Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Upgrading Flights Operated by ANA , Lufthansa or COPA
Partner PlusPoints Upgrade Awards
For general information on upgrading ANA or Lufthansa flights with PlusPoints (note to use miles is a separate process) see Upgrading Flights Operated by ANA , Lufthansa or COPA You actually request the upgrade through the online form, here: Partner PlusPoints Upgrade Awards
Per United web support, you only need to fill in the required* info.
**The LH flight you are upgrading must be an LH flight, not a UA codeshare flight. If you have a UA codeshare flight, you can call websupport and they will (put you on hold and] change your itinerary to one with an LH flight#.
Note that UA websupport might give you a new ticket # when you do the above, but if the original ticket # was 016 UA stock, it will remain so, and thus you will still be earning RDMs at the UA rate (11x for a 1K), not the *A rate. In case of a $6000 biz fare for LAX-FRA that you are trying to upgrade to F for example, as a 1K you would earn 66,000 UA RDM if booked as a UA flight. And even though after booking you get them to change the UA flight # from a UA codeshare flight to an LH flight, the 016 ticket stock sticks, and you earn 66,000 RDMs.
(FYI, had the ticket stock been an LH stock, the RDM's earned would be 5790 miles x 150% = 8685 RDMs. Big difference)
Note that sometimes the online upgrading does not work, and you may get an error message to call an 877 number, which is now defunct but still resides on .bomb...Ignore it and just call web support. They might put you on hold while they call LH but they will get the job done.
Eligible Economy Fares to Apply PlusPounts
Upgradeable to business fares include U/H/Q the lowest eligible economy fares. G&E the two top premium economy fares and Y/B/M the most expensive economy fares. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24219165-post205.html)While UA has not changed their T&Cs, LH appears to have expanded the potential fare classes
For C->F upgrade, J, D, C fares are eligible, Z and P fares are not
.
LH booking class P, Z upgreadable for miles and eVouchers
From April to September 2018 it was possible to confirm and waitlist P,Z-class LH flights with a PlusPoints. Confirming and waitlisting is no now longer possible, but previously waitlisted segments will continue to clear as/if available.
Checking for Upgrade Availability
Upgrades to E, C and F come from the R, I and O fare bucket, but its a subset, which theoretically is not the same as the award subset. If awards are available it is a strong indication the upgrade is available too. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24861289-post342.html)
In case of upgrade clearing but eticket refresh problems:
Checking for availability prior to calling
Use ANA or even united.com to see availability.
To check if C/F upgrades may open up, ask in this thread: Determining LH Y/C/F loads? [the help me guesstimate loads thread]
Regarding ticket stock, Oliver reports:
Each LH flight segment requires a separate set of PlusPoints
A single set of PlusPoints can be used to only upgrade a single LH flight segment, And that PlusPoints cannot be extended to include another LH flight segment or another UA flight segment.
Problems getting mileage credit for upgraded LH segments
Numerous reports of denial of mileage credits (RDMs, PQMs, PQSs, PQDs) for upgraded tickets. This issue is probably due to LH uses the same fare bucket for mileage awards and upgrades. It seems patience, persistence, and documentation of the originally paid fare are needed to get credit.
You probably won't get credit by simply submitting the online form or asking a CSR to do so for you. A CSR needs to submit a System Issue Form, together with the mileage request, explaining that you flew in I class, but you paid for a mileage-earning booking class.
T-10
While the original system did not allow the upgrade waitlist to carry on past t-10 hours, the have been multiple reports that this is no longer the case. If not cleared in advance - the upgrade wait-list will last all the way until the door closing. UA has not updated the text on the LH upgrades to reflect this change.
Premium Eco To Biz Upgrade
Archive Thread: Lufthansa GPUs Go Electronic {Archive}
Related Thread
How to upgrade with UA miles on Star Alliance carriers
Partner PlusPoints Upgrade Awards
For general information on upgrading ANA or Lufthansa flights with PlusPoints (note to use miles is a separate process) see Upgrading Flights Operated by ANA , Lufthansa or COPA You actually request the upgrade through the online form, here: Partner PlusPoints Upgrade Awards
Per United web support, you only need to fill in the required* info.
**The LH flight you are upgrading must be an LH flight, not a UA codeshare flight. If you have a UA codeshare flight, you can call websupport and they will (put you on hold and] change your itinerary to one with an LH flight#.
Note that UA websupport might give you a new ticket # when you do the above, but if the original ticket # was 016 UA stock, it will remain so, and thus you will still be earning RDMs at the UA rate (11x for a 1K), not the *A rate. In case of a $6000 biz fare for LAX-FRA that you are trying to upgrade to F for example, as a 1K you would earn 66,000 UA RDM if booked as a UA flight. And even though after booking you get them to change the UA flight # from a UA codeshare flight to an LH flight, the 016 ticket stock sticks, and you earn 66,000 RDMs.
(FYI, had the ticket stock been an LH stock, the RDM's earned would be 5790 miles x 150% = 8685 RDMs. Big difference)
Note that sometimes the online upgrading does not work, and you may get an error message to call an 877 number, which is now defunct but still resides on .bomb...Ignore it and just call web support. They might put you on hold while they call LH but they will get the job done.
Eligible Economy Fares to Apply PlusPounts
Upgradeable to business fares include U/H/Q the lowest eligible economy fares. G&E the two top premium economy fares and Y/B/M the most expensive economy fares. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24219165-post205.html)While UA has not changed their T&Cs, LH appears to have expanded the potential fare classes
... Just check the tables here: https://www.miles-and-more.com/onlin...l=en&cid=18002
.
From April to September 2018 it was possible to confirm and waitlist P,Z-class LH flights with a PlusPoints. Confirming and waitlisting is no now longer possible, but previously waitlisted segments will continue to clear as/if available.
Checking for Upgrade Availability
Upgrades to E, C and F come from the R, I and O fare bucket, but its a subset, which theoretically is not the same as the award subset. If awards are available it is a strong indication the upgrade is available too. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24861289-post342.html)
In case of upgrade clearing but eticket refresh problems:
Originally Posted by oliver2002
Both longhaul LH segments cleared into I after being on waitlist. The first didnt get stickered, so the DCS (amadeus altea) rejected online and agent checkin. The eticket helpdesk had to manually update the first coupon for the DCS to accept the coupon. My seat in C was safe, since the PNR was updated correctly, just the ticket was not updated completely to the satisfaction of the DCS. Everyone looking at the booking agreed the upgrade was legit, so you will not be denied boarding or downgraded, just budget enough time
Originally Posted by oliver2002
The LH GA must have called the eticket helpdesk and pointed out the * SSR remark in your reservation that shows an upgrade was applied and the e-ticket just needed a fix/sticker. See my experience above.
To check if C/F upgrades may open up, ask in this thread: Determining LH Y/C/F loads? [the help me guesstimate loads thread]
Regarding ticket stock, Oliver reports:
Each LH flight segment requires a separate set of PlusPoints
A single set of PlusPoints can be used to only upgrade a single LH flight segment, And that PlusPoints cannot be extended to include another LH flight segment or another UA flight segment.
Problems getting mileage credit for upgraded LH segments
Numerous reports of denial of mileage credits (RDMs, PQMs, PQSs, PQDs) for upgraded tickets. This issue is probably due to LH uses the same fare bucket for mileage awards and upgrades. It seems patience, persistence, and documentation of the originally paid fare are needed to get credit.
You probably won't get credit by simply submitting the online form or asking a CSR to do so for you. A CSR needs to submit a System Issue Form, together with the mileage request, explaining that you flew in I class, but you paid for a mileage-earning booking class.
T-10
While the original system did not allow the upgrade waitlist to carry on past t-10 hours, the have been multiple reports that this is no longer the case. If not cleared in advance - the upgrade wait-list will last all the way until the door closing. UA has not updated the text on the LH upgrades to reflect this change.
Premium Eco To Biz Upgrade
Related Thread
How to upgrade with UA miles on Star Alliance carriers
LH Electronic PlusPts Upgrades -How to use, will it clear?, issues w/flight credit,..
#436
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Houston
Programs: UA - 1K, Marriott - Gold, Hilton - Gold, Global Entry,
Posts: 630
PP upgrades to LH F have been a great success for me. But sometimes agents still don't know what I'm talking about when I request the UA codeshare flight number to be flipped to an LH native flight number. On hold now b/c the supervisor told the agent that is not possible and the flight is not upgradeable. I asked the agent to go back to another supervisor because this is how I've done this 4 times in the last 2 years. She's very nice but she is also perplexed. I view PP usage to upgrade to LH F one of the best benefits of 1K.
***Update - this was resolved. UA codeshare flipped to an LH Native flight number. Immediately requested upgrade online, and it immediately confirmed. Flight is in late May. Nice work, United. I surely hope this benefit sticks around.
***Update - this was resolved. UA codeshare flipped to an LH Native flight number. Immediately requested upgrade online, and it immediately confirmed. Flight is in late May. Nice work, United. I surely hope this benefit sticks around.
Next agent on a Monday was clueless and said she needed to check with supervisor and put me on hold. When someone came back on line it was LH agent and no UA agent on line. LH agent said their were no upgrades and I hung up.
Third agent knew what to do but said they never call another airline and said I was out of luck.
Fourth agent was helpful and called up LH but came back and said LH said it was a hard no.
I ended up canceling that trip and rebooking LH ticket on different dates so I wouldn’t have to deal with ordeal of converting a codeshare to a LH native flight.
Separate question-
i had to cancel a different LH flight with a confirmed PP upgrade. Will those automatically redeposit?
#437
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,017
Well you are trying to work a difficult edge case. Waiting too long and not having inventory available is a well known problem that in many cases isn’t easily resolvable. Always immediately call to convert these tickets, then there is very little chance to run into that problem.
Returning +Ps is YMMV. May happen, May not happen. Calling or Emailing MP will get it done.
Returning +Ps is YMMV. May happen, May not happen. Calling or Emailing MP will get it done.
#438
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: Former UA1K transitioning to WFBF mentality
Posts: 778
Well you are trying to work a difficult edge case. Waiting too long and not having inventory available is a well known problem that in many cases isn’t easily resolvable. Always immediately call to convert these tickets, then there is very little chance to run into that problem.
Returning +Ps is YMMV. May happen, May not happen. Calling or Emailing MP will get it done.
Returning +Ps is YMMV. May happen, May not happen. Calling or Emailing MP will get it done.
Btw it was $130 to upfare D UA codeshare to C LH native, but a change fee + 1 F seat left made me unwilling to do this.
#439
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 172
Booked on a LH ticket in D MUC-BOS in April (LH424 out on 29th April). Return flight upgrade w/ plus points to O (first class) cleared right away, but outbound ended up on waitlist, despite showing F8A6 when I requested a few weeks ago - and still showing that today. Is there any sense to 'cancelling' the upgrade and re-requesting it to see if it clears - or should I just wait?
#440
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,017
Booked on a LH ticket in D MUC-BOS in April (LH424 out on 29th April). Return flight upgrade w/ plus points to O (first class) cleared right away, but outbound ended up on waitlist, despite showing F8A6 when I requested a few weeks ago - and still showing that today. Is there any sense to 'cancelling' the upgrade and re-requesting it to see if it clears - or should I just wait?
that is extremely unusual. Is that the only segment? Could be a married segment problem. UA has had issues w/ married segments and I had to remind UA agents that they need to convert all segments and look at availability across all segments.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 21, 2024 at 1:10 pm Reason: merged consecutive posts by same member
#441
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 172
#442
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: Former UA1K transitioning to WFBF mentality
Posts: 778
I originate on train (DB, but with UA codeshare number) so maybe that was the problem.
#443
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,017
#444
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: UA 2.6 MM, 1K, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 115
For those interested, my LH 7169 FRA to HND cleared from Premium Economy to Business using 30PP about 48h before departure. Until then, upgrade was 'waitlisted' on my reservation. Happy that it cleared, there were just two seats available for me to pick right after clearance.
Szbenny
Szbenny
Thank you.
It looks like this link is allowing for PlusPoint upgrade and being added to the waiting list. Brilliant! If it works out at the end...
It looks like this link is allowing for PlusPoint upgrade and being added to the waiting list. Brilliant! If it works out at the end...
#445
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,017
Mind sharing route and dates?
#446
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: American
Posts: 2
Wondering if I did this right? I think I did so just looking for confirmation. Booked a multi city flight the other day on UA. First leg operated already by Discover Airlines and second leg UA. Chatted with UA and they rebooked me onto a LH flight. Went from O class in UA to G class for LH. LH402 departing on 10/5/24 from FRA to EWR. I then used the link to request a PP Upgrade for LH. Filled out the form and got "Thank you for choosing United. You have been added to the waitlist" So I should be good to go right? Now its just the waiting game to see if it clears? Any way for me to see what availability exists today or understand my odds? I get its fluid and changes but just for my own obsessing. I scoured the pages of this forum and didn't see a clear way to look. Used an old LH website link but that didnt get me that far. Thanks in advance for anyone who replies. Appreciate this forum!
#447
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,017
Wondering if I did this right? I think I did so just looking for confirmation. Booked a multi city flight the other day on UA. First leg operated already by Discover Airlines and second leg UA. Chatted with UA and they rebooked me onto a LH flight. Went from O class in UA to G class for LH. LH402 departing on 10/5/24 from FRA to EWR. I then used the link to request a PP Upgrade for LH. Filled out the form and got "Thank you for choosing United. You have been added to the waitlist" So I should be good to go right? Now its just the waiting game to see if it clears? Any way for me to see what availability exists today or understand my odds? I get its fluid and changes but just for my own obsessing. I scoured the pages of this forum and didn't see a clear way to look. Used an old LH website link but that didn't get me that far. Thanks in advance for anyone who replies. Appreciate this forum!
#448
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: Former UA1K transitioning to WFBF mentality
Posts: 778
PS I double checked and original train connector from QDU (Dusseldorf to FRA) was LH "flight" number, not UA. Sorry for the confusion.
#449
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Latin America
Programs: UA1k
Posts: 15
Check-In Question
I have a LH flight tomorrow purchased directly from LH. I used PlusPoints to request an upgrade and am on the upgrade list. When I went to check-in I received error messages and, calling LH, they said that the wait listed upgrade blocks the ability to check in. I asked if they could delete the request and they said United needed to do so. United says LH needs to do it.
Question 1: Can one have a PP upgrade deleted and if so how?
Question 2: If I were successful in deleting the upgrade and then checking in, could I then make a request for a PP upgrade?
Question 3: Does an upgrade request really block the ability to check in online?
Question 1: Can one have a PP upgrade deleted and if so how?
Question 2: If I were successful in deleting the upgrade and then checking in, could I then make a request for a PP upgrade?
Question 3: Does an upgrade request really block the ability to check in online?