Trying to keep E+ seats as kettle
 

I'm kettle on UA (US *G) and am traveling with some friends who are 1K. They graciously moved me to E+. I noticed today that even though my full name is in my united profile, the reservation only had my middle initial. I called UA to get the name changed. Because I used a discount code I received from a group I am a member of, I was told I had to call the group desk. I called and the friendly agent switched my name. I asked about my seats and she told me the seats didn't change.

When I checked my reservation on united.com, behold - I had no seats reserved. So I called back in and after 25 minutes they were finally able to get my seats back.

My question is why once my friend moved me to E+, can't I select or change seats online without paying an E+ fee? And why did I loose the seats when they added my middle name? BTW, these were exit row seats if that makes a difference.

You can't keep the seats since you are not qualified for them. The system does sweeps and moves people out that are not entitled via status or paying the fee.

He/She is qualified, at least as the rules are applied. Companions, even on a different PNR, can be moved into E+ by the status member.

In my experience, the E+ you get by calling in a companion is not very sticky, and can get lost for various reasons. You also can't change the seat to another E+ seat without another phone call. Such is life, unfortunately.

no reason to have been concerned about that -- would have been fine to have left it alone.

Separate PNR companion E+ access is a manual feature and can be easily lost while making changes. It can not be done or changed online.

I was concerned I wouldn't get pre-check if my name didn't match my GE information. The folks I talked to on the phone didn't seem to know what a trusted traveler number was so I may not get pre-check anyway.

Thanks. I can understand why it must be manual at first, but not sure why it can't be automated after that. My friend got an E+ "purchase" receipt even though it cost no money. If you actually pay money for E+ do you still have to call if you want to change to another E+ seat?

I have to admit it has been a while since I flew UA. I used to fly them often but stopped when they no longer let me choose E+ seating as a *G.

The discussion elsewhere suggests that is no an issue.


no

So it appears I basically created a problem out of a non-issue. Oh well. Thanks for all the replies!