sfo789

What is inventory? I saw $899 on IAH-LHR a while back, then cleared an hour later on a GPU. (Flight was PN9 then went R9)

BasedinCLE

Unfortunately, it's trending in the wrong direction!

It was Z9 and ZN9 just a few days ago...

mike2003242

I'm flying back from Zurich to EWR on Friday. Business is booked on my flight but there is a ZRH-IAD-EWR that looks like there are about 5 J seats open. Is it even worth my time wait listing on my direct flight then doing a SDC to the connecting flight with the hopes of clearing into J?

sfo789

It looks like ZRH-IAD will open in R, yes (already PN7), but to get upgraded you'd need (1) to be in fare class W or higher and apply a GPU, or (2) to request a miles+copay upgrade (usually 20k miles+$550 for Europe-US on low fares). If you want to do that, the SDC+upgrade on the phone should work nicely (I suspect it'll be R9 within T-24 so you could confirm the upgrade immediately).

EDIT: sorry, reread this properly. No point waitlisting ZRH-EWR, since the waitlist request wouldn't follow with the SDC anyway. Just do the SDC onto ZRH-IAD-EWR once R>0, then ask the agent "I see there's open R space, can I apply a GPU please?"

mike2003242

Thank you!

ILflier

Should I bet on this flight from EWR to SFO Monday morning at 8am?
Seatmap looks very good (it's the new 773ER) with plenty of open seats. flight is 3 weeks out. Im a 1K and will be using an RPU.

PsiFighter37

I would say that you might have a decent shot, but UA aggressively sells front cabin at OLCI for the p.s. flights...so might be a bit of a crapshoot. That said, I have generally had better success on earlier-morning flights going west.

ILflier

Do you consider 8:00 to be an early morning flight?

I can opt in for the 7 or 6 am - but thought that experiance would be nicer on this one in case i get upgraded and that the much bigger first class cabin would yield a better chance.

laxmillenial

I consider 8AM to be an early morning flight. You'd have to arrive at the airport by 7AM which usually means a 6/630AM departure from NYC.

I'm usually on the 10AM one heading westbound and have always gotten upgraded (1K on an RPU)

Collierkr

Long time lurker and occasional responder now starting my first new thread. Help educate me folks... chances of GPU clearing on this are...

Collierkr

I obviously need to learn the trick for pasting in screen shots... see below

Berlin, DE (TXL - Tegel) to New York/Newark, NJ, US (EWR - Liberty)
9:40 am - 12:35 pm (8h 55m)
UA 963 | Boeing 767-400ER

• Available fare classes:
• J9
• JN9
• C9
• D9
• Z9
• ZN9
• P9
• PN0
• R0
• RN0
• IN0
• I0
• Y9
• YN9
• B9
• M9
• E9
• U9
• H9
• HN9
• Q9
• V9
• W9
• S9
• T9
• L6
• K0
• G0
• N0
• XN2
• X0

RandomBaritone

I've flown TXL>EWR several times, and IMO upgrades are definitely possible midweek.

johnmcga

After getting a new job a year or so ago, I've travelled a bit and have Premier 1K United status, plus some GPUs.

I'm flying LHR-DEN in September and thinking of using some GPUs. None of the flight options have R availability but I can get waitlisted.

I'm happy to fly United if I have a good chance of getting upgraded, but as BA have a direct flight on this route I'd rather fly with them if I'm going to end up in economy.

There is heaps of information out there about GPU success, and the answer seems to be: it depends. So, what are my chances? I'm totally new to this game, so I'd appreciate any thoughts from those of you with more experience!

Specific flights I'm looking at:

10 Sep: LHR-ORD (UA928), ORD-DEN (UA407)
17 Sep: DEN-IAD (UA652), IAD-LHR (UA924)

Thanks!

LondonElite

I can't predict availability, but wouldn't you rather have E+ as a 1K on UA than basic E on BA?

johnmcga

Thanks for the reply!

That's a fair question - I suppose that might tip the balance, along with lounge access etc. (I don't have any status with BA.) Flying direct still has a high convenience value for me though!