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General RPU earning & usage questions [Consolidated 2016 onward]

Old Jan 9, 2016, 5:58 pm
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This thread is for general RPU usage questions. ---- Previous Thread was Specific GPU and RPU usage questions thread

Questions like "will my upgrade clear" are better placed in
[Consolidated] Chance of upgrade clearing on my flight [2016]
How often do your RPUs clear?

General comments on utility / value are better placed in
My new United Regional Premier Upgrade (RPU) strategy

Regional Premier Upgrades (RPUs) are one-way, one-cabin, space available confirmable upgrades as early as the time of ticketing on eligible UA/UX and Copa Airlines-operated flights. They can be used on any fare and any flight that is also CPU eligible and on PS flights. This includes some Oceania and some COPA South America flights. They are generally not usable on flights outside of North America -- see upgrade region chart for details.

PS and non-west coast Hawaii flights are considered one of the better uses of RPUs since those flights are not CPU eligible and since elites are subject to copays on mileage upgrades.

RPUs are earned by elites -- (Re-)qualifying for Premier Platinum earns 2 RPU for the rest of the year, all of the next year and then thru 31 January of the following year. Re-)qualifying for Premier 1K earns 2 more RPUs and you can then earn 2 more RPUs for each additional 25K PQMs.
Unlike GPUs, UA does not offer an extension of unused and about to expire RPUs.

2MM, assuming they did not otherwise qualify for Platinum in the prior year, will have 2 RPUs deposited into their account around mid-January. 3MM+, assuming they did not otherwise qualify for 1K in the prior year, will have 2 RPUs and 6 GPUs deposited into their account around mid-January.

RPUs can be used for other individuals / friends / family but the upgrade priority is based on the status of the flyer, not the earning elite.

RPUs require PZ space (formerly R) to clear (except for GS RPUs which clear into PN space). For a given flight, RPU /GPU or Mileage+Copay have the same waitlist priority -- what does matter is passenger Status then Fare Class and then the time of the request. For more on waitlisting, see Understanding the United Upgrade List Comprehensively

A Regional Premier Upgrade will be considered used if any segment of an itinerary is upgraded and flown - no exception. Miles and GPUs have an exception if the waitlisted International BF/GF (now called Polaris business / first) does not clear, the miles/GPU will be returned -- this does not apply to RPUs. Recent changes in the rules make it clear there is no exception for PS routes.

Note on most RPU routes, a "connection" needs to be under 4 hours (longer only if it is the next scheduled flight) or a single RPU will not apply. This standard stopover definition for North American flights.

A single RPU (or GPU or Miles+copay) can not be applied to flights on different PNRs (or for different carriers even on the same PNR).
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General RPU earning & usage questions [Consolidated 2016 onward]

Old Apr 17, 2017, 2:52 pm
  #316  
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Originally Posted by mpiotrow
I just searched for a one way HNL-DEN, and here are the fare buckets:

F3 A3 JN3 C3 D3 Z0 ZN0 P0 PN0 R0 RN0 IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G9 N9 XN9 X8

My flight is about 3 weeks away, so what would you think are my chances of a successful RPU on that segment?
Very low. They're only selling three seats in the forward cabin, and none of them below a D fare. You need R space to upgrade; P/PN are good signs. Z0 is a decidedly bad sign.

Originally Posted by mpiotrow
I don't really care about upgrading on the other segments. According to the United page, Economy is sold out for that flight, and only Economy (flexible) is available. Would that affect things, do you think?
No, that won't affect anything. As you can see, there's availability in all economy fare classes -- they're even offering award seats. What you're seeing is a combination of a display artifact in the UA user interface and a lack of discount one-way fares for DEN-HNL.

Originally Posted by mpiotrow
If I request RPU, does that try to upgrade the whole return flight (MNL-DEN), or just HNL-DEN? As I said, I really only care about HNL-DEN, so if that doesn't go through, how can I cancel an RPU request? I'd rather not waste an RPU on MNL-GUM, for example! Thanks again!
If you request the RPU online, it will apply to all flights. If you call, you can apply it to an individual segment, and, if it clears in advance, you can call back and ask for it to be extended to include all segments.

Similarly, you can cancel an RPU before your flight by calling UA.
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 3:08 pm
  #317  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Very low. They're only selling three seats in the forward cabin, and none of them below a D fare. You need R space to upgrade; P/PN are good signs. Z0 is a decidedly bad sign.
Yep, that's what I figured...looking at the seat map, the plane is pretty full in both cabins, so I figured the chance for an upgrade was pretty slim. Conversely, my flight from LAX-HNL seems REALLY empty, and only 7 of the 28 UC seats are taken (according to the seat map), and the buckets are showing F9 A9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 as of now, so I'm hoping I'll end up with a CPU on that flight! That would be Polaris, right? Flight 1158, on a 777.

Originally Posted by jsloan
If you call, you can apply it to an individual segment, and, if it clears in advance, you can call back and ask for it to be extended to include all segments.
Just to be clear, does a single RPU apply for the entire trip (DEN-MNL-DEN and all of the segments that make up the itinerary), or just the return portion (MNL-DEN, and the 3 segments that make up that portion of the itinerary)?
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 3:09 pm
  #318  
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Originally Posted by mpiotrow
My flight is about 3 weeks away, so what would you think are my chances of a successful RPU on that segment?
As jsloan said, terrible. There are 3 seats left, total, for people to buy in the next three weeks. The odds of them selling those are very high.

Originally Posted by mpiotrow
Conversely, my flight from LAX-HNL seems REALLY empty, and only 7 of the 28 UC seats are taken (according to the seat map), and the buckets are showing F9 A9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 as of now, so I'm hoping I'll end up with a CPU on that flight! That would be Polaris, right? Flight 1158, on a 777.
Polaris is only for long-haul international flights. LAX-HNL on the 28F 777-200 (77G) will have lie-flat seats up front in a 2-4-2 configuration and standard domestic First service.


Originally Posted by mpiotrow
Just to be clear, does a single RPU apply for the entire trip (DEN-MNL-DEN and all of the segments that make up the itinerary), or just the return portion (MNL-DEN, and the 3 segments that make up that portion of the itinerary)?
One RPU should really only cover all segments in one region in one direction, so just HNL-DEN. You should call and see what you can apply it to though. I've never actually though of trying to RPU one journey with RPU-eligible segments in different regions joined by a non-eligible segment but I don't think that can be done with a single RPU.
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 3:20 pm
  #319  
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Originally Posted by findark
One RPU should really only cover all segments in one region in one direction, so just HNL-DEN. You should call and see what you can apply it to though. I've never actually thought of trying to RPU one journey with RPU-eligible segments in different regions joined by a non-eligible segment but I don't think that can be done with a single RPU.
I have a similar flight coming up, and when I went in to apply a cert, it gave me the choice of applying a GPU to all of the flights in one direction or an RPU to the RPU-eligible flights in one direction. I used the GPU, so I don't actually know what would have happened if I'd tried the RPU.

But, yeah, I suppose it's possible that they'd make you choose one or the other.
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 5:24 pm
  #320  
 
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I understand that if a RPU is applied to an itinerary, a stopover can't exceed four hours or another certificate would be required. But are there exceptions if the first available connecting flight is more than four hours later? For example, if I arrive in SFO at 2 AM but there are no onward flights scheduled until 7 AM, is another RPU still required to upgrade the second segment?
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 11:05 pm
  #321  
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Originally Posted by LarryU
I understand that if a RPU is applied to an itinerary, a stopover can't exceed four hours or another certificate would be required. But are there exceptions if the first available connecting flight is more than four hours later? For example, if I arrive in SFO at 2 AM but there are no onward flights scheduled until 7 AM, is another RPU still required to upgrade the second segment?
It is not specifically a RPU issue but is an issue on connection vs stopover.

UA defines this in the CoC
Stopover means a deliberate interruption of travel by the Passenger, agreed to in advance by the carrier, at a point between the place of departure and the place of destination. For International flights a Stopover will also be deemed to occur at an intermediate point from which the Passenger is not scheduled to depart on the date of arrival, but if there is no connecting departure scheduled on the date of arrival, departure on the next day within 24 hours of arrival shall not constitute a Stopover. If a portion of the routing is traveled by surface transportation, one Stopover shall be deemed to have been taken for such portion. For Domestic flights, a Stopover will also occur when a Passenger arrives at a point and fails to depart from such point on:

1. The first flight on which space is available; or
2. The flight that will provide for the Passenger’s earliest arrival at intermediate or junction transfer point(s) or destination point, via the carrier and class of service as shown on the Passenger’s Ticket; provided, however, that in no event will a Stopover occur when the Passenger departs from the intermediate/junction point on a flight shown in the carrier’s official general schedule as departing within four hours after arrival at such point.
So the four hour limit can be extended if no scheduled alternative exists.
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 11:48 pm
  #322  
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Originally Posted by LarryU
I understand that if a RPU is applied to an itinerary, a stopover can't exceed four hours or another certificate would be required. But are there exceptions if the first available connecting flight is more than four hours later? For example, if I arrive in SFO at 2 AM but there are no onward flights scheduled until 7 AM, is another RPU still required to upgrade the second segment?
In my experience, the online system will not allow upgrades to span overnight connections booked as multi-city journeys. The pricing engine will calculate the fare properly, but the upgrade system would see your connection point as a stopover. I haven't tried calling an agent, but I'm certain it won't work if you try to do it online.

If you didn't use multi-city search to find the flights, my guess is that it would allow one certificate to be used for the entire direction of travel automatically.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 12:11 am
  #323  
 
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
It is not specifically a RPU issue but is an issue on connection vs stopover.

UA defines this in the CoC


So the four hour limit can be extended if no scheduled alternative exists.
Originally Posted by jsloan
In my experience, the online system will not allow upgrades to span overnight connections booked as multi-city journeys. The pricing engine will calculate the fare properly, but the upgrade system would see your connection point as a stopover. I haven't tried calling an agent, but I'm certain it won't work if you try to do it online.

If you didn't use multi-city search to find the flights, my guess is that it would allow one certificate to be used for the entire direction of travel automatically.
I just called UA and the agent had never heard of extending the four hour limit but was willing to call a supervisor who got the deed done after 45 minutes on hold.

The itinerary was actually booked as a one way, not multi-city, using the various filter options to pull up the segments that I wanted. I had figured that this would be sufficient to allow the final segment to be upgraded with the same RPU but that did not turn out to be the case. Its possible that there is some sort of hard-coded rule in the web site that just looks at connections exceeding four hours and ignores the other nuances.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 8:46 am
  #324  
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Originally Posted by LarryU
I just called UA and the agent had never heard of extending the four hour limit but was willing to call a supervisor who got the deed done after 45 minutes on hold.

The itinerary was actually booked as a one way, not multi-city, using the various filter options to pull up the segments that I wanted. I had figured that this would be sufficient to allow the final segment to be upgraded with the same RPU but that did not turn out to be the case.
Its possible that there is some sort of hard-coded rule in the web site that just looks at connections exceeding four hours and ignores the other nuances.
I think this is the case, although an agent once told me that anything with a date change will be split.

A while ago I had a daytime layover/stopover that was just over four hours because no earlier connection existed. After applying the upgrade on the website, the request only showed on the first segment. It was an international to domestic connection with a date change due to the time zone change, and the connection was still daytime. To get the request added to the second, I had to call, which took about 15 minutes but was done without any particular pushback.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 1:09 pm
  #325  
 
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Originally Posted by fumje
I think this is the case, although an agent once told me that anything with a date change will be split.

A while ago I had a daytime layover/stopover that was just over four hours because no earlier connection existed. After applying the upgrade on the website, the request only showed on the first segment. It was an international to domestic connection with a date change due to the time zone change, and the connection was still daytime. To get the request added to the second, I had to call, which took about 15 minutes but was done without any particular pushback.
I've flown many redeyes into EWR and continued the next day to my final destination but RPUs could still be applied to the entire itinerary (clearing the RPUs is another matter).

But as I posted in the GPU thread, I recently flew to ORD one day prior to an international flight but arriving well within 24 hours before the international segment. When I attempted to extend the GPU to cover the earlier flights, I received a huge amount of push back from reservation agents and from "supervisors" behind the scenes. They would not change their mind even after carefully parsing the GPU rules from the web site. It was only resolved after a couple of HUCA attempts, which are often de rigueur with UA these days.

I can understand that the web site, such as it is, may not have all of UA's rules well codified. However, the fact that UA's staff (including supervisors) do not appear to be well trained and do not seem to have the proper tools at their disposal is inexcusable. Some simple tasks take an awfully long time to accomplish, such as last night's 45 minute stint extending an RPU to cover a flight departing five hours later. And this was without explicit push back, just the agent's lack of familiarity with rules that have been well documented for quite some time. Among other irritations these days, I think UA often has very little regard for the time and needs of its customers.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 2:51 pm
  #326  
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Originally Posted by LarryU
... But as I posted in the GPU thread, I recently flew to ORD one day prior to an international flight but arriving well within 24 hours before the international segment. When I attempted to extend the GPU to cover the earlier flights, I received a huge amount of push back from reservation agents and from "supervisors" behind the scenes. They would not change their mind even after carefully parsing the GPU rules from the web site. It was only resolved after a couple of HUCA attempts, which are often de rigueur with UA these days. .....
It has been reported in the past the normal rule for GPU breakage is 12 hours on international routings.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 5:32 pm
  #327  
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
It has been reported in the past the normal rule for GPU breakage is 12 hours on international routings.
12 hours in connection or 12 hours from first departure to second departure? And is that the system's mistake, or is that somehow written into the rules?

In my case it was just barely over four hours in connection, but the first flight was 12.5 hours duration.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 7:24 pm
  #328  
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Originally Posted by fumje
12 hours in connection ....
12 hour connection but the was GPUs & international itins. That may go back to pmUA.

RPUs are 4 hours (or first available connection -- and as noted a broken fare may kill that).
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Old Apr 27, 2017, 9:17 am
  #329  
 
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I booked SEA-IAD-CHS for 5/8 on a W fare and applied an RPU. IAD-CHS on a CR7 instantly cleared. but SEA-IAD did not.

I know my original W fare must still be available in order to downgrade myself so I'm wondering GENERALLY when is the latest I can safely remove an RPU?
Ideally, I'd like to wait til the morning of the flight and see where I am on the upgrade list or even wait til boarding or after the first flight. My fear is the CR7 will fill up.
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Old Apr 27, 2017, 3:04 pm
  #330  
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Originally Posted by eng3
I booked SEA-IAD-CHS for 5/8 on a W fare and applied an RPU. IAD-CHS on a CR7 instantly cleared. but SEA-IAD did not.

I know my original W fare must still be available in order to downgrade myself so I'm wondering GENERALLY when is the latest I can safely remove an RPU?
Ideally, I'd like to wait til the morning of the flight and see where I am on the upgrade list or even wait til boarding or after the first flight. My fear is the CR7 will fill up.
You can do it at the gate (GAs don't seem to care about fare class space requirement) -- the issue is what seats will be left to chose between when you make the change.
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