expressboy

I have not managed to clear any SYD flights either with fares as high as M. Try routing through MEL. I have cleared a few.

StuckinITH

Maybe you could check the price difference with V fares which would give you a slight advantage over other 1Ks that only purchase W fares.

Are you trying to upgrade on weekend flights?

SydUAflyer

Well, I am quite price sensitive, so I could only go for W class. Maybe V class might do a trick, but until 2018, I have had near 100% success with upgrades on W class. I notice that this year, United is extremely slow with clearing waitlists. Btw, all of these flights were during weekdays.

aacharya

Consider this:

Short of EWR-DEL, you're asking for upgrades on one of the most coveted business seats in the route network.
And connecting (SFO) to the most elite heavy and GS-laden hub in the network.
Booking the lowest possible fare class possible for using GPUs.

NYC2SGN

Can someone give me a list of the top 10 most difficult flights to get upgraded on?

I thought SFO-SIN was the hardest to get upgraded on.

FLYMSY

Kacee

GPU Failure Report

And

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...2019-a-12.html

transportprof

I've had perfect success in clearing GPUs to and from MEL over the past five years. SYD - LAX also worked for me last year. SYD - SFO and SYD - IAH are much more challenging.

Btw, I always clear at booking. I'm not prepared to play Russian roulette with a flight of that length. If there's no PZ space available, I don't buy the ticket.

Kacee

Day of the week really matters for SYD.

QBK

For what it's worth, all 5 of the GPUs I've used this year (all TATL) have cleared more or less at booking. And last December I cleared IAH-SYD and SYD-SFO at booking. I think GPU availability/usability for me has gotten slightly but noticeably better this year. In past years, with the same degree of flexibility and booking patterns, I was mostly waitlisting them. I feel like over the past 3 years, I've gone from hitting 75% (mostly waitlisted) to hitting 100% (half waitlisted) to 100% (almost all at booking).

Obviously, YMMV wildly! It's entirely possible that the availability patterns of PZ (formerly R) have shifted in a way that benefits me, but disadvantages others. But specifically w/r.t. SYD, I feel like it's gotten better -- the increased lift to Australia (IAH-SYD, LAX-MEL added over the past couple of years to the traditional LAX/SFO-SYD) seems to have made things easier if you have flexibility. SFO-SYD on a Friday during the school holidays is (and always has been) tough.

high.and.above

beginning of this year I did the NZ fare from CDG to WLG, connecting in SFO and SYd. I did 4 of them in one month. on each of SFO-SYD I had a GS next to me complaining that their GPU's did not clear. AS 1K i think that chances of this to clear are close to 0 if a GS can't get it

nomad420

Similar good fortune with GPUs this year as GS but dismal luck last year (and previous) as 1K. Unfortunately before I realized that they actually may have some value I blew a bunch or short hop domestic flights early this year as in prior years I basically applied instruments to every flight I booked. Still have I think 2/3 left and will probably hit 1K mid summer.

WineCountryUA

The hardest routes are those routes where your GPUs have failed.
We don't have a sufficient global view (as individuals) to make a valid list. Loats of anecdotal data is the below threads. But any thoughts on hardest or even easiest will be based on limited personal opinions. Additionally, the time / day of the week and seasonality has a significant impact.

And https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...-nowadays.html

Aussienarelle

I have flights in June 2019, booked in December 2018.

SYD-SFO cleared at booking
SFO-SYD has not cleared and unfortunately it is a Friday flight (a couple of factors locked me into a particular date).

My flights to SYD in December 2017 did not clear so I booked away from United to Air New Zealand (and paid the canx fee) so I could be in their Premium Economy. NZ in Premium Economy is so worth
It. The sooner United puts Premium Plus on the flights to SYD the better as it makes the long haul flight more tolerable - E+ on the long haul flights is horrible (cannot imagine what it is like in E-).

As the OP noted, there are options. I think the decline in ability to use GPUs changed when they got rid of the three cabin planes to Australia. For a route that is so business heavy and with the competition I am surprised they continue with the two cabin aircraft to SYD.

Kacee

The 789 is better for upgrades. The 744 had 52 J seats, the 789 has 48, but considerably lower Y capacity, so the J:Y ratio has actually increased.

From what I've read, it feels like upgrades have in general become more available on the Australia routes over the past five years, some individual experiences to the contrary notwithstanding.