risenmyth

That's actually amazing! I have a flight for SFO-SEA-SFO in late November, so let's hope something works out then.
This will actually be my first RT (separate PNR) flight since I achieved Gold status. This didn't clear BUT on the bright side, my return trip ATL-EWR (Friday) cleared for a CPU today. There were 4 F seats open and I got cleared into 4E (737-800) then moved to 1A.

godbreath

How busy is NRT/HND -> SFO Mondays in Feb? I'm not waitlisted for an upgrade, but waitlisted for that segment. Right now I have HND -> KIX -> SFO, but I'd much rather prefer a direct flight as well as on polaris. I have a chance to waitlist for either NRT or HND -> SFO, which one would have a better chance? This is also presidents day Monday, but not sure how that affects any travel. HND has all business class seats available, NRT has 2 selected in row 5. Both flights were PN9 a month ago, but dropped to PN0.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

There’s restricted legroom in 1A. 4E might be preferable.

risenmyth

Thank you for the advice. I moved back to 4E.
It is pretty open though, looks like all of row 4 is open.

simonoaks

Hi, I have a two part question. I have decided to leave UA and move to DAL. However, as I only have 12k miles and 3k spend until hitting 1k again this year, i might as well go for it so I can then status match after 1 July 2020 and get 18 months status with DAL.

Anyway, I have 2 RPUs and 3 GPUs to use up this year. So next trip I am planning is PBI-SMF, but figured I would rack up some miles and go roundabout way via SFO or LAX and try and use up an RPU along the way. So, any advice on which is best flight to go for? I can fly 11th Nov or 12th EWR to SFO or LAX , any flight from 11am.

So far, I have found EWR - SFO on 12th at 1500:

1. J9 JN9 C7 D7 Z2 ZN2 P0 PN0 PZ0 IN0 (dreamliner)
2. For some reason the seat map is showing greyed out for J but I counted 12 seats open, plus I have the backup of a PP seat.

1600 - a 752:

1. J9 JN9 C5 D5 Z2 ZN2 P1 PN0 PZ0 IN0

1800- dreamliner (no PP)

1. J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P5 PN0 PZ0 IN0

The 11th Nov EWR to LAX:
1600 - a 752 :

1. J9 JN9 C5 D4 Z1 ZN1 P0 PN0 PZ0 IN0

12th Nov EWR to LAX
1100 a 752:

1. J9 JN9 C9 D8 Z6 ZN6 P5 PN0 PZ0 IN0

1700 a 752:

1. J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z8 ZN8 P7 PN0 PZ0 IN0

If I could choose based on time/plane I would say the EWR to SFO 1500 on 12th Nov would be best, but does that also mean it has less chance of upgrade than other flights?

thx!!

On another note, I want to use up my 3 GPUs , was thinking of flying somewhere with wife and 8 yo daughter (obviously upgrade just one way) , can anyone give me some routes that are worth me looking at for thanksgiving week (flying out on Nov 22nd/23rd/24th) to somewhere not cold (eg, not Europe) , was think say HI or Rio or something. PBI flies direct at the moment (seasonal ) to EWR, ORD and IAH, so was wondering if anyone know of routes from any of those hubs, that have a high upgrade (ideally PZ space) that I can at least have as a starting point.

Thanks !

Also, I was wondering, do 1K still get P+ for free at booking like it has been all year, or has that chaged now ? thx

jsloan

No; UA is now selling P+ as a separate class of service, and there are no complimentary upgrades to it for anyone (unless Y is oversold).

simonoaks

Ah, yes. I see that now . thx
I just did a 'dummy' booking for EWR-LHR 10th jan to 23rd jan. Pricing model seems VERY odd though. It has 5 options when applying a GPU - Economy ($477), Premium Economy ($1,158), Premium Economy Upgrage eligible ($818 + 1 GPU), Business Upgrage eligible economy ($1,576 + 1 GPU) Business Upgrade eligible premium economy ($1,058 + 1 GPU ). So 1st odd thing is that it is $400 cheaper to buy the P+ seat than the E- seat.

As I would only an upgrade outbound and not a daytime inbound, I can then select economy on the return for a total of $712.

Basically, a P+ seat with waitlist for J with a GPU and a E+ return seat (as an elite) for $712 total trip. Odd eh ?

Ok, I think I was being way too complicated. I think I should travel out on the 11th Nov, as I can then come back early on the 13th and be 99% CPU chance on both legs of SMF- IAH - PBI.

So, simpler question:
What is upgrade chance of this flight on a Q ticket?

1. Available fare classes:

1. J9
2. JN9
3. C8
4. D8
5. Z5
6. ZN5
7. P0
8. PN0
9. PZ0
10. IN0
11. I0
12. Y9
13. YN9
14. B9
15. M9
16. E9
17. U9
18. H6
19. HN0
20. Q1
21. V1
22. W0
23. S0
24. T0
25. L0
26. K0

Or this one on a S class ticket:

1. Available fare classes:

1. J9
2. JN9
3. C9
4. D9
5. Z7
6. ZN7
7. P0
8. PN0
9. PZ0
10. IN0
11. I0
12. Y9
13. YN9
14. B9
15. M9
16. E9
17. U9
18. H9
19. HN0
20. Q5
21. V5
22. W2
23. S1
24. T0
25. L0
26. K0

Many thx !

pigzilla

Would love some advice here. My family and I have 4 seats on a SFO-AKL flight (UA 917) on 11/15. We have W fares and applying GPUs got us to PP, we are waitlisted for business. I called the 1K line and they told me there are currently a total of 15 1Ks waitlisted (including my family). The seat map shows 19 business class seats available but given its 12 days out I'm sure not all the waitlist will clear as some seats will get filled before then. Looking at the same flight on 11/8 show 10 business class seats available which is more realistic.

If I upfare to a higher level economy fare, I can probably move us to the top of the waitlist? But what fare should I upfare to? Y fares will probably put us at the top but wondering if I can spend a little less and still have a good shot at getting upgraded. Available fare classes are Y9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 Q9 V9.

Also, are there stats/research on the spread of economy fare classes that are normally purchased by flyers? (30% YBM, 40% E-W, 30% S-, etc.)

jsloan

Agents have been known to make numbers up. They’re not supposed to give out that information. It can change at any time.

This is good intuition. If there are 15 people on the waitlist, and 19 seats show on the seat map, it is unlikely that everyone will clear. For one thing, there may be business class passengers without a seat assignment. For another, they will undoubtedly sell more tickets, either directly or via buy-ups.

Upgrading to a higher Economy fare is a terrible idea. For one thing, even Y won’t put you at the top of the waitlist: you’ll still be behind everyone who purchased a Premium Economy ticket, and any Global Services member who hasn’t cleared yet. In fact, a discount PE fare may be less expensive than Y and would put you higher up on the waitlist.

But, mostly, there’s a good chance that you’ll be throwing good money after bad: you might move up the waitlist, only to find that they sold some additional business class seats, or some Global Services member decided to take advantage of PN4 and take a trip to New Zealand that day, or whatever, and you still wind up in your PE seats, now having spent much more for the privilege.

If you absolutely insist upon this approach, the only fare classes that I would consider buying are V or Q: V, because it will get you past the logjam of 1Ks on W fares, and Q, because V appears to be the lowest fare currently available and Q would also put you ahead of anyone buying their ticket right now.

I’m sure UA has this information, but they’re not about to release it to the public.

simonoaks

This is really interesting, thanks, I was wondering the same thing. I book work trips through our travel agent , and have wondered if it is worth doing a specific fare class, just to be higher on the list. For example, am looking at LAX-EWR 23.15 on 12th Nov

1. J9
2. JN9
3. C9
4. D8
5. Z5
6. ZN5
7. P3
8. PN0
9. PZ0
10. Would I have a better chance of clearing if I did say a V or U ?

One other thing I am confused about; if you book an economy seat, and apply a RPU (for premium route) do you get upgraded to P+ first and then waitlisted to J or straight to J? thx

jsloan

Not meaningfully so. There’s no equivalent logjam on RPU-eligible flights because there’s no fare class requirement.

Regardless, it’s only worth it if it happens to move you far enough up the list to clear (no way to tell in advance) and if the fare difference is cheaper than the upgrade offer would have been. There are just too many unknowns.

simonoaks

I mean, if I buy U class, and there is a whole bunch of S T etc available, would I not be highest on list (below GS) on a premium ewr-sfc/lax route with RPU?

thx

jsloan

Not necessarily, no. You’ll be behind anybody on, say, a negotiated Y fare, or the domestic leg of a PE fare (on a non-PE airplane, that books into B), or an unrestricted fare (generally they book into M or higher), etc.. And, as the date approaches, UA may tighten up the inventory at the lower levels, forcing new purchases into higher inventory buckets (who will then hop over you) — or the walk-up fares may book into a higher fare class even when lower fare classes are available (that’s quite common).

And, even then, before your fare class matters at all, they have to clear at least one non-GS passenger. There’s no guarantee that any will clear; on a red-eye flight, if they sell the seat for $249 to $299, they’ll likely get quite a few takers — and that’s commonly the price of those TOD offers. So, you may pay a lot of money in order to get a 1 next to your name instead of an 18... while you’re sitting in Economy.

simonoaks

Ah, I see makes sense. So if I do try it, it is best to do M class.

In your experience, as I am pretty flexible on my return leg SMF to PBI - I can either get redeye on evening of 12th SFO OR LAX to EWR, is best to book now and apply RPU , or wait until couple of days out ?

I have an easy backup plan if everything goes before then, I can go SMF-IAH-PBI on morning of 13th and almost guarentee CPU upgrades on both legs as they are both J9 and have PZ space too (although I would not waste a RPU on an easy CPU flight)

sfo3388

1/22/2020 Wednesday SFO-TPE:
J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P9 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0 O9 ON9 A9 R7 RN0
1/25/2020 is Chinese New Year. Have applied MUA ($600+30000 miles) on an L class ticket.

I know it is early and the seat map does not mean too much. The second half of Polaris (9-17) is not reserved at all.

Questions:
Is it possible that United could do a sweep weeks before the departure date, from other posts? Or is it typical to wait until T-24 or less?
Other posts suggested checking PZ daily. Once I see it, I guess I should call United immediately, right?