Sfo-fra lh455
 

Anyone with any experience using these on the A380 from SFO to FRA. I'm flying in a couple days. Can you go to the airport the day before and check in at the counter? I'm guessing it has to be the day of. . . When would be the best time to arrive. I think the LH counter opens at 11am. any other advice here is appreciated.

My experience with this was positive
 

I requested two paper certificates for use last month on LH about a month out.

My return changed and I was no longer on LH but rather UA. I had one more GPU on file so I applied that to the return.

In the meantime when I went to checkin for the LH flight SFO-FRA I couldn't find the printed certificate and after searching it was nowhere to be found. Nothing I could do, no chance of applying that GPU. Seat 55C in Coach :(

Didn't get upgraded FRA - SFO (suprised)
Miles posted and GPU was returned to my account (I didn't even have to call the Mileage + Service Center)

i requested a new certificate for LH455 on 6/8 SFO-FRA. Got it the next day vis FedEx.

and BTW those two lost certs - I sent a letter to the Mileage + Service Center and they credited them back to my account in less than two weeks within an email reply saying they had done so.

The biggest issue with these is there is no flexibility if you lose them or change itineraries which has already been stated innumerable times here.

If you can get on the grading list in DEL, you are golden. I've never been able to, and it cost me an upgrade due to a layover in FRA being under 3 hours. I have had a C to F upgrade fail when asking inside 3 hours.

In FRA, I've never had a C to F upgrade fail when asking outside 3 hours.

YMMV. I've had upgrades clear at 6 hours in FRA.

So IOW, you need 3 hours to ensure that catering is not an issue.

YMMV indeed -- I had one clear the day before travel in FRA. Just stopped by one of the LH check-in counters to ask what my chances were, and was handed a J BP and told to "Make sure that I give the GA my certificate tomorrow before boarding."

What happens to certificates requires prior to March 1, but not used. I currently have two GPU certificates received in Jan, but never used them. I knew that my LH trips are adhoc and decide to hold on to them on one such flight. Can UA tell me if I have to send those GPU's back and get new ones re-issued. In my case it defeats the whole purpose of the GPU usage on LH because I cannot be sure which LH flight I'll take next week or next month.

...no worries. You can use them on your next LH-flight.

.bomb says:
"Outstanding certificates will be honored in their current form."

An update from Delhi...I asked if they could call ahead to put me on the grading list and the contract agent had no idea what I was talking about. When I got to the lounge an employee wearing an LH badge was more helpful. He looked up the flight and seemed like he might have even considered processing the upgrade, but alas the flight FRA-ORD is oversold by 11 in economy so he felt he needed to check with his duty manager.

The duty manager confirmed I needed to redeem in FRA, but said he would send a "telex" ahead to FRA so they're aware. Hopefully this takes care of it.

Meanwhile this entire process is stupid. I could go online and confirm an upgrade using miles right now(I checked and it's avail), but it's not worth 40,000 miles (I'd do it for 20).

Edit: I had an EF alert to watch if thing was filling up. Every time I search for a *A upgrade award on United.com I get an alert that the inventory has dropped by one even though I'm not confirming it. Weird!

Success report...mostly
 

We landed about 20 minutes early to FRA and I went straight through security and to the Senator Lounge. The agent seemed to know exactly what the cert was, typed a bunch, and then started writing on my boarding pass. I thought I was in the clear, but then she hands it back and says "the agent will call your name 30 minutes before departure. Upgrades are ONLY processed at that time."

I asked if I would still be able to use the FCL and she said no. Somewhat dejected since this was part of what I was looking forward to, I started wandering around the rather sad Senator lounge (I mean, compared to a UC the Sen lounges are nice, but they're not the FCL).

I decided I wasn't going to give up quite yet and got the idea to just head to the FCL anyway. On the way though I saw an empty service center so decided to play dumb and ask there if I could use the lounge, said i'm waiting for an UG. This agent didn't seem to be as aware of how to process this so she engaged another agent. They appeared to be checking loads, and then she called someone (a flight manager?). There was more discussion (in German) and then the second agent went back to talk to someone else for about 10 minutes.

The first agent sorta reassured me that it was all good. FINALLY, the other agent came from the back bearing a boarding pass for 83C, booked into O class. She told me how to get to the A FCL lounge.

When I got to the lounge it seemed to take longer than usual to checkin...lots of typing. But i was admitted fine. I also noticed an oddity that the seat showing on the LH mobile site was different than my boarding pass. I went back up to the agent and she said yes it had changed. She also asked then if I'd already turned in my coupon and accepted yes when I said I had.

I was also concerned that the flight was showing F4 before I confirmed and still F4 after. Actually now it's up to F6, with only 2 seats booked including me. Maybe they were blocking because of the economy oversell, and my moving up from C didn't change the math?

Anyway this was a rather arduous experience, and I hope they'll get this electronic soon. But all's well that ends well!

so you did or didn't provide the upgrade cert? :confused:

I did, the agent at the service center kept it. It made me nervous that she even had to ask, as if the record isn't noted somehow.

Guessing the answer to this is "no" but here goes:

UA896 HKG-ORD cancelled a few hours ago, and I managed to get rebooked on LH, HKG-FRA-ORD. I have a middle seat HKG-FRA on LH797. Flight is in 9 hours. Any chance there is some way I can apply a GPU?

Not unless you have previously requested a paper GPU under the old process where they were blank. You could maybe upgrade online using miles though.

Yeah the first time I did this, I went to the Sen lounge, and the upgrade was processed at the gate. Then I read FT, and the second time, and dozens of times since, I just headed straight to the FCL.

No chance of calling in and pleading my case?

None. Even the *A upgrade cannot be applied <24h in advance. You probably have a 748 flight ex HKG, so the first leg should be nice.