economyplusfan

I'm sorry. Let me be clearer. I use Aeroplan as a search for I on UA, thinking that I and R are correlated and I like the calendar search feature on Aeroplan. I am aware of expert mode showing availability on .com, and go there afterwards to look for R space. The problem that prompted my post is that .com does NOT show availability for each segment in R if I book a connecting flight. I can only see availability on the first segment in R (I mistakenly said "I" in my post) if I search for that segment separately. Hence my question on how it will ticket if I book an upgrade request for the connecting flight, which you answered !

Kacee

It's really impossible to predict this far out.

MCO is a leisure destination, which means odds of upgrade in general are higher than on a hub-to-hub or primarily business route.

vtbobf

Dumb question, if I use a pay and upgrade with miles is there anyway to guarantee the upgrade or do I always go on the wait list? Any way to find likely hood of an upgrade from JFK to LHR?

Thanks!

-Bob

N104UA

UA does not fly JFK-LHR so your chances of upgrading on UA from JFK-LHR are zero. Out of EWR though they usually don't release upgrade space until a few days prior to departure (about the same time they release saver award space), as EWR-LHR is a premium heavy route. If you use expert mode you can look for R space which will allow an automatic upgrade, but if you have already booked I would recommend requesting now as if R opens you will automatically clear.

vtbobf

yes sorry EWR I'll look for R space. I have not booked yet. Also if I book economy plus and then an upgrade i'll get a credit for the economy plus I already spent right? Thanks!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

The only guaranteed upgrade is if R class is available at booking, otherwise you go on waitlist, where you are ranked for clearing by status, then purchased fare class, and then time of booking. Once on the waitlist, you may or may not get the upgrade.

vtbobf

It says R isn't a valid fare class? I'm trying to upgrade from economy to business. Thanks again!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

You can't search for "R" as a purchasable fare.

Kacee

You can't search for R as a fare class. Enable Expert Mode then click "Details" under each flight to see the available fare classes (including R).

R may be released any time from from beginning of schedule onwards.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

You can also expand search options and select MUA as upgrade type under fare preferences.

N104UA

While it can be released at any time I have found that usually it is not released until closer in, especially on premium heavy routes such as EWR-LHR

Kacee

I would call both SFO-HKG and SFO-NRT "premium heavy" routes and many of us have been quite successful clearing R months in advance on those routes.

And if we go to the "GPU Success" thread we will find multiple examples of "premium heavy" routes clearing months in advance.

It's simply not accurate to state that R is only available close to departure.

vtbobf

Thanks for my ignorance but how do I go about trying to 'clear' an R. I don't have status right now and I'd really like to try and get us upgraded if possible

IAH-OIL-TRASH

If 2 seats are allocated to R at booking, all you need to do is buy the economy tickets and upgrade immediately.

If you're on a waitlist (no R at booking), United will upgrade (clear) those on the waitlist in the order of priority as seats are made available. There is often a time gap (probably hours or less) between allocation of seats to R and upgrade sweeps. During that time, some on a waitlist have had success cutting the queue by calling and asking for the upgrade since R is visible and available. The agents really shouldn't do it (they should clear in order of waitlist), but the gap upgrade space is also available to people buying tickets during that gap. It's a gray area caused by UA's inefficient IT, which should not show R availability if there's a waitlist. It requires you to spend a lot of time trying to catch that gap R availability in a waitlist situation. For example, it might show up at midnight your time once in 7 days - totally hypothetical, but I wanted to give you an idea of what's involved catching R open where you can cut the queue. Your chances of clearing with normally with no status is low/zero on busier travel days.

Another thing - if you're #1 and #2 on waitlist and on the same reservation, and UA allocates only one seat to R, UA will probably pass you both over and give the upgrade to the next single-passenger reservation, who may be #3. You might as well split the reservation to increase upgrade chances. Of course, one outcome might be one with an upgrade and the other not (ie stewing in the back).

prometa

I applied two miles upgrades SFO-IAD-SFO and was waitlisted on both. I then later needed to change the itinerary and am now SFO-LAS-IAD-SFO. When the itin was changed, the outbound upgrade request disappeared, but the return stayed in place. However, SFO-LAS and LAS-IAD had available R inventory. I applied a miles upgrade and was immediately confirmed.

Now, I'd like to withdraw the original IAD-SFO waitlist request. Three questions:

1. 24 hours later, the miles for the original SFO-IAD waitlist request have not been redeposited in my account. Reservations desk sends me to MileagePlus, who sends me back to reservations. Anyone have experience with how long this will take to occur, and whether it's automatic or I'll need to email customer care?
2. Premier desk agent couldn't withdraw the IAD-SFO upgrade request because, according to her (a) it's not possible to do that per segment, only per itin (so I'd lose the confirmed space SFO-LAS-IAD) and (b) that's considered a 'miles redeposit' and I'd be subject to the applicable fee ($125 as a silver). Are either of those correct per United policy or is this a HUACA situation?
3. If I did find a way to get the upgrade request withdrawn, is that also subject to a delay, or will that happen instantly?