They may be useless to you due to your schedule requirements, but many of us have a near 100% success rate over many years. I know we'll miss the GPUs when we start traveling again.

For us, they've been the difference between staying local and seeing many countries all around the world. We're spoiled and cannot imagine traveling across any ocean without them.

If you're flexible, you should be near 100%, so I really don't think you're as flexible as you think you are.

Made 1K earlier this month for 2015, already used 4 GPU's including a LAX-MEL trip. All our overseas trips this year we were upgraded on the over water flight, using miles and $$$, only missed one domestic CPU's. Just have to have some flexibility on travel dates. Of course YMMV.

I convert mine to LH and always book the 748. With 80 or 92 J seats, there's always been one for me.

If they are worthless, please donate them on CC. You will get plenty of takers.

If you think they are a guarantee to sit in J on the itinerary of your choosing, there is a solution for that, called a ticket.

No idea how to use them. I currently have 14 and 6 will expire soon and another year of throwing them in the toilet. 8 RPUs as well but if I can't use the GPUs domestically, I can only imagine how hard they are to use Internationally.

Is there a forum where I can trade GPUs for drink chits? Talk about a decrease in value.

For Asia, yes. Not so much for TATL ex-SFO. It's pretty rare to see R SFO to Europe these days and those are all dicey flights to waitlist.

I have to agree with everyone above - if you have some flexibility it shouldn't be an issue.

i'm generally using for leisure, so my dates are a bit more flexible and using the above. all of my work travel is domestic. i'm either confirming at booking or clearing off the waitlist with some time in advance. i've had one battlefield UG for EWR -> HKG where I was 1 of 2 gate clearances.

i've been successful for all of my own applications of GPU/SWU for the last nearly 5 years of usage of these instruments using the above methodology. the higher fare class will also help edge out. from the battlefield clearance, i flew on V and my brother who missed, was flying on W.

vs.
I can only repeat from real life bookings: in 10 years, 1.3M BIS miles - not once ever was there I / XC / R (as they were named over the years) inventory.

But at least until the TODification, most ugs would clear eventually.

If you find a city pair with phantom availability (R9) - more power to you!

I use them on work-related TPACs--I'm lumping EWR-DEL into the mix--where I know I'll have to hit the ground running upon landing. Been 1K for two years now and have only missed one GPU (TPE-SFO back in April. Ended up sitting in the exit row and having a perfectly nice flight). The rest have cleared, with about 30% clearing at booking and the rest between a month and 24 hours out, with one GPU clearing as I was sitting in my coach seat prior to departure (there are few more satisfying feelings than being plucked from your seat in the back of the bus before a 13-hour flight and taking your place in J).

I typically buy W fares, which on the routes I fly cost about 20-30% more than K fares.

I've never used a GPU on a leisure trip.

That's one way to look at it. Often there is no R availability but looking at the seat map can be your friend. I flew IAD-LHR with no R availability (I get it, UA is happy to sell that seat to anyone willing to pay 8k RT and why would they give it to me first). 5 of us upgraded at the gate. The more people that jump 1k the better it will be for those of us left behind assuming capacity stays the same.

The other observation I have is that burning GPUs leads me to some strange travel behavior. I will often travel to HKG or popular business destinations over long weekends. The R availability is off the charts because they aren't selling the tickets to the traveling businessperson. Dubai for 4th of July. Sure.

I guess I've been "lucky" since my 2 international trips this year have been last-minute (2 days notice for one, 5 days notice for the other), so no deep-discount fares were available.
The first trip had no R space on either outbound or return, so I rode coach on the way out. My GPU cleared at the gate for the return. My second trip, I was able to find R space in both directions and cleared at booking. That leaves me sitting on 3 (plus the 6 I just received). I suppose there's always a chance I'll burn them up before 1/31 (tried to use 1 for a relatively long domestic flight last week and failed).

A little flexibility goes a long way. A few weeks ago I treated myself by using a GPU to waitlist for a domestic lie-flat mid-con, scheduled to be my last flight of 2014. Cleared today. It will be nice to end the year on a high, right before that depressing moment when all the counters go back to zero.

We are off to SXM from ORD via EWR. Applied RPU and was waitlisted for both segments. ORD EWR leg cleared this morning. I just moved the ORD to EWR segment up a few hours and maintained the upgrade. Now both .bomb and the app show the EWR TO SXM leg as R Class reqested instead of upgrade requested. Probably nothing to worry about just interested if others have seen this as it is the first time I have. Going to be tough to clear with only 2 J seats left to sell on 11/27 down to SXM.

Flying other carriers worked just fine for me.
I am not flexible when it comes to destinations. And yes pre 2012 SWUs often worked. But they stopped once renamed into GPUs.

But I am somewhat unfair - they do work on LH and that is where they will be used henceforward. And even in the worst case - should the ug not clear - I will still get a proper meat dish unlike on UA.