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[Consolidated] Chance of upgrade clearing on my flight {Archive}

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Old Feb 9, 2019, 8:39 pm
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[Consolidated] Chance of upgrade clearing on my flight {Archive}

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Old Oct 7, 2019, 6:25 am
  #4636  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Pasadena, California
Programs: UA 1K, 1MM
Posts: 10,412
Originally Posted by Ubuubu
I’m Still waiting for my upgrade to clear. I am a 1k with GPUs applied on W class. Flight is 10 days away on a Wednesday.

this is the available fare class for UA 837: J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P9 PN1 PZ0 IN0 I0 O9 ON9 A9 R9 RN2 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G9 N9 XN9 X9

Seat map shows there are only 18 Polaris Seats left.

what is your thoughts on this upgrade clearing and when? I continue to see PN space fluctuate up and down, but no PZ space opening up. Thoughts please...
I would be guardedly optimistic. It's a good sign that PN>0, even thought it's only currently at 1. But ten days is still pretty far out; I wouldn't expect to see much in the way of real movement until a couple of days before the flight.
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 9:18 am
  #4637  
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Join Date: Oct 1999
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Originally Posted by Ubuubu
I’m Still waiting for my upgrade to clear. I am a 1k with GPUs applied on W class. Flight is 10 days away on a Wednesday.

this is the available fare class for UA 837: J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P9 PN1 PZ0 IN0 I0 O9 ON9 A9 R9 RN2 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G9 N9 XN9 X9

Seat map shows there are only 18 Polaris Seats left.

what is your thoughts on this upgrade clearing and when? I continue to see PN space fluctuate up and down, but no PZ space opening up. Thoughts please...
You might want to monitor your flight (837) and the loads on days prior to get an idea, including prior Wednesday(s) of course. Specifically look at loads & available booking classes as you displayed above, check how they change/open up on a daily basis or even hourly basis closer to flight date/time. Finally notice, how many upgrades are cleared on the day of departure (by pulling up FlightStatus information).
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 11:49 am
  #4638  
nwe
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 27
Hi guys, sorry for the newbie question. Just been status matched from EK Gold to United Gold, never flown before so no points.

What are the chances on UA 900 11/Oct for upgrade from Economy to Business? How do I waitlist - will it be automatic?
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 12:01 pm
  #4639  
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Join Date: Nov 2014
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Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,414
Originally Posted by nwe
Hi guys, sorry for the newbie question. Just been status matched from EK Gold to United Gold, never flown before so no points.

What are the chances on UA 900 11/Oct for upgrade from Economy to Business? How do I waitlist - will it be automatic?
About the same as for an EK Gold on a long-haul EK flight, which is to say only if you use miles to support an upgrade request. There are no complimentary elite upgrades on international (Polaris-marketed) flights.
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 12:10 pm
  #4640  
nwe
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by findark
About the same as for an EK Gold on a long-haul EK flight, which is to say only if you use miles to support an upgrade request. There are no complimentary elite upgrades on international (Polaris-marketed) flights.
Saved a lot of reading and searching on long wikis that I didn't follow - thank you! Now I can arrive without any expectations!
Had my fair share of operational upgrades FOC on EK without miles; guess I should be greatful
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 12:34 pm
  #4641  
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Originally Posted by nwe
Saved a lot of reading and searching on long wikis that I didn't follow - thank you! Now I can arrive without any expectations!
Had my fair share of operational upgrades FOC on EK without miles; guess I should be greatful
UA does op-up like any other carrier, but with the large number of upgrade certificates doled out to its highest-status members, there are often plenty of people with waitlisted upgrades to deal with first. But if you fly in pursuit of certain patterns, like holidays in Asia, you can get the occasional op-up.

The best use of your UA Gold status is to choose Economy Plus seats at booking, especially far in advance as you can scope out your favorite bulkhead row, or wherever you prefer to sit.
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 1:24 pm
  #4642  
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,455
Originally Posted by findark
The best use of your UA Gold status is to choose Economy Plus seats at booking, especially far in advance as you can scope out your favorite bulkhead row, or wherever you prefer to sit.
Second best is lounge access on international departures as a Star Alliance Gold.
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Old Oct 7, 2019, 3:00 pm
  #4643  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Socal
Programs: UA Plat, Bonvoy Gold, Amex Plat, CSR
Posts: 207
Generally speaking, what are the odds of a GPU clearing out of R when Polaris is booked 30/50 at 4 weeks out (interestingly enough with 30 open seats on the seat map)? Bucket availabiliy J9 C9 D8 Z1.

Thanks!
Last edited by whipwhitaker; Oct 7, 2019 at 8:06 pm Reason: Language
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Old Oct 8, 2019, 12:27 am
  #4644  
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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Posts: 56,455
Originally Posted by whipwhitaker
Generally speaking, what are the odds of a GPU clearing out of R when Polaris is booked 30/50 at 4 weeks out (interestingly enough with 30 open seats on the seat map)? Bucket availabiliy J9 C9 D8 Z1.
I can't really speak to the R part of it, not enough data points yet, but historically that's 50-50 at best. Lower on a business heavy route, such as SFO-FRA. You really want to see booked <20.
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Old Oct 9, 2019, 2:46 pm
  #4645  
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: United MileagePlus Silver
Posts: 4
I have travel to Hawaii coming up (NYC to KOA). Date for NYC - KOA is flexible Dec 7 (Saturday) - Dec 10 (Tuesday).
Which day would be best for maximum upgrade chances? Any specific connections to route through (ORD, IAD, DEN, SFO, LAX)?
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Old Oct 9, 2019, 2:55 pm
  #4646  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Originally Posted by aviator1
I have travel to Hawaii coming up (NYC to KOA). Date for NYC - KOA is flexible Dec 7 (Saturday) - Dec 10 (Tuesday).
Which day would be best for maximum upgrade chances? Any specific connections to route through (ORD, IAD, DEN, SFO, LAX)?
I'd probably try a Tuesday via LAX - keep your expectations low
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Old Oct 9, 2019, 3:05 pm
  #4647  
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,406
Originally Posted by aviator1
I have travel to Hawaii coming up (NYC to KOA). Date for NYC - KOA is flexible Dec 7 (Saturday) - Dec 10 (Tuesday).
Which day would be best for maximum upgrade chances? Any specific connections to route through (ORD, IAD, DEN, SFO, LAX)?
Welcome to FlyerTalk!

How do you plan to support the upgrade? Were you hoping for a complimentary upgrade? As a UA Silver, you should be able to get Economy Plus seating at check-in on pretty much any of those routes, but your chance of an upgrade to first class is virtually nil.
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Old Oct 9, 2019, 3:12 pm
  #4648  
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: United MileagePlus Silver
Posts: 4
To upgrade, a friend (1K) is giving his RPU.
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Old Oct 9, 2019, 3:50 pm
  #4649  
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,406
Originally Posted by aviator1
To upgrade, a friend (1K) is giving his RPU.
OK, that will at least get you in front of people who are hoping for a complimentary upgrade (which, incidentally, is only possible on the California - Hawaii routes). However, the instrument upgrade list is ordered by status, and Silver isn't a high priority.

The first thing that I would do is to activate Expert Mode (there's a board thread on this) and search for any flights that have PZ availability, because those would clear immediately. For best results, you want to search leg-by-leg. However, you're not likely to find any, so I agree with HNLBasedFlyer; try midweek, via California, and don't get your hopes up.
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Old Oct 10, 2019, 2:39 pm
  #4650  
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: United MileagePlus Silver
Posts: 4
Thank you HNLbasedFlyer jsloan ! Like you said, can't find any PZ availability. Won't get hopes up!
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