eagle007

Hi all,

I've got to do some last minute travel from IAD-DXB and FRA-SFO. Long flights. I'm looking at M and H fares right now because that's what is mostly available.

Can someone give me a primer on how to maximize my chances of getting upgrades on these flights. Business class is half booked on both. on the FRA flight no more E+ available (brutal!)

I'm Gold/Premier Exec. But maybe these flights will take me to plat.

Thanks for the help

UA-NYC

Do you have access to GPUs, or are you planning on doing a miles + copay upgrade? No "free" ones (not supported by miles/instruments) on over the water int'l trips unfortunately.

escapefromphl

Check out how much more B fares are on LH, could be worth your while prepaying the copay and getting the B fare PQM bonus.

tods27

The M copay is $125 more than the H copay ($425 vs $300) for the FRA-SFO flight. I would go with the M if possible as it would put you ahead of Golds on an H or lower. B fares are usually a lot higher, but if you are doing one-ways, a B fare starting in FRA might be a decent deal.

eagle007

I'm gold, so I don't have GPUs. Unless you wanna trade? and is a GPU better than a copay + miles? I thought I read somewhere that the copay+miles is better

An LH B fare is an option. What I worry about on LH is that I won't get E+ if one becomes available. Are you suggesting that I simply optimize around PQMs?

How does it put me ahead of golds? and is there a priority chart somewhere that explains this more?

sbm12

They should be processed the same.


Priority is status, fare, time added to the list. As a Gold on an M fare you'll be ahead of all the other golds other than Y and B fares. You'll be behind all the GS, 1Ks and Platinums.

eagle007

just fyi, I read on another thread that copays were getting priority, can't recall where



So, a Plat in a U or N will get priority over me, even if I am Y?

golfingboy

Yes.

edcho

Y and B fares gets to use the "talk to the hand" card when they are CPU eligible flights. Y/B get upgraded first (M if 1K) by status and then it is processed by status, fares, etc.

eagle007

Ah, thanks. Intl flights aren't CPU eligible though, right?

edcho

There's a few ...

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...e/default.aspx

Check out the chart in the middle of the page. However, if it's over water, then probably not.

eagle007

Thanks, super useful. So, what happens once the 24 hour mark expires on a non-CPU flight? How do waitlisted upgrades process from there? I'm just thinking about all the complaints I've been reading about recently re TOD cash upgrades etc.

edcho

It actually continues to run in the background (to see if there's any space). However, there's a second "battlefield" list that gets you on the visible upgrade list (the same list you see on the GDIS, the website flight status, on the PDA app, etc). You get listed on battlefield when you do online check-in and the criteria is slightly different for that list (uses check-in time instead of booking time). This list gets cleared at the gate.

Somtimes you will see people clear upgrades and skip other people on the battlefield list. That's because they either ...

#1. The EUA (24/48/72/96 hour window clearing upgrades) ran and cleared that person within the 24 hour window.
#2. They accepted a TOD offer.
#3. They actually changed fares (purchased a higher fare when they get to the airport). Sometimes that will show as cleared (dunno why that happens).
#4. They used an RPU/GPU within 24 hours.

Hope that helps

eagle007

Yeah, that helps. The whole process feels very ambiguous. That said, does the battlefield matter on a non-CPU flight?

golfingboy

IME, on an international long haul flight, there will always be at least a couple of battlefield upgrades processed at the gate if there are no last minute walk up full fare passengers, so it does matter.

The only thing you can do here is to check in ASAP if check in opens if your upgrade has not cleared yet.