mwc8962

My parents (GMs) are about to buy tix for an intl trip in September. If they want to purchase an E+ subscription, can they wait until closer to Sept to purchase it (to maximize the 12-month duration, since no other UA travel until Sept) or do they have to have it at the time of booking?

Terms and conditions and FAQ don't clearly say the subscription must be in place at time of booking, but I'm not sure they rule it out either. Anyone with experience doing this?

http://www.united.com/WEB/EN-US/apps...onomyPlus.aspx

tcp1

Doesn't have to be done at time of booking. If you have an E+ subscription, all the seats outside first simply open up for assignment on the site. So, if they get the sub, if E+ seats are available closer to departure date they should be able to assign them.

FYI: The E+ sub isn't very popular here on FT, because to make it worth it there's a good chance you'll be making status anyway. I made that mistake. Purchased a subscription and subsequently flew twice as much as I thought I would. Made gold by halfway through the subscription - so the second half of the year was a waste. UA does NOT prorate, and does NOT refund even a penny of these subs. Just FYI.

Just purchased it for my wife, though - since she's only Silver and flies DEN-IAD once a month, and man do those E+ seats fill up quick on that route. (That and she's 5'11 and has a propensity to wear heels even on planes so E- means she lands grumpy.) I had her booked on a flight in E- and did exactly what you were saying - switched that flight to E+ after the sub went into effect. It worked fine.

MostlyAir

As long as you have a subscription you can get E+ through any channel. So yes your parents could buy the subscription before there trips starts and get E+.

weero

They can of course buy the E+ access at any time. But only after buying it, can they start to allocate the E+ seats they desire.
If they have their MP number in the reservation, they might have to remove it temporarily and put it back in for the online seat assignment to work properly ... so maybe it is wise not to put the MP numbers in at the time of booking.

And be careful to buy the proper E+ access they need for their trips!

If they do not fly often, I am unsure if E+ is worth the money though. The seats aren't wider and unless they are very tall, E- is very similar an experience these days to E+. If flying international, a carrier with proper food, contemporary IFE, and free booze would be my choice for my parents over paying for E+.

RNE

The OP should keep in mind that it's possible UA will raise the subscription rate without prior notification. What the rate will be in, say, in July, is unknowable. Even to me.

mwc8962

Thanks, all. They are flying to China and the E+ just for the 2 R/Ts is ~700 (~170 each way) while the subscription should run them 900 (subscr + global region + companion), I think (re RNE, fair enough that this rate could change.). So they will have to decide whether they'll have other UA trips they can use it on.

Often1

It's also worth noting that not all E+ seats are good seats. If you wait to purchase E+, you may not obtain the seats you really want.

motintan

Also keep in mind that on some flights, they do sell out of E+ seats. You can not reserve the seats until you get the subscription, so there is some danger in waiting too long.

Plusflyer

You can always monitor the available seats for your flight and purchase E+ when there are only a few desirable seats left. For international flights where the E+ cabin is large it rarely happens at all and if so, only during the last weeks before the departure. And just before the departure, quite a few seats usually open due to upgraders.

weero

Nah, motintan is right - to Asia, the E+ sections can fill completely months out.

It happened to me numerous times and it was the major reason why I learned how bad UA actually is. For quite a few journeys booked, I had to invoked the free 24h cancelation policy and book on another airline as I could not get an E+ seat (not even middles). And hence I learned how much superior SQ, NH, JL, and CX are.

If the OP's parents are not avid flyers and miles collectors, I'd say those 900 bucks and buy a flight that provides the good side of food, IFE, and drinks.

Tblack15

Agreed with the other posters re: availability.

For me, I need a bulkhead or exit row for anything over 5 hours, and those go almost 3 months out on TPAC flights.

Just know it's a major roll of the dice.

drewguy

While the "best" E+ seats may be filled several months out, that's not always the case. Although it's from IAD, I've found ample E+ availability (aisles, windows, full rows, with empty middles, etc.) typically available even only a few weeks before the flight, particularly for mid-week flights. At least from IAD, most of the "cheap" seats are sold to Chinese travelers (tourists and consolidators), so E- may be fully filled with E+ readily available (at least until they start moving folks without seats up).

weero

The inverse, I encountered many, many times. Everyone in China who flies has E+ access, it seems . I was booked on flights (which I did not fly as I canceled the tix) where the E+ cabin was chockablock and every row of E- had ample space.

So the OP should seriously consider putting the parents on another carrier. Is it worth to give UA even more money so they can not properly feed and dine them? If you want to spend extra would BR's PremiumEconomy be an option? Also CI's and CX' are very nice. CA's is shabby much like UA's. Plus crappy food and a camera obscura type IFE if any.

Kacee

+1
If they're not going to fly enough to hit premier, not sure why they would want to fly UA to Asia. Fly one of the Asian airlines whose regular economy seats have 33-34" pitch (e.g., SQ, BR, OZ) and a much better overall Y experience. Or even better spend the E+ money for PE on BR or CX, as weero suggests.

weero

I am a 1K, get E+ free at any time and sometimes get upgraded on full fares ...

But now that (ex Asia) PE on BA, CX, and BR is about 15%-0% cheaper than full fare coach on UA, I will not set foot (let alone food) on UA on these routes.

The current Y experience is seriously not good. Even on routes where I get op-ups like SIN-HKG, not to mention SIN-NRT, I now use SQ in coach simply because of the IFE, the food, and the free drinks. It makes a very noticeable difference.