"Expert Mode" Changes
#857


Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: DCA // IAD
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1MM, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Plat, HHonors Gold, Delta Commoner
Posts: 206
Is anybody writing to United?
Outside of FT, is anyone writing to the 1k customer service desk to complain?
Do people think getting a petition signed on this issue will make any difference to United?
I know in the past, mass complaints have affected and reversed some decisions....
Do people think getting a petition signed on this issue will make any difference to United?
I know in the past, mass complaints have affected and reversed some decisions....
#858
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend




Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
If it returns no flights at all then you're probably doing the search wrong. If it is just returning no flights with upgrades then that's likely because, well, there are no upgrades available. The latter wouldn't depend on this change and the former would likely be an end-user training issue.
#859
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Programs: DL SM Plat, B6 TrueBlue, UA MP, AAdvantage
Posts: 10,008
And, by that measure, there is no metric which will tell you it is the wrong change to make either.
So we can all hate the move but pretending we know it is going to destroy the company and see huge volumes of revenue go running out the door seems rather strange to me.
There is a difference between "this is bad for me" and "this is bad for customers" and "this is bad for the company." Failing to recognize that leads to all sorts of issues in the long run.
So we can all hate the move but pretending we know it is going to destroy the company and see huge volumes of revenue go running out the door seems rather strange to me.
There is a difference between "this is bad for me" and "this is bad for customers" and "this is bad for the company." Failing to recognize that leads to all sorts of issues in the long run.
And the reaction here on FT may certainly not be indicative of the larger customer base (or it might be).
I think the point is, that a big part of management is understanding and managing customer psychology and expectations.
In my experience, that's an aspect that CO has never especially excelled at, relying instead on their numbers-driven metrics to guide their decisions, even if their guts tell them there will be a downside as valuable customers are put off or driven away,
#860

Join Date: May 2008
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, DL, AA, AS
Posts: 306
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards
So I know we can still search for R availability with the Advanced Search function and click on MileagePlus Upgrade Awards but this forces you to redeem miles with a copay. What if you want to use a GPU?
Do you check for MileagePlus Upgrade Availability and if there is one, buy the ticket in W and hope the "UPGRADE" button is there after you buy the ticket?
Has anyone been successful getting a confirmed GPU upgrade since "expert mode" went down Friday?
Do you check for MileagePlus Upgrade Availability and if there is one, buy the ticket in W and hope the "UPGRADE" button is there after you buy the ticket?
Has anyone been successful getting a confirmed GPU upgrade since "expert mode" went down Friday?
#861
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
That's the solution to everything with this regime.
Just give up your life. All of it. Friends, family, work, food, rest, play. Give it all up. Spend the rest of your life on the phone, preferably with someone in Manila who has never even seen the system before taking your call.
That's what everything seems to lead to.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Sep 9, 2012 at 4:57 pm Reason: merge
#862


Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Carmel Valley(was Hawaii)
Programs: United 1K 2.7 MM
Posts: 1,188
Does it return no flights at all or no flights with upgrade seats?
If it returns no flights at all then you're probably doing the search wrong. If it is just returning no flights with upgrades then that's likely because, well, there are no upgrades available. The latter wouldn't depend on this change and the former would likely be an end-user training issue.
If it returns no flights at all then you're probably doing the search wrong. If it is just returning no flights with upgrades then that's likely because, well, there are no upgrades available. The latter wouldn't depend on this change and the former would likely be an end-user training issue.
I log in as 1K, go to advance search
Put in dates for 2013 ie SFO-SYD jan 16 to Jan 29
put in w fare
click box to upgrade using award miles both directions
click search, and get the message that nothing is available.
What ma I doing wrong? I have searched the thread, and other than comments that the info is still available, I haven't seen the methodology
#863
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 12,952
Yes, I assume I'm doing the search wrong: please help with training
I log in as 1K, go to advance search
Put in dates for 2013 ie SFO-SYD jan 16 to Jan 29
put in w fare
click box to upgrade using award miles both directions
click search, and get the message that nothing is available.
What ma I doing wrong? I have searched the thread, and other than comments that the info is still available, I haven't seen the methodology
I log in as 1K, go to advance search
Put in dates for 2013 ie SFO-SYD jan 16 to Jan 29
put in w fare
click box to upgrade using award miles both directions
click search, and get the message that nothing is available.
What ma I doing wrong? I have searched the thread, and other than comments that the info is still available, I haven't seen the methodology

[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.5/Diamond - ITA: Upgrades/UA]
Code:
SFO San Francisco Intl CA US [KSFO] SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith NS AU [YSSY] WED 16 Jan 2013 | 1 Seat Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability --------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- ------------ UA 863 SFO 22:35 SYD 08:10 +2 744 CU- UA/NZ 6755 SFO 19:30 AKL 05:30 +2 744 CU- -> UA/NZ 6771 AKL 07:00 +2 SYD 08:30 +2 763 CU- UA/NZ 6755 SFO 19:30 AKL 05:30 +2 744 CU- -> UA/NZ 6773 AKL 09:00 +2 SYD 10:30 +2 772 CU- UA/NZ 6755 SFO 19:30 AKL 05:30 +2 744 CU- -> UA/NZ 6775 AKL 13:00 +2 SYD 14:30 +2 763 CU- UA 368 SFO 19:20 LAX 20:48 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 499 SFO 18:40 LAX 20:08 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 548 SFO 17:40 LAX 19:08 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 769 SFO 16:40 LAX 18:08 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 842 SFO 15:30 LAX 16:58 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 698 SFO 14:20 LAX 15:48 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 541 SFO 13:00 LAX 14:28 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 867 SFO 11:40 LAX 13:08 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 653 SFO 10:45 LAX 12:17 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 814 SFO 09:05 LAX 10:37 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU- UA 479 SFO 08:30 LAX 10:02 319 CU- -> UA 839 LAX 22:15 SYD 07:50 +2 744 CU-
Code:
SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith NS AU [YSSY] SFO San Francisco Intl CA US [KSFO] TUE 29 Jan 2013 | 1 Seat Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability --------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- ------------ UA 870 SYD 16:20 SFO 10:50 744 CU- UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 318 LAX 11:00 SFO 12:38 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 988 LAX 12:45 SFO 14:10 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 444 LAX 14:00 SFO 15:25 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 703 LAX 16:00 SFO 17:25 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 460 LAX 16:40 SFO 18:05 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 746 LAX 18:00 SFO 19:25 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 954 LAX 19:05 SFO 20:30 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 841 LAX 20:05 SFO 21:30 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 263 LAX 22:40 SFO 23:59 319 CU+ UA 840 SYD 15:20 LAX 09:50 744 CU- -> UA 414 LAX 06:00 +1 SFO 07:27 +1 319 CU+
#864
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SoCal
Programs: UA Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 833
Edit - @ mmack There seems to be a valid W fare => website not working properly, despite sbm12 blaming the problem on you
Last edited by murphyUA; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:17 pm
#865
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend




Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
This is what's breaking it.
You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.
You sure about that? I'm not seeing one which works in initial queries.
Seems to only work with a connection via LAX on the outbound which the site isn't pricing for some reason.
ETA2: Actually, looking at ITA, the W fare only works on the 16th with a double connect (LAS, LAX) or an overnight in LAX and LAX-SYD on the 17th, arriving the 19th. And that double-connect option is actually pricing as SFO-LAS + LAS-SYD + SYD-SFO. I'm actually not all that surprised that the United website doesn't show that.
You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.
Seems to only work with a connection via LAX on the outbound which the site isn't pricing for some reason.

ETA2: Actually, looking at ITA, the W fare only works on the 16th with a double connect (LAS, LAX) or an overnight in LAX and LAX-SYD on the 17th, arriving the 19th. And that double-connect option is actually pricing as SFO-LAS + LAS-SYD + SYD-SFO. I'm actually not all that surprised that the United website doesn't show that.
Last edited by sbm12; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:30 pm
#866
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SoCal
Programs: UA Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 833
I still wouldn't follow that advice, because it's giving you a V fare on the outbound. ITA is pricing out a cheaper W fare on those dates (total fare is about $120 less).
After a few edits, I think we all might finally be on the same page
@ sbm12, perhaps it's because united.com is nice enough not to offer a 22 hour layover at LAX
After a few edits, I think we all might finally be on the same page

@ sbm12, perhaps it's because united.com is nice enough not to offer a 22 hour layover at LAX
#868


Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Carolina
Programs: UA LT Gold, American Kettle, Hertz #1 Presidents Circle, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 930
This is what's breaking it.
You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.
You have to search for Y,B,M,E,U,H,Q,V,W not just W. Or, if you have a web browser which supports GreaseMonkey, you can grab the script I have here which will always have that text in the advanced search box so it searches the proper fare classes.
Update: I had a screen clip, but don't know how to get it into the post without an external web site. Sorry.
Last edited by drowelf; Sep 9, 2012 at 5:36 pm Reason: Deal with Image better
#869
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend




Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
I'll take a look.
ETA: Seems to still be working for me; I sent you an email.
ETA2: You're looking for my fare bucket info script to work. That's not going to happen. It was based on the premise of the data being embedded in the webpage. Once United pulled that the script died. The link I posted above is a different script which just fills in the fare classes which are GPU-eligible on the advanced search form. Sorry for the confusion.
ETA: Seems to still be working for me; I sent you an email.
ETA2: You're looking for my fare bucket info script to work. That's not going to happen. It was based on the premise of the data being embedded in the webpage. Once United pulled that the script died. The link I posted above is a different script which just fills in the fare classes which are GPU-eligible on the advanced search form. Sorry for the confusion.
#870
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: UA 1k, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat
Posts: 484
Presumably, this is just a precursor to unlimited upgrade space that can be confirmed by 1Ks and extension of GPU validity to any fare class, right? 
Seriously though, this seems like a poor decision that is short-sighted, vindictive, or both.

Seriously though, this seems like a poor decision that is short-sighted, vindictive, or both.

