You can only take that value so far. DL is learning this the hard way - they've given away/sold so many miles that they can't charge as much for them.

like others, i used this feature almost EVERY reservation to figure out my itin. and like others, my lowest fares are generally Q, most of the time much higher. this is just another fabricated excuse by ual...we will see if they listen...not sure i have EVER seen such a reaction on FT...

combine it with the change in planes on my normal ORD-SFO-ORD route to A319/A320s why bother? will hit my 1k this week on all domestic flts....guess they don't want us road warriors...feel even worse for those that hit the 120 seg a year...lotta trips to the airport, hanging out in increasingly long "elite" tsa lines and now this...i HAD been under the impression that elite programs were to "reward" and make our lives just a LITTLE bit easier...but all they seem to what to do is make it harder and make us more upset...

You can still search for upgrades online. It isn't as easy but it is possible.

Your only other option to HKG from the USA on a carrier with anything resembling GPUs is Delta. AA doesn't fly on their own metal so you won't be able to use eVIPs. And the Asian carriers aren't going to be as generous on the upgrade options.

Transparency
 

My opinion: FT is so transparent that UA can cherry pick the advice we share and then use it against us by designing features that eliminate our way of coping with a complicated system. Very nice.

As I posted why would I want to book say the 7am JFK-SFO if C is 3 when the 8am has C = 9 Its not only what R is but wanting to book a flight that offers a better chance of the RPU (GPU) clearing as well. While CO wants us to pay for C instead of using our certs. That may happen in 1 or 2 cases but by far that wont be an option to most folks even those flying for biz.

Im sure there will Always be folks who can Game the system to their advantage, no matter what CO comes up with. It seems CO is h*ll bent on getting rid of those who found advantages that favor them.

Please, let's stick to the topic of this thread - "Expert Mode" Changes.

Off-topic posts will be (and have been) deleted.

Thank you.

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

I am just as upset as anybody here about them removing this feature, but in all fairness do Delta and AA present this info or hide it also? Just wondering because I honestly don't know/remember.

Neither presents it on their own site. Certain bits are similarly available through 3rd party sites though the exact amount of data available varies between the carriers and the other tools/sites.

I think the difference with AA, in terms of comped domestic upgrades at the EXP level, is that a lot of us have never checked that availability because our upgrades are clearing as expected, and we're not worried about competing with the sale of paid upgrades. I've never looked at the AA numbers, so can't say I miss them.
AA to Block X/R Inventory Visibility on ExpertFlyer (June 5, 2012)

I looked at the equivalent AA thread and there's only 200 posts over the last 3 months (the UA thread probably hit that number in a few hours). When you're clearing at such high rates (I'm at 100% this year), there's just not a need to go research that number. Now, in the case of upgrades with miles or systemwides (A or C availability), those numbers are still available with Expert Flyer and are not available on the AA website.

I don't expect to add much to this discussion as with over 800 posts, someone must have touched a bit on my comments below, but for the record here they are:

1. If UA doesn't want to upgrade anyone, they should do away with RPUs and GPUs and Miles+Copays, or simply reduce R availability to a much smaller level.

2. Obviously, they prefer to sell seats, but it is to their advantage to allow remaining seats to be "sold" as upgrades for instruments or miles+dollars rather than go out empty, as it brings in cash and/or reduces mile liabilities.

3. So why hide availability. They aren't actually. As other's have pointed out. its still possible on a flight by flight basis to check availability by starting a reservation search in advance mode.

4. So that means to me that they're hiding it by removing expert mode for one of two primary reasons.

A) There really is confusion when people think there's availability by misinterpreting results or someone on a waitist gets screwed because they didn't get upgraded because someone else jumped in before a sweep. As we well know, this is the cause of a lot of criticism here.

B) They didn't like sites like EF scraping the info, making money off of it, and contributing to the screwing of someone on a wait list.

5. Fixes:

A) Repair the backend systems so the system scans waitlists to see if anyone is waiting before releasing to an R bucket.

B) Use capctha's or whatever to prevent scraping without a fee being paid by the scraper, or sell the info direct to us as an expert mode fee. But give us some of the same bells and whistles such as saving searches and providing alerts, etc.

And one last comment. There are certainly some that will and can game the system and procure an upgrade when available instead of paying for Business or FC. But I suspect those are far between. I've gone to asia several times on upgraded tickets. I could never afforded to pay for BF or First. I've gone TATL numerous times, always on upgraded tickets or deeply discounted BF fares (RT at $2,500 or less). Again, I would never be able to afford RT BF fares for my spouse and myself of $6,000 per person.

I just accidentally stumbled into this latest 'improvement I'm going to like' when I went to book a trip from LA to NY in about a week. Thought maybe SHARES was having another meltdown and went to FT to see if there was any news about it. Yikes! 56 pages of 'comments.' It seems almost like clockwork - every week or few weeks, there's yet another dilution of the benefits of being a frequent flyer on UA. Sad. It's like your favorite restaurant that you've gone to for years and has sentimental meaning to you closing, but someone else buying the name and opening a new place that has only one or two of your favorite dishes (with slightly different preparation) from the original place. You can only go to the new place so many times before you give up the memory and start checking out other restaurants. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. :)

one more vote...
 

Just one more huge thumbs down for this one. As others have said UA doesn't want elites, it wants those whose spend the most per mile and provide the highest marginal profit. That's not necessarily the pax who fly the most miles if they've figured out how to get the greatest value for their dollars, euros, whatever and demand the highest levels of service. Kettles buying the most obvious fare and or TOD upgrades are gravy, especially if you have fewer seats to fill. I think UA wants to lose its elites and have them burn through their MP miles as they go out the door. But that's what we may do.

Three words
 

"BAD DOG UNITED!" :mad:

Lurker

I should be saying "thank you" to United for providing such great examples of what NOT to do when it comes to providing excellent customer service. My profession puts me in front of business groups and conferences where I keynote and provide workshops on leadership. I cannot believe the process, changes and the lack of regard for clients. It would be insightful to see the end results that are expected as a result of the changes that have taken place over the last 6 months. I understand a profitable bottom line is the ultimate goal but there are better methods that would provide the same result and eliminate the bad taste in the mouths of what is quickly becoming a smaller group of loyal advocates.
I have lost most of my hair from scratching my head so often after reading about another of your moves to improve United Airlines.

So how do elite members of AA or DL routinely find upgrade space? Do they use the 3rd party site (EF or KVS) or call in to find space?

I wonder if MP will be still be voted the best FF program 8 years in row after this year? You still see it on their banners in magazines and in airports.