Last minute flights = zero chance of upgrade
Aug 3, 2012, 5:54 am
#16
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SIN
Programs: UA 1K MM, SQ PPS, CX Silver, Accor Platinum, Marriott Gold, SPG Silver
Posts: 679
Not to go off topic, but clears when using miles? How does that work? I thought you couldn't upgrade when flying on an award ticket. Is it some credit card thing which also transfers? Also, if they are using your miles, the ticket is typically tagged with your status, not your friends.
Aug 3, 2012, 6:23 am
#17
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton GLD, Marriott Plat, NEXUS/GE
Posts: 2,872
Not to go off topic, but clears when using miles? How does that work? I thought you couldn't upgrade when flying on an award ticket. Is it some credit card thing which also transfers? Also, if they are using your miles, the ticket is typically tagged with your status, not your friends.
Aug 3, 2012, 6:30 am
#18
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Hyatt GLOB, Marriott Lifetime PLT, UA 1K 1MM.
Posts: 1,728
wait, one sec. if you're buying a YBM fare, shouldn't you be allowed to upgrade instantly on the webpage as long as there's inventory even if you're within t-72?
Aug 3, 2012, 6:38 am
#19
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
UA does a great job of prioritizing high fare-payers over deep discounters with lots of miles/segments. If OP isn't being UG, he's being beat by GS because there are almost always a couple of F seats held to the gate unless they are sold. If those seats are sold, OP has no beef.
His concern may well be met by the trend to holding more UG's to the gate and sorting it all out there.
Aug 3, 2012, 6:48 am
#20
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Hyatt GLOB, Marriott Lifetime PLT, UA 1K 1MM.
Posts: 1,728
+1 - Exactly. OP says he's buying "expensive" tickets, but doesn't list the fare buckets. If they are Y/B (M doesn't apply to OP because he's not 1K), he's eligible for space-avail. instant UG at time of purchase and, if no space avail., moves to the top of the queue ahead of all CPU's except GS.
UA does a great job of prioritizing high fare-payers over deep discounters with lots of miles/segments. If OP isn't being UG, he's being beat by GS because there are almost always a couple of F seats held to the gate unless they are sold. If those seats are sold, OP has no beef.
His concern may well be met by the trend to holding more UG's to the gate and sorting it all out there.
UA does a great job of prioritizing high fare-payers over deep discounters with lots of miles/segments. If OP isn't being UG, he's being beat by GS because there are almost always a couple of F seats held to the gate unless they are sold. If those seats are sold, OP has no beef.
His concern may well be met by the trend to holding more UG's to the gate and sorting it all out there.
Aug 3, 2012, 6:48 am
#21
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
FWIW, only one out of six flights on my itinerary has a P fare inventory filed. Nope, there was no P on those flights when I bought it. Only PN for BM-UPs.
Unless, the OP is on a Y fare, chances are he is being beat out by GSes often is pretty high.
Aug 3, 2012, 7:48 am
#22
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Meh, if most of the time [I'd bet 80%+ of the time] there is/are 1-2+ F seat when they finally process the last upgrade or two, then they are doing it right and they are not losing potential revenue from full fare customers.
FWIW, only one out of six flights on my itinerary has a P fare inventory filed. Nope, there was no P on those flights when I bought it. Only PN for BM-UPs.
Unless, the OP is on a Y fare, chances are he is being beat out by GSes often is pretty high.
FWIW, only one out of six flights on my itinerary has a P fare inventory filed. Nope, there was no P on those flights when I bought it. Only PN for BM-UPs.
Unless, the OP is on a Y fare, chances are he is being beat out by GSes often is pretty high.
Aug 3, 2012, 8:02 am
#23
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
A GS on any CPU-eligible fare will beat OP on any fare, including an -UP fare, unless OP booked prior to the window. Once you're at the gate on a GS-heavy route, there's nothing to be done (or complained about). Having heard the loud shrieks of GS at the gate on my two most recent TCON's xIAD and the GA's retort that there were 21 and 15 GS who would wind up in Y, that may be the issue here too.
However, on a Y fare, you do not have to wait until the gate and the OP can easily trump any GS if he manually pushes the upgrade through via his reservation if there is JN inventory [which is pretty much given if there is F space].
I think elites on full Y fares [non-discounted or excessively discounted corp/gov't Y fares] should trump GSes any day. Those fares costs more than A/P/Z/etc fares.
Aug 3, 2012, 8:21 am
#25
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
Aug 3, 2012, 8:29 am
#26
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Frozen in Carbonite
Programs: UA Aluminum 0.6MM, Bonvoy Life Sentence, Hyatt Eliteist, AA Super Plutonium
Posts: 2,878
If you are buying full Y tickets 1-2 days before departure you should be able to upgrade instantly if there are any seats available in F and you have any kind of premiere status. I find on most flights that at least one F seat is not given away with the CPU hand outs and gets filled at the gate.
Aug 3, 2012, 9:01 am
#27
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Great points guys.
I'm going by the mobile app.. possibly not the most reliable source but on the upgrade list, it seems to show confirmed upgrades and upgrade wait list. My name is usually #1 but there are 7-8 confirmed/checked-in upgrades and status lists F class as FULL from the upgrade tab.
Today's flight is a Y fare. I believe I've just passed 100k this year (all domestic except for a jaunt to Ireland) but a small fraction of that has been on United. Just like social levels, I fear middle class is getting the hard squeeze. No place/value in MP for 50k-100k flyers..... (my level last year).
Hope this doesn't kick off a political/economical debate
Although I will say it's given me the opportunity to fly VA & DL for most domestic and am now using Porter for Toronto (something I never did as a UA loyalist before).
I'm going by the mobile app.. possibly not the most reliable source but on the upgrade list, it seems to show confirmed upgrades and upgrade wait list. My name is usually #1 but there are 7-8 confirmed/checked-in upgrades and status lists F class as FULL from the upgrade tab.
Today's flight is a Y fare. I believe I've just passed 100k this year (all domestic except for a jaunt to Ireland) but a small fraction of that has been on United. Just like social levels, I fear middle class is getting the hard squeeze. No place/value in MP for 50k-100k flyers..... (my level last year).
Hope this doesn't kick off a political/economical debate
Although I will say it's given me the opportunity to fly VA & DL for most domestic and am now using Porter for Toronto (something I never did as a UA loyalist before).
I will just say though that being in the 1% (GS/1K) is a lot more fun than being one of the 99%! (99,999 PQM and below)
Changed flights not long before departure (of the new flight). Lost my confirmed upgrade that I had on my old flight, and did not get the upgrade on my new flight.
I was still happy that I even was able to get on to the new flight.
Aug 3, 2012, 10:27 am
#28
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: DEN
Programs: United Premier 1K, Marriott Platinum, Frontier, Delta, Hertz Gold, National Emerald Club
Posts: 928
could also be the website issue that a lot of PMUA flyers just aren't aware of and isn't super publicized by the new UA where you have to manually log into united.com and click the "upgrade" button on your reservation. not sure if it's that, but seems not a lot of people are aware of it still and that the YB(M) "instant upgrade" just essentially means it's instantly available, but not instantly processed. :shrug:
Aug 3, 2012, 10:46 am
#29
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: NorCal
Programs: MP Ag, former 1K
Posts: 479
+1 - Exactly. OP says he's buying "expensive" tickets, but doesn't list the fare buckets. If they are Y/B (M doesn't apply to OP because he's not 1K), he's eligible for space-avail. instant UG at time of purchase and, if no space avail., moves to the top of the queue ahead of all CPU's except GS.
UA does a great job of prioritizing high fare-payers over deep discounters with lots of miles/segments. If OP isn't being UG, he's being beat by GS because there are almost always a couple of F seats held to the gate unless they are sold. If those seats are sold, OP has no beef.
His concern may well be met by the trend to holding more UG's to the gate and sorting it all out there.
UA does a great job of prioritizing high fare-payers over deep discounters with lots of miles/segments. If OP isn't being UG, he's being beat by GS because there are almost always a couple of F seats held to the gate unless they are sold. If those seats are sold, OP has no beef.
His concern may well be met by the trend to holding more UG's to the gate and sorting it all out there.
I also agree that OP may be consistently beaten by GS's on the routes that he/she flies as well. My impression was that United holds on to 2 first class seats on the big 757's until after general boarding. I've seen it quite consistently on SFO-LAX a couple of times where they go to coach and pull two elites out of the pile and put them in FC after just about everyone has boarded.
Aug 3, 2012, 11:34 am
#30
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,156
Had a similar experience a few days ago. Changed from RIC-IAD-SFO to RIC-EWR-SFO a few hours before the flight due to weather delays - upgrade EWR-SFO cleared within 30 mins. A few hours later (due to further weather) I got them to protect me the next day on EWR-ORD-SFO - upgrade cleared on ORD-SFO within 10 minutes, and on EWR-ORD about an hour later.