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 3, 2013, 7:29 pm
#121
Formerly known as CollegeFlyer
Join Date: Jan 2004
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It seems that the phone agents the OP called do not even know about the 2 options and the "tradeoff" choice, but instead are reading from a script that uniformly denies all bonus miles to both upsells and upgrades, regardless of which type of offer is purchased.
May 3, 2013, 7:34 pm
#122
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 5,814
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
May 3, 2013, 7:35 pm
#123
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: UA 1K, 1MM
Posts: 504
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
May 3, 2013, 8:01 pm
#124
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2012
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May 3, 2013, 8:02 pm
#125
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,513
That isn't always the case.
Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; May 3, 2013 at 8:28 pm Reason: merge
May 4, 2013, 3:23 am
#126
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Posts: 6,355
I respect Aaron being the messenger. I think this will get resolved at some point, but in the present and probably rest of this year, I think we have to resign ourselves to thinking of the two separate offers. What is interesting is what is the offer price at booking and then what is it after it has been pulled up from my reservations?
May 4, 2013, 9:50 am
#127
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Rewards - LTPP
Posts: 4,240
Thanks for the explanation, it certainly clears a lot up. But with FTers being a small part of your customer base, it seems very illogical to use the same fare bucket for both transactions. With all of the buckets available to you, including UPs, it looks like customers (along with phone/ticket/gate/CS agents) will continue to be very confused and frustrated. It's hard enough to get the employees to understand the myriad of rules and policies to date without having to say "Well a P would NORMALLY earn this, but in your case it only earns this."
Jun 11, 2013, 2:25 pm
#128
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: DEN
Programs: United Premier 1K, Marriott Platinum, Frontier, Delta, Hertz Gold, National Emerald Club
Posts: 928
This is a really useful thread! Helped tremendously.
I did know the difference between the "pop-up paid upgrade" offer and the "buy up from the reservations screen" offer before reading here.
I will say, that I've done the buy up offer (not the paid upgrade) twice now, and once it worked automatically (the extra PQM, etc), and the other time, it did not, and I emailed MP and had it fixed after about 3 rounds of emails.
ADVICE: Do NOT mention "Buy-Up" to the CS rep. That resulted in 2 of 3 saying "you get the original fare class PQM" without investigation. They apparently confused the Buy-Up with a Paid Upgrade.
The key was the new ticket number, showing that it was a buy up, and not a paid upgrade. Luckily, I actually did buy up to a fare class that earned extra PQM (I too derive extra value here from extra PQM). I suppose it is completely possible to buy up to M for a 1K, and of course earn M PQM.
I've done a 3rd buy up, and I'll take that flight in a couple of weeks and report how it goes.
It DID reissue the ticket, the new fare basis (thanks Saudi airlines, I didn't check the "terms and conditions link" before I bought the buy up) is "V2UP14N3", which should be a fare basis that gets me the extra PQM, etc.
Also the UA fare class is P, not PN, so I think I'm in good shape.
FINAL NOTE: Even after the buy up and downloading the PDF receipt for that action, my original ticket receipt did not change in any way. Showed the old ticket number, fare classes, everything, when accessed from My Reservations. I would have expected it to update, to reflect the new information from the buy-up process (amount paid, etc).
It DID update to the new information only after I did a “Add E-mail Address and Request Receipt” action. Just FYI for folks on what I've seen after doing a buy up.
Enjoy your upgrades!
I did know the difference between the "pop-up paid upgrade" offer and the "buy up from the reservations screen" offer before reading here.
I will say, that I've done the buy up offer (not the paid upgrade) twice now, and once it worked automatically (the extra PQM, etc), and the other time, it did not, and I emailed MP and had it fixed after about 3 rounds of emails.
ADVICE: Do NOT mention "Buy-Up" to the CS rep. That resulted in 2 of 3 saying "you get the original fare class PQM" without investigation. They apparently confused the Buy-Up with a Paid Upgrade.
The key was the new ticket number, showing that it was a buy up, and not a paid upgrade. Luckily, I actually did buy up to a fare class that earned extra PQM (I too derive extra value here from extra PQM). I suppose it is completely possible to buy up to M for a 1K, and of course earn M PQM.
I've done a 3rd buy up, and I'll take that flight in a couple of weeks and report how it goes.
It DID reissue the ticket, the new fare basis (thanks Saudi airlines, I didn't check the "terms and conditions link" before I bought the buy up) is "V2UP14N3", which should be a fare basis that gets me the extra PQM, etc.
Also the UA fare class is P, not PN, so I think I'm in good shape.
FINAL NOTE: Even after the buy up and downloading the PDF receipt for that action, my original ticket receipt did not change in any way. Showed the old ticket number, fare classes, everything, when accessed from My Reservations. I would have expected it to update, to reflect the new information from the buy-up process (amount paid, etc).
It DID update to the new information only after I did a “Add E-mail Address and Request Receipt” action. Just FYI for folks on what I've seen after doing a buy up.
Enjoy your upgrades!
Jun 27, 2013, 12:04 pm
#130
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Bonus miles for buy up to F?
I know that this has been answered before, and I'm pretty sure that the answer is "no", but a search did not turn up the thread I was hoping for...
If an offer to buy-up to F is accepted, does the reservation re-ticket into a higher fare class that earns bonus PQM/RDM?
Thanks very much -- Mods, please feel free to merge with the appropriate thread!
If an offer to buy-up to F is accepted, does the reservation re-ticket into a higher fare class that earns bonus PQM/RDM?
Thanks very much -- Mods, please feel free to merge with the appropriate thread!
Jun 27, 2013, 12:13 pm
#131
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Depends on class you're buying up to. Last month I did an offered buy-up, went from W to M (showed as ZM), which is (for some elites) an instant-up w/ no class bonus.
Now that you brought it up, I should've looked at $ diff between M and a class higher.
Now that you brought it up, I should've looked at $ diff between M and a class higher.
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Jun 27, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Jun 27, 2013, 12:14 pm
#132
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Jun 27, 2013, 12:17 pm
#133
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Jun 27, 2013, 12:26 pm
#134
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Do TOD buy-ups get booked into full F? Really? I assumed it would be "R" class, with the originally purchased class determining miles earned.
Jun 27, 2013, 12:27 pm
#135
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Hmmm.. Ok -- does the website tell you what class you're buying up to? I'm currently booked in E, and see a buy up for $63.