Hey there,

I wanted to share this data point, and hope I don't curse myself out of what I think might be a "free" E+ upgrade

As title says, i'm a Silver on US, and recently booked a one-way K fare on UA from DEN-LGA (pmUA 752) on the US site (because of 2x miles for using the US CC).

When I went to select my seats, I got back an error saying "because this flight is operated by another airline, you won't be able to select seats until 3 days from departure." No big deal, I went back to my reservations page to see if I got a UA PNR so I can choose my seat on the UA site. When I go and look at my reservation on the US site, it shows that I'm assigned seat 9C, which is a E+ seat. Thinking this was a glitch, I did a dummy booking for the same flight on the UA site, and it shows 9C as occupied, and that it is indeed an E+ seat.

So, is this a SHARES error in my favor? Or do you think that this could be "taken away" at a later date, maybe at check-in? I'm thinking I should just leave this alone and chalk it up to good luck, although I'm concerned that if I don't do anything, i'll end up in an middle seat in the back of the bus come check-in time.

Thoughts?

Yes it sounds like an error in your favor. When you pull up your reservation on the UA site (not a dummy booking, your actual booking) does it show you in 9C? Does it show other E+ seats as available for you to select or is 9C an "island" that you're stranded on?

I never received a UA PNR, so i'll have to call the US Res desk to see if there's a PNR attached. Of course, i'm afraid that having any kind of human intervention on the record, from US or UA, will invalidate my assignment.

Think its worth the risk to verify?

UPDATE

I bit the bullet and got my UA PNR (same as the US PNR as it turns out, first time that's happened). Anyways, the seatmap on my reservation does show 9C as my seat, with 9A and B unoccupied. Looks like a legit assignment. I'm going to leave it alone for now and just be thankful.

So I guess all you have to do if you want E+ at booking as a Silver is become a Silver on US.

Have a sense this is going to piss off a LOT of people

Or, book UA flights on the US site.

I didn't make this thread to brag about "taking away" an E+ seat from a UA elite, far from it. I'd honestly give it back if I knew for sure that a UA silver that was supposed to get it didn't (I'm all for fairness and solidarity among low-level elites -- we have to stick together, lol).

Hey mistakes happen... it's a glitch they will likely fix at some point.. if it works out then I say good for you. If this trip is far out in the future it is conceivable they will bump you back at some point but it may stick.

Yeah, i'm concerned about that; the flight is in early August.

So did you check if 9C is the "island" you are stranded on? That would tell a lot. I am a 2P flying with my family next month and when I called about the schedule change, the agent booked us in E+ seats since there were no E- seats together and he didn't want to split up our family, but when I go online, if I try to switch to different E+ seats, it wants to charge.

No, 9C is not an "island". I can see the entire aircraft and the seats next to me/around me, etc.

But can you select them without incurring a fee? Mouse over those other seats.. if it displays a price when you touch the pointer on them then you are indeed on "an island". But, if you can actually move yourself to another E+ seat then you've got E+ access somehow for that flight.

Well, it appears that I am indeed "on an island." When I mouse over the other seats, I do see a price. Here's a screenshot:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink



Sigh...does this mean i'm going to lose the seat when I try OLCI? Should I wait it out and hope it sticks, or assume its already lost and pick a aisle seat in E-?

No it definitely does not mean you'll have to give it up at checkin. If the assignment holds you won't have to pay for it. How the system usually works is that you have to provide a credit card number before selecting an E+ seat. But if you've already got the seat assignment then you've bypassed that step and you're golden (unless it gets taken away for some other reason in the mean time). Most likely you'll be fine unless there's a schedule/equipment change between now and the flight that gets you booted back.

I've come across similar with a booking for Dec 25th I made this week from LHR to MCO. On all four legs that I'm flying in coach, it has booked me directly into E+, but will not let me change a seat without a charge. The booking was through UA.com and is flying both UA and CO aircraft of 4 different types.

Thanks for the explanation. Hopefully it sticks ::fingers crossed::

Interestingly enough, my wife booked a ticket to SEA yesterday for Wed through her work travel agency since it was a bus trip. She is 2P. She got seats assigned automatically on all 4 segments. 1 is on a 50 seat express, but the others were all booked into E+ automatically. 2 of the flights only had e+ available. Don't know if that had anything to do with it, or if the fact it was an E fare, or If maybe sw sort of travel agency thing, but there was definitely no extra charge. Didn't check to see if she could select a different E+ seat without charge.