B fare without GPU and W fare with GPU, which one has priority to upgrade?
 

The following is from united.com. It seems that premier with B fare has priority than W fare with GPU for long haul flight. Am I right?


The following is the order of priority, within five days, on flights that are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades:
Premier members on eligible Y- and B-class fares, as well as Premier 1K members on M-class fares: Instant upgrades that weren't confirmed in advance, sorted by fare class, then Premier status
All travelers on waitlisted Global Premier Upgrades, Regional Premier Upgrades, and MileagePlus Upgrade Awards: Sorted by Premier status of the redeeming account, then fare class and time of request

I think so.

In the old days PM-UA had a priority A and priority B WL. A 1K with SWU would go on A, but by default mileage upgraders would go on B and you needed at least H class in those days. So one would call UA to make sure that one was on the A list when using miles.

I think you may be confusing things here. By "long haul flights" you seem to be referring to international flights of the sort one would buy a W fare (or higher) to upgrade with a GPU. Those flights are not eligible for complimentary premier upgrades. So to answer your specific question, no, a B fare will not upgrade on those flights without an instrument (GPU or miles+co-pay). Now between two pax who are trying to upgrade with a GPU, one on a W and one a B, the pax on the B fare will get upgraded first.

Edited to add: Unless the pax with the W was a GS vs. a 1K on the B, in which case the GS trumps the B fare.

What would be the priority if you have pax on W with GPU and pax on B with miles + money if the have the same status?

Well that's black box because we don't know whether there's any priority GPU vs. miles/copay. If they are equal status, I would assume it's the B fare though. The tough question is what if it's a silver on a B fare and a 1K with a GPU.

there been no indication the GPU or miles+copay have any different priority

based on UA statements, the 1K > Silver

B fare without GPU and W fare with GPU, which one has priority to upgrade?
 

So B fare on a CPU eligible route trumps W fare with a GPU?

if the member is premier, yes. if not, then a gpu wins out (ie, if they are sponsored)

Since when are long hauls eligible for CPU or instant upgrade?

If this is a CPU eligible route, the rules clearly state that Y/B/Ms clear first.

This makes no sense. A B fare only upgrades for premiers. Also the GPU always carries the status of the redeeming account (1K or higher). Which is irrelevant, because the B fare clears first regardless of status if it's a CPU eligible route and the pax is premier.

I believe over the past year+ post-integration we've seen both empirical evidence and an admission by UA that miles+money > GPU, as cash talks and instruments, well, go to the back of the bus.

Isn't the B-up basically instantaneous for any elite? A GPU requires purchase of a W+ ticket and then the instrument is applied. Seems like the B-up is first in line for an available seat, whereas a GPU will go into a status queue?

B fare clears into PN for any elite. I'm not aware of any situation where F>0 and PN=0, hence as long as there is an F seat available any elite on a B fare would clear up on the spot into PN (or call in to have it processed if the website is being difficult). Note that for CPU-eligible flights B fares are not clearing into the same bucket as GPU/RPU/CPU's which clear into R, they are clearing into PN.

Additionally as noted by the OP's quote from the website any B fare that doesn't clear instantly comes before GPU/RPU/Miles+CoPay at each of the confirmation windows and the website goes on to say:

At 24 hours from departure, waitlists will expire and automatic processing of upgrades, per the priority listed above, will continue.

So therefore B should continue to have priority on the waitlist over GPU/RPU/Miles+CoPay in the event an F seat comes open at the last minute.

In terms of GPU on W vs. miles + money on B, it would depend on status but the great unknown in this equation is R availability. If the GPU has EF and finds out R has come open before united.com does a sweep, they can of course call in, jump the waitlist, and confirm into R on the spot.

If the pax had to buy a W fare to use the GPU, then it's not a CPU eligible route and there's no B-up. That's the basic disconnect I'm having with this whole thread. If it's a CPU eligible route, the GPU is valid on any paid, published fare.

I have no recollecting of an UA admission (speculation of phone agents is useless -- they are more wrong than right). Please provide a pointer to such an admission.

If there was a difference would not UA promote this advantage to the mileage+copay purchaser??