The website says, as quoted by WineCountryUA: "As customers check in, they will be placed on an airport upgrade standby list. This standby list will clear after check-in is closed, and is based on Premier status and fare class. "

It says "based on Premier status and fare class", but it doesn't say HOW it's based on Premier status and fare class. It doesn't say "ordered by premier status, and then fare class within each status".

It is absolutely possible to use this subset of the "5 day list" priority (removing GPU/RPU/Miles+Cash) and still be "based on Premier status and fare class":

Premier members on eligible Y- and B-class fares, as well as Premier 1K members on M-class fares, sorted by fare class, then Premier status
All remaining Premier members Sorted by Premier status, then fare class and award travel

So, this is valid: Y GS, Y 1K, Y Plat, Y Gold, Y Silver, B GS, B 1K, B Plat, B Gold, B Silver, M GS, M 1K, remaining GS sorted by fare class, remaining 1K sorted by fare class, ...

OK, I guess we could argue the "plain meaning" of this language until we're blue in the face (and we seem to be), but I think there's AGREEMENT that -- in practice -- fare class often trumps elite status EVEN AT THE GATE.

What this means in practical terms, of course, is that status isn't worth a heck of a lot at UA these days. Unless you're buying an expensive ticket, you're often going to be at the bottom of the upgrade heap even if you're a 1K (or, presumably, a GS).

This is profoundly different from how upgrade priority used to work at CO (I'm not too familiar with the "old UA" system) and, I believe, different from how upgrades are processed today at, say, AA).

Your analysis, which I believe is likely to be correct, begs the following question: why not make the "tie breaker" the same, to avoid at least some of the confusion? Pick one or the other.

And, while they're at it, why not better explain to folks that their upgrade priority is going to be heavily dependent on their fare class?

In this regard, has anyone studied the prevalence of Y and B fares in certain markets as opposed to others? We get widely different reports from 1Ks about their upgrade percentages on CPUs. I'll bet those who fly routes where there are lots of Y and B travelers have few upgrades, and those who fly routes where there are lower fare buckets that a business traveler could otherwise buy get lots of upgrades.

With some of the mystery behind how the final F seats are assigned, I recently was in a situation where I jumped ahead of the queue everyone is discussing here in the CPU thread.

I was originally booked on AA and during airport check-in was told I was in an oversold situation. AA offered compensation to fly a different routing (international => domestic). The international flight was a OW partner, and I assumed the domestic flight was on AA. However I later realized that they printed me a UA F boarding pass. So other airlines pay for last minute F tickets in situations like IRROPS and oversold situations.

I don't believe anyone has said otherwise. It is (for CPU eligible flights) before CPU windows open, it is true during the CPU windows and it is true for the gate list. And yes UA places YB and for 1Ks M fares above the status CPU list. BTW, while not stated, it is believed GS trumps everything per UA Insider.

Well as PMUA flyer all I can go by is other PMCO folks that have posted, details that seem to be essentially the same as today, see post# 639



decent question but for whatever reason there is difference -- whim , system driving, matching some competitor -- BTW, this is what PMUA was, I dont know about PMCO (post 639 seems to suggest this is no change from PMCO system)

seem to be clear enough on the website

not public info but we do know UA provides large corporations and the Federal / State governments discounted YBM fares that are comparable to the mid-level fares the rest of us unblessed types pay.

SF and Boston in the playoffs? CPUs for everyone!
 

... well maybe not everyone, but this lowly Gold scored his first-ever CPU today, and on a nearly 7-hour transcon to boot. For the first time in my adult life, the BOS>SFO flight is less than half full.

Turns out there's some sort of sportsball game that seems to be rendering otherwise sane individuals unwilling to fly today. ;) And I guess it's also the middle of a three-day weekend, but who's counting.

Good thing my next return flight is on Super Bowl Sunday: maybe I'll be 2 for 2!

A Silver reported an transcon upgrade for today as well. Must be really light traffic.

Yup, after the Golds got their upgrades at T-48 there were still two open seats in F!

My guess is that Sunday of a long weekend is a bigger factor than the game. Airlines sometimes publish fares that are good for a single day only for the Sunday of a long weekend. It's a very, very low travel time.

Upgrades probably would have stopped at that point anyway -- there could still have been Golds let. CPUs do not fill all F seats at T-48.