Apr 8, 2015, 3:27 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
One of the more confusing aspects of cash upgrades is "does this upgrade get premium cabin mileage bonus and is the fee included in PQD?"
The best assumption is no bonus and fee is not included in PQD but there are some cases where there will be a premium cabin bonus and amount will count toward PQD.
There are multiple cash upgrade paths and different ones are offered at different times (and can be quite hard to separate).
The key is what is the new fare basis after the upgrade. Note R, RN, P, PN, ZN, ON, A and others have been reported.
The following are generally not eligible for PQD or bonus:
However the offer, in "My Reservations" via the cash method tab "Buy Up to First" under "View {Upgrade} Options" is likely to be eligible for PQDs & PQM bonus.
**** Due to UA changes in May 2018, this statement may not be relieable ****
**** This now appears to be an Upgrade Fee (no PQDs) and may book into Upgrade fare class (no extra PQMs) or into a mileage earning bonus fare class (PQMs earning). Unclear if that is a way to tell which will happen ****
Generally these will be reflected on the receipt as
Notice the words "generally" and "likely" -- those are weasel words to protect the wiki author because of the lack of transparency in this system 
For instance, some time of checkin paid upgrades that book into P, will earn PQM bonus but not earn PQDs.
Checking the actual fare basis during booking when you are given access (or using the Saudi site) is key in understanding the outcome.
UA Insider commented on this a while back, but there has been no improvement in the confusion / clarity in the meantime.
The best assumption is no bonus and fee is not included in PQD but there are some cases where there will be a premium cabin bonus and amount will count toward PQD.
There are multiple cash upgrade paths and different ones are offered at different times (and can be quite hard to separate).
The key is what is the new fare basis after the upgrade. Note R, RN, P, PN, ZN, ON, A and others have been reported.
- Many of the upgrade offers results in R/PN/ZN fare class (and post as Zx) -- so like a regular upgrade the mileage posting is based on the original fare class. The upgrade fee does not earn PQDs.
- Others bump the fare basis to a -UP fare which reports as a P/Z/A fare class, these are now earning PQMs at the up-fared fare class and the up-fare costs earns PQDs.
- And others book into a true P/Z/A fare basis and will earn the PQM bonus and the up-fare cost will earn PQDs.
The following are generally not eligible for PQD or bonus:
- Pop-up upgrade immediately following purchase on united.com
- Last minute upgrade at check-in
Additional Charges:
Date/CreditCard XXXX was charged xxx USD for the Merchandising / EDD
xxx USD for: Premium Cabin Upgrade
Date/CreditCard XXXX was charged xxx USD for the Merchandising / EDD
xxx USD for: Premium Cabin Upgrade
**** Due to UA changes in May 2018, this statement may not be relieable ****
**** This now appears to be an Upgrade Fee (no PQDs) and may book into Upgrade fare class (no extra PQMs) or into a mileage earning bonus fare class (PQMs earning). Unclear if that is a way to tell which will happen ****
Generally these will be reflected on the receipt as
Add Collect: An additional amount for the difference in fare was charged to {card} on {date}. $yyy USD per ticket for an additional total of $yyy USD was collected.
For instance, some time of checkin paid upgrades that book into P, will earn PQM bonus but not earn PQDs.
Checking the actual fare basis during booking when you are given access (or using the Saudi site) is key in understanding the outcome.
UA Insider commented on this a while back, but there has been no improvement in the confusion / clarity in the meantime.
Hi Everyone,
I’ve done a little bit of research on this, and I wanted to share some background on the scenario vandrei shared.
At a high level, and as a some of you have noticed more recently in the thread, the buy-up offer we sometimes present immediately upon booking an economy ticket is indeed distinct from the one presented when viewing a reservation in My Account at some point after the flight has been ticketed and confirmed. For example, the offer at booking enables customers to the flexibility to confirm an upgraded seat on a segment-by-segment basis, whereas the one in My Reservations is based on the line of flight.
Additionally, from a functional perspective, the offer immediately upon booking does not change the underlying fare basis for the original purchased fare (even though the visible fare class is reflective of the buy-up inventory), whereas the one in My Reservations results in a complete re-issue of the existing ticket. It is this aspect of the functionality which drives mileage accrual, which is based on the original purchased fare for the offer immediately after booking, but based on the new fare class for the offer in My Reservations. These policies are disclosed in each offer’s respective (and indeed, different) terms and conditions.
Longer-term, the vision is indeed to align mileage accrual policies between the two types of offers. In the meantime, the tradeoff between the two offers continues to be one of additional miles vs. the flexibility to confirm on a segment-by-segment basis.
Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
I’ve done a little bit of research on this, and I wanted to share some background on the scenario vandrei shared.
At a high level, and as a some of you have noticed more recently in the thread, the buy-up offer we sometimes present immediately upon booking an economy ticket is indeed distinct from the one presented when viewing a reservation in My Account at some point after the flight has been ticketed and confirmed. For example, the offer at booking enables customers to the flexibility to confirm an upgraded seat on a segment-by-segment basis, whereas the one in My Reservations is based on the line of flight.
Additionally, from a functional perspective, the offer immediately upon booking does not change the underlying fare basis for the original purchased fare (even though the visible fare class is reflective of the buy-up inventory), whereas the one in My Reservations results in a complete re-issue of the existing ticket. It is this aspect of the functionality which drives mileage accrual, which is based on the original purchased fare for the offer immediately after booking, but based on the new fare class for the offer in My Reservations. These policies are disclosed in each offer’s respective (and indeed, different) terms and conditions.
Longer-term, the vision is indeed to align mileage accrual policies between the two types of offers. In the meantime, the tradeoff between the two offers continues to be one of additional miles vs. the flexibility to confirm on a segment-by-segment basis.
Aaron Goldberg
Sr. Manager - Customer Experience Planning
United Airlines
Some Paid Upgrades Count Towards PQD & mileage bonus and some DON'T!
May 19, 2016, 10:13 am
#346
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Probably worth pointing out to an agent that you flew in F, and seeing what reaction you get. But yeah, if the receipt shows "upgrade fee" (rather than "add/collect") it is UA policy that you earn according to the original fare basis so you might be out of luck.
May 19, 2016, 10:20 am
#347
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Additional Charges:
Date/CreditCard XXXX was charged 119 USD for the Merchandising / EDD
119.00 USD for: Premium Cabin Upgrade
May 19, 2016, 10:25 am
#348
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The annotation which should earn extra (including PQD) is
Add Collect: An additional amount for the difference in fare was charged to {card} on {date}. $379.20 USD per ticket for an additional total of $379.20 USD was collected.
Jun 4, 2016, 2:37 pm
#349
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 156
So I think I have this clear (or as clear as it can be)...
Currently my fare class is E. Online, there is no option to "buy up" on the upgrade page. However on mobile, I can pay $159 for the upgrade ORD-PHX.
Changes of PQD are basically none, and PQM is unlikely (but would not be known until after purchase?)
Currently my fare class is E. Online, there is no option to "buy up" on the upgrade page. However on mobile, I can pay $159 for the upgrade ORD-PHX.
Changes of PQD are basically none, and PQM is unlikely (but would not be known until after purchase?)
Jun 4, 2016, 2:47 pm
#350
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So I think I have this clear (or as clear as it can be)...
Currently my fare class is E. Online, there is no option to "buy up" on the upgrade page. However on mobile, I can pay $159 for the upgrade ORD-PHX.
Changes of PQD are basically none, and PQM is unlikely (but would not be known until after purchase?)
Currently my fare class is E. Online, there is no option to "buy up" on the upgrade page. However on mobile, I can pay $159 for the upgrade ORD-PHX.
Changes of PQD are basically none, and PQM is unlikely (but would not be known until after purchase?)
Also note that, if (1) there are still E fares for sale, and (2) your booked E fare is normal (not a corp discount fare); you can also just call an agent to make sure the ticket is reissued. This should re-issue with booking code F, with extra PQD/RDM and 3x PQM.
Jun 4, 2016, 3:21 pm
#351
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 156
Thanks findark, sorry I did not add to my post - assuming OLCI is online check-in, I am actually within that window (flight is tomorrow).
Jun 4, 2016, 3:36 pm
#352
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Ah, I see. Then yeah, the offer is probably an upgrade fee. BUT, if there is still E space on your flight (which is likely), you can still call to get the ticket reissued for the actual fare difference of $159 plus any special discount you had on your existing ticket. This will print with a booking code of F since there is a matched fare with a 0-day AP requirement.
Jun 4, 2016, 4:33 pm
#353
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This whole thing is ridiculous. The way it should be, and would eliminate any confusion, is if it goes to a R, RN, Z? (where ? is the original economy fare) then you don't get the extra PQM, PQD, PQS. BUT, if it books into a P, A or similar, it should get all the extras, PQM, PQS AND PQD. And it might actually encourage some more buy ups if people know they will get extra PQD's along with the extra PQM's and PQS's. I will never understand (and yes, I know it has been discussed ad nauseum) why the only fee that gets extra PQD's is the E+ fee. Makes no sense to me. Money is money.
Jun 4, 2016, 4:38 pm
#354
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 156
So the option is now available online, and despite the availability of E fares still showing, it now does clearly have the infamous "Mileage accrual and Premier qualification credits will be based on the original purchased fare." footnote.
Jun 4, 2016, 4:44 pm
#355
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If the price ends in $9, this is almost always the case.
Jun 4, 2016, 4:49 pm
#356
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This whole thing is ridiculous. The way it should be, and would eliminate any confusion, is if it goes to a R, RN, Z? (where ? is the original economy fare) then you don't get the extra PQM, PQD, PQS. BUT, if it books into a P, A or similar, it should get all the extras, PQM, PQS AND PQD. And it might actually encourage some more buy ups if people know they will get extra PQD's along with the extra PQM's and PQS's. I will never understand (and yes, I know it has been discussed ad nauseum) why the only fee that gets extra PQD's is the E+ fee. Makes no sense to me. Money is money.
I do agree, though, that miscellaneous fees not being PQD eligible is kind of silly. But I guess it's consistent with change fees etc. not accruing?
- call and pay the difference between your current basis and the lowest available F cabin fare (which looks to be $638, UAA0UPKN). This will reissue the ticket in F (booking class) for 3x PQM and bonus PQD/RDM.
- pay the quoted $159. As you surmised, you will not earn PQD/RDM for the extra, and you should not expect to earn bonus PQM (you may, but this is an error in your favor).
Last edited by findark; Jun 4, 2016 at 4:59 pm Reason: edited for clarity - seems to be an unmatched E fare below standard E
Jun 5, 2016, 6:28 am
#357
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 156
Thanks for the info guys. Definitely looks like a non-earning upgrade.
Also watched my IAD-ORD segment pop up at $89, and then fluctuate between that and $119.
Also watched my IAD-ORD segment pop up at $89, and then fluctuate between that and $119.
Jul 5, 2016, 11:44 am
#358
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Does anyone have experience changing a ticket after you have paid to upgrade the flight? I purchased a $360.20 fare flight. Immediately after the purchase, I was offered to upgrade the coach leg of the trip for $129, which I did. The receipt says the ticket is $360.20 and in the notes it says that I paid $129. (So, total paid is $489.20). However, I need to change this ticket. I just called and was told that I would forfeit the $129 if I voluntarily changed my ticket, and would only get credit for the $360. And if I change it on line, it does not give any value to my additional $129. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do I just need to call the 1K desk again?
Jul 5, 2016, 11:48 am
#359
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I need to change this ticket. I just called and was told that I would forfeit the $129 if I voluntarily changed my ticket, and would only get credit for the $360. And if I change it on line, it does not give any value to my additional $129. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do I just need to call the 1K desk again?
Some have reported they were able to keep the upgrade on an SDC (same day change).
Jul 28, 2016, 3:32 pm
#360
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Wow.. Wish I had seen this thread BEFORE I just upgraded my flight. Ugh.
I did upgrade using the pay for upgrade link but it did not change my PQM.
It's not even last minute. Flight is in 3 weeks... ARGH
I did upgrade using the pay for upgrade link but it did not change my PQM.
It's not even last minute. Flight is in 3 weeks... ARGH