24 that was confusing the agent on miles+$ request.
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
..Telephone rep says "You're on the list. Position looks good."...
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
... Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently (besides use a GPU)?
|
WineCountryUA: thanks - very useful reply!
sbm12: Also thanks. I'm not calling up United demanding compensation for a scuttled deal or anything like that. Just want UA to know (should they read this) that this stuff actually matters. |
Originally Posted by pilotchris
(Post 18733019)
sbm12: Also thanks. I'm not calling up united demanding compensation for a scuttled deal or anything like that. Just want ua to know (should they read this) that this stuff actually matters.
don't care |
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
Getting to the gate and seeing myself quite clearly NOT on the list, I inquired with the GA and was rudely brushed off with the answer "miles + copay upgrades can't be waitlisted". Even though we were an hour from departure, she refused to let me switch to a GPU.
Once on the flight, the guy next to me told me he was #4 on the list... using MILES AND A COPAY!
Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently (besides use a GPU)? Alternately, you could called Reservations, asked them to confirm that you were on the departure-management list, then said "thanks for confirming that, now, the gate agent here doesn't see that, could you please chat with them about whether I should be on that list and where I am on it?" A third, creative option: at the 24 hour mark when you saw that you were not upgraded, you could have checked for R availability on EWR-MUC or IAD-MUC; if there were immediately confirmable upgrade space, you could have made a same-day confirmed change onto those flights (possibly for free) and applied a miles + copay upgrade instantly, possibly bypassing other people on the upgrade waitlist. The UA system allows sniping; you'd be a fool not to take it, even if it is at the expense of other passengers. |
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
I don't normally use miles+money upgrades, but then again often don't book a qualifying fare code. As I was in U on this trip I decided to try it...
I was booked DTW-ORD-MUC for my return leg. I had placed an upgrade request using miles + copay approximately a week before departure. I was on the phone with reservations a few days prior to departure for another topic, but the agent cheerfully noted that my upgrade position "looked good." 24 hours prior to departure I received a VERY confusingly-worded email that the upgrade waitlist had expired (implying that the wait list would not be cleared at the gate -- but why would that be?) Just inside 24 hours I called to change to a different DTW-ORD flight (as I needed some more time in ORD). The agent at the time confirmed that I was "still on the list" for my miles and copay upgrade. The DTW-ORD flight cleared at the gate (but now I think this was a CPU). In ORD (where I spent all day working) I noticed that I was NOT on the upgrade list per the mobile app. I checked TWICE at the United Club counter and both times the rep confirmed to me that I was "on the upgrade list" for my ORD-MUC flight -- even after my pointing out that I didn't show up on the mobile app's upgrade list. Getting to the gate and seeing myself quite clearly NOT on the list, I inquired with the GA and was rudely brushed off with the answer "miles + copay upgrades can't be waitlisted". Even though we were an hour from departure, she refused to let me switch to a GPU. Once on the flight, the guy next to me told me he was #4 on the list... using MILES AND A COPAY! To recap:
<Rant to United> It's unclear what combination of clueless telephone reps, uninformed GAs or SHARES shenanigans caused this, but the net result is one very unhappy 1k customer. I'm 1k, was ticketed in U and should have been near the top of that list. I took a huge bruising at work because I was NOT able to finalize a contract and close the biggest deal in our pipeline the next morning. </Rant to United> <Plea to Flyertalk Community> Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently (besides use a GPU)? </Plea to Flyertalk Community> If getting to an international destination rested is that important to you and the company you work for you should be buying business class and not relying on upgrades. You not closing the deal because you did not get upgraded have nothing to do with each other. Totally has to do with your companies travel policies though. Either buy business or leave a day earlier. And if your company won't do either of those then not much UA can do about getting you to an international destination rested. |
Who said "Married Segments"?
Originally Posted by PilotChris
(Post 18732637)
I was booked DTW-ORD-MUC for my return leg.
Your mission is therefore to get yourself on the list (remember rule #2, the list you don't see doesn't count, the agent who tries to convince you otherwise never had to clear an upgrade waitlist).
|
Originally Posted by DLPhoenix
(Post 18733632)
|
Waitlisted miles+copay upgrade expired - not on list at the gate!
You better check and make sure they refunded your copay. They steal that money from you on the copay request and I highly recommend that you dispute that charge every time with your credit card company. It took them over a month to refund mine last time when I requested it. But my credit card immediately returns it on the dispute.
|
Originally Posted by sbm12
(Post 18733830)
Being added to the list that one sees after check-in is an airport-only function. It isn't something they can do on the phone. If the agent says otherwise and you don't see your name on the list you can press them to call their help desk to learn how to do it properly, but calling in directly is rather unlikely to be successful.
- On most occasions a phone agent managed to fix it (after several attempts). - On my most recent international trip the only person who managed to master the labyrinth was the ticketing agent at BOM. My approach is to assume that it can be done over the phone but the system is so hard to use that only several can master it. I therefore call again and again until I end up with one of those who figured out how to use the system. Happy Travels DLP |
Originally Posted by iluv2fly
(Post 18733083)
Originally Posted by pilotchris
sbm12: Also thanks. I'm not calling up united demanding compensation for a scuttled deal or anything like that. Just want ua to know (should they read this) that this stuff actually matters.
don't care Redux Redux |
Originally Posted by mherdeg
(Post 18733130)
A third, creative option: at the 24 hour mark when you saw that you were not upgraded, you could have checked for R availability on EWR-MUC or IAD-MUC; if there were immediately confirmable upgrade space, you could have made a same-day confirmed change onto those flights (possibly for free) and applied a miles + copay upgrade instantly, possibly bypassing other people on the upgrade waitlist. The UA system allows sniping; you'd be a fool not to take it, even if it is at the expense of other passengers.
|
Originally Posted by iluv2fly
(Post 18733083)
They
don't care Blanket statements like this without any data to back them up are eyebrow-raising and certainly not 'moderate', to say the least.
Originally Posted by c1mth0g
(Post 18736628)
Are same-day changes allowed for international flights?
|
Originally Posted by c1mth0g
(Post 18736628)
Are same-day changes allowed for international flights?
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