ATXflyer

I've been a long time lurker and long time CO flyer. I just recently made 1K.

I have to book a flight to Germany in January and could use some help in using GPUs for an upgrade to BF at booking.

Is there a particular method to use to find those flights where a GPU could be used? I understand I need to purchase a particular class of fare, but could use some pointers. Thanks in advance!

CAPT Tee

To UG on flight to Germany from economy to BF, fare code has to be Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, or W. To check for UG seat at booking, set your account preference to expert mode. Select the flight, click on fare class. You will see something like: Available Cabins: J7, JN7, C7, D7, Z7, ZN7, P6, PN6, R3, RN3, IN2, I2, Y9, YN9, B9, M9, E9, U9, H9, HN9, Q9, V9, W9, S9, T9, L9, K9, G0, N0, XN9, X9.

R or RN > 0 means UG can be confirmed at booking using GPU.

Welcome to the rank of 1K. If is not as bad as you might have read in here, especially if this is your first time making it.

ATXflyer

Awesome! Thanks for the quick tip and warm welcome!

golfingboy

Aside from using expert mode, you can do the following:

Do award searches on UA.com, if you find UA flights with saver Business class availability then that means those flights can be upgraded at booking.

For instance, I need to fly IAD-FRA on 1/12/13 I would go to UA.com and do an award search for that date...

I can see that that the 5:10pm IAD-FRA nonstop has business class saver inventory available, so I would book that flight.

You also can see that the 2:15pm ORD-FRA flight also has saver availability as well, so that is another option. I also see that IAD-AMS has saver availability, so if I prefer that option [prefer 763 over 777 or whatever] I would see if I can book IAD-AMS-FRA with the AMS-FRA segment being on a Lufthansa codeshare.

The award calendar is also another resourceful tool to check other dates for saver availability if you are flexible.

CAPT Tee

BF Saver award bucket - I and Economy to BF UG bucket - R are two different buckets of seats. They don't always have the same number of seats in both buckets.

golfingboy

If there is I, there will be R. I have never seen I > R. Ever.

Doing award search is a far more easier way to get a more macro view of what flights have inventory IMO.

Thunderroad

Welcome to FT! I know that the process involves clicking on "Advanced Search" in the bottom of the reservations box that you find in the upper left hand corner of the home page screen, and then clicking the "Mileage Plus Upgrade Award" at the bottom of the next screen, but am a bit hazy about other details. I also think you need to click the "Enter specific classes of service" box and fill in "W" since that is the lowest economy fare eligible for an upgrade (and is usually at least several hundred dollars more expensive that the lowest economy fare), but I'm not certain about that. I hope that others can help you out.

A few pieces of additional advice, though:

1. If at all possible, grab the flights for which upgrades are available at time of booking. If you simply buy a ticket and wait list an upgrade in the hopes of it clearing later, you may well end up disappointed.
2. If you have a choice between flying to Frankfurt or Munich, choose Munich. It's a much easier airport to navigate.
3. There is a service called Expertflyer.com that provides the same info on upgrade availability that you'll find on the UA site, but in a more easily digestible form. I think it's free for five days as a trial period, then $10/month (including email alerts about whether upgrade seats open up) after than.
4. Though you can score the upgrades by buying at the UA site, given your inexperience with the system you might have to or want to call UA to locate upgrades and/or do the actual ticketing. The quality of United customer service reps varies widely. If you find one who sound ignorant or not helpful, politely end the call and try again.
5. If you do get upgraded on a 747, the upstairs cabin has a nicer ambiance and often better service than the downstairs one, plus nice little cabins to store small bags next to the window seats. And if you fly on a 777 or downstairs on a 747, try to get a seat on the side rather than in the middle, since the middle area is a tightly squeezed four across.
6. I don't believe that UA has finished converting all of its 777s to its new business class seats. You might not need to fly a 777 or, if you do, you might not have a choice. But try to avoid the planes with the old 777 seats if you can.

Happy trails!

Happy trails!

Blootch

I'm new to 1K as well and have never had GPUs before. I'm wondering if it's easier to use a GPU on certain days of the week. Would demand for paid business class be lower on say a Tuesday or Saturday? I'm currently wait listed on UA79 on a Saturday. I'm on a B fare so maybe that would help..

mduell

Depends where you're going. Saturday is a popular day for business class to Asia since you arrive Sunday evening ready for work Monday.

cedahm

It depends on the route. As a general rule for TPAC/TATL flights, midweek is better than weekends for GPU usage, but as always, ymmv. TPAC's like UA79 EWR-NRT will often be heavier on Saturdays since a lot of people like to arrive Sunday afternoon so they can start the week on Monday.

Your fare class would generally help somewhat as you'll be ahead of 1K's on lower fare bucket tickets. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but a quick check shows BF is sold out (J0/C0/D0/Z0) on that flight (assuming you mean this coming Saturday, March 9).

Blootch

My apologies - I meant to put the date (3/30) in the post. I saw all BF sold out for next two Saturdays but there seems to be availability on the 30th: J9, JN9, C9, D9, Z9, ZN9, P4, PN4

TrinaLC

Another GPU question from a 1K newbie. I have a scheduled return flight on Friday 4/26 GRU-IAH, fare class M. When I went to look at upgrade options, there was a "!" message box about GPU upgrades stating `Region is Restricted and may not be used" - and yet the GPU upgrade box was not `greyed out`, and if I select GPU upgrade it says that I am waitlisted for the GPU upgrade.

Can anyone explain whether I would in fact be potentially able to snag the upgrade?

sabbasolo

You are indeed waitlisted it appears, because there is no "R" space available. The message you saw about the region refers to use of RPU's - their use is "restricted on this sector - so you cannot use them on this sector.

TrinaLC

Thanks. I assume they don't open up even if there are empty business class seats (absent someone who has a confirmed GPU seat giving it up)?

halls120

I'm flying TPAC in June. Currently, the flight I'm considering taking is showing F6, FN6, A6, ON2, O0, J9, JN9, C9, D9, Z9, ZN9, P8, PN8, R0, RN0, IN0, I0, Y9, YN9, B9, M9, E9, U9, H9, HN9, Q9, V9, W9, S9, T3, L0, K0, G0, N0, XN0, X0.

No I, no R, but if you run an award search, a standard business saver award is available for that flight.

So how is it a confirmable upgrade at purchase when R=0? Is it confirmable at purchase because it's showing JN9?