Kacee

Why would you go to the airport as opposed to using the app to check in?

And I agree, your odds of clearing are very low. Flight booked full in J.

NRSA (non-revs).

sfo789

I see UA888 as booked 37+1 blocked / 40 in J but full in F. Odds are not zero (chances of misconnects from the east coast, very small chance that Y5 and "Full" in Y means they op-up at the gate and you get a head-start as an upgrader, and I don't know how many people waitlist on fares above a V), but I certainly wouldn't head to the airport specifically for this. On a W fare there's a better case for that, but V should break the tie with most other 1Ks in your favour.

Kacee

For Sunday? Where do you see that? I see booked full in J, booked 4/8 in F. Which would explain the inventory.

WineCountryUA

Why not check in online versus going to the airport.
What is your China visa situation?
Depends on how many others at your status level (1K?) have V fares and GOU applied. That's the only group where your check-in time matters.

Where they also on the economy standby list? Sounds like NRSAs (employees and /or family) waitlist for the flight (they can waitlist for both cabins)
Why would someone be listed on both standby & upgrade list(s)?

godhenry

Wow, so much great info here! This is awesome!! =)

So my wife and I want to travel SFO-HKG sometime after the end of September. Other than that, we don't have a lot of limitations. No R class available for any flights that far out (as far as I can see). What's the best strategy to use my GPU (Premier 1K). Should we book our flight now and book a class higher than W? Should we wait? Any other considerations to take into account (e.g., day to travel, etc.) to maximize my chances?

Thanks in advance! =)

Kacee

I've cleared this route many many times. Best days are Tuesday through Friday. I will only book into open R or waitlist a flight that I've been watching and am confident R will open based the load and inventory. I usually buy somewhere between ten and six weeks out. Fares are stable on this route . . . if past history is any guide, the RT W will stay in the $1000 range, and there's no applicable advance purchase requirement.

sfo789

Misread as Saturday, and assumed people had applied GPU into the open ON space, which would have explained the filling of F and the (partial) emptying of J. My error.

optimom

I've had a 10 year visa for a couple of years. Usually I check in online on my computer, and haven't seen an option to scan my visa on my China trips. (Check-in time wasn't previously an issue because I've flown with business saver awards.) Some weeks ago I asked the 1K desk about checking in without going to the airport and they didn't mention the app.
So thanks to all here who mentioned the option; after reading the comments I asked the 1K desk again. They said the app works - most of the time. And apparently they still don't offer an option outside of the app.

jsloan

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Personally, if you're as flexible as you say, I wouldn't buy tickets until I saw the R space, and I would check regularly. If you see the R space, book the flight and apply your GPUs immediately -- you then have 24 hours to cancel it if it turns out that the date is bad or something. Don't take the risk of that space disappearing once you find it. And, yes, concentrate on midweek, and try not to worry too much if fall approaches and you still don't have R space. It often opens up at the last minute.

Finally, if you just can't wait any longer and want to take a chance on a waitlist, consider booking during major holidays. For example, the Moon Festival is Monday, September 24 this year. Business travel demand usually drops around holidays, so you may have a greater-than-average chance to clear an upgrade.

ACVBear

Hi all - sorry for the potentially impossible to answer question (which is the feeling I've gotten in this thread) - I wanted to ask about people's experiences getting upgrades to Frankfurt or Munich

so I'm looking up R space and some flexible dates - though finding none - for a trip to Moscow in June (through either Munich or Frankfurt). As I'm a domestic traveler almost exclusively I have 0 feeling for it beyond looking at current seat maps and P inventory.
787-9 through San Francisco? 777-200 through chicago? through DC? 767-300 through IAH? or 777-300ER through Newark?

Seems Chicago or DC might have the best chances? as the SFO flights seem to already be filling up for mid june? any ideas/suggestions?

Kacee

Any of the UA hubs except SFO (i.e., ORD, EWR, IAD, or IAH) is your best chance. You might also consider BRU and ZRH, since they are *A hubs where you can also connect to DME. BRU is known as one of the easiest upgrades.

Search daily. Search exclusively the long haul segment (e.g., for ORD flights, search ORD-FRA, not SFO-FRA).

Also look for discount business fares. Those are often a better choice than a GPU these days. (Because https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...wadays-71.html)

ACVBear

Great, thanks much!

godhenry

Thanks! I'll heed to your advice. I've been checking R space every day =)

Got it. Thanks!

jsloan

UA seems to have a completely different mindset when it comes to TATL travel as opposed to TPAC. Most TPAC fares have extremely restrictive routing rules. In contrast, most TATL fares allow you to route via almost any gateway you want, and then usually with another couple of stops in Europe if you're so inclined. UA's ACV-MOW V fare allows you to transit any US hub or hubs, plus ATL, BOS, PHL, and a bunch of Canadian cities, and then pretty much any European gateway and then any half-sensible route through the LH group's route map.

I think your upgradable options include literally every UA flight to Europe along with LH flights from ATL, BOS, PHL, Canada (except YVR), or any UA gateway. (The UA fare requires UA flight numbers on the TATL, although I imagine there's a parallel LH fare filed). So, basically, start searching. Starting from ACV, I'd pay particular interest to SFO-ZRH and DEN-LHR, as they're both new flights that may be somewhat more under the radar. Otherwise, I worry you're going to be looking at 6+ hours in Y to cross the country, 7 hours in J to cross the ocean, and then 5 more hours in Y to get to Moscow. :/

Good luck!

Kacee

Unless he's willing to make multiple stops on the continent, OP needs to fly into a *A hub. LHR, for example, will only work with a double connection, e.g., SFO-LHR-FRA-DME.