Marin 1K

Just awoke to find an email that 949 has been cancelled 7 hours in advance. Called GS, and found they had rebooked my wife and in F on the afternoon BA flight. I was on an A fare, and my wife on a "forced" companion saver award. Can't ask for more than that in IRROPS, second time London GS has protected me on BA...

jdressle

Flight last week from SFO-NRT was cancelled due to the tropical storm in Tokyo. I was rebooked in First the next day on ANA - GS took care of me with no effort on my part and ANA has an excellent first class!

ssh

On April 19th, I was met at my arrival gate at IAD (as a 1K), but didn't realize it until they paged me back to the gate as I was getting ready to hustle over to A. I joined a GS for the ride over to A, but imagine my surprise when the GS agent handed me a card and said, "word on the street is that it's your birthday." It was a birthday card from United IAD!

Nice touch, United! I felt like a million bucks and like they appreciated my business, although I know it was because there was a GS going, too. It felt special to enter the A terminal from planeside, too (flight wasn't boarding, yet). I don't know that I'll ever have the spend, but it was very nice...

tryintogohome

I have to say I don't get and have never got the GS thing much at all, on the ground or in the air .With the exception of the team at IAD

Over the years I have been treated extremely well along with my family by the GS team there and hold them in the highest regard, although there has been some churn in the past few years I will generally get a phone call from the people who have been around a while when I am passing through just to check in which is a very nice touch.They gave me my first ever comp up from coach to business TATL upgrade a couple of years ago as well.

John Aldeborgh

I had a strange experience back in July while changing planes at SFO, coming from Asia traveling to BOS. I pre-boarded, thank heavens, as the flight was showing almost full, then as the last passengers were boarding a gentleman approached me with a BP with the same seat number, it was a bulkhead, isle seat in coach. His boarding pass showed no status that I could see. When I showed him that my boarding pass showed the same seat and given I had possession so I wasn't moving without speaking to an agent, the other passenger disappeared then returned with an agent after a few minutes. The agent asked me to move to a middle seat way in back, I was a little stunned by the request and pointed out I was GS and had been issued my BP some 15 hours earlier in Seoul, again I just sat there with a pleasant look on my face. Finely, I guess they both gave up an the other passenger took the other seat near the back. The part that confuses me is how could the gate agent reasonably expect me to move given the combination of my BP having been issued first, I had been traveling for 11+ hours on my first leg so I was clearly exhausted and my GS status. I appreciate that the gate agents have to make painful decisions on a daily basis but this particular agent needs some education in simple common sense.

I have to say I love the perk of being able to use upgrades on award tickets. As I fly mostly internationally I rarely use my RPU's but my wife who only travels for pleasure almost always travels domestically. She has about a 90%+ hit rate on upgrades this year, including taking her 85 year old mom on an upcoming 3 day trip to Las Vegas for her birthday. I also just discovered that RPU's work going to Mexico, important only because we're going there on a family vacation in January 2017. Using the upgrades requires a call to the GS service line but the agents a very helpful and the process takes only about 5 minutes.

CopperSteve

This is my favorite GS benefit, especially when coupled with GS agents' ability to open up Saver Awards with a phone call, for which I am batting around 90%. As an example, my SO is traveling with me to EWR-CDG and TXL-EWR (paid AF flight in between) and it only cost me 60k miles and no problem using upgrades both segments. Standard BF award is 300k R/T, I believe. ^

gopony

Got the MB experience at SFO with the wife on an awards flight for the long holiday weekend. Our connecting flight was located in the international terminal (even though it was a domestic trip, the plane arrived from Mexico). stepped off the plane (wife first of course) and here is a lady holding a sign with my name. They quickly took our bags, walked us down to the awaiting car (which my wife spotted out the window, but assumed it was for someone important ). They drove us over to the international terminal, right up to our gate, 5 mins later we are boarding our connecting flight and on our way. Nice service, am especially grateful my wife got to experience it as it really made our first class weekend, just that much more first class. while i earn the miles in the family, she has to do all the work back home, so she deserved this

UA Ronin

My GS experiences lately have really gone downhill... Today I am in JAX trying to head to IAD and then home - but the inbound flight from Houston for my flight is massively delayed due to maintenance - now delayed 2:25 minutes and counting. I will misconnect in IAD and the only other flight home is already oversold - so I will be stuck in IAD tonight.... So I call the "GS" line and explain to them what is happening and ask them to put me on a different set of flights through EWR that would get me home - but they won't do it because although they agree my flight will be massively delayed - since it hadn't been officially updated in the system (at that time) they can't "do anything".

Fast forward 30 minutes - and now the delay has started to be reflected and it's clear I will misconnect - but the flights to Newark have left - and another call to GS - and they still can't do anything - and unfortunately they absolutely refuse to put me on another airline - so it's a night at IAD for me I guess...

This is the second time in the past two weeks I've run into this - in the past the would handle these things much better - but lately it seems things have changed - and not for the better...

fracmeister

I know a lot of GS folks moan about deteriorating love from UA. But I was on a cheapo (relatively) biz class fare on a 3-cabin 767 to FRA from ORD with one 1st class seat left. The gate agent said ...no, a GPU can't be used. 10k miles and 550$ for the upgrade... maybe call GS> Well, that was the first comment from them, but then she said.... "you fly a lot... I guess we can do it for a GPU"

And that is pretty much how the last two years have gone. I am glad to be GS if I have to fly as much as I do...

rch4u

United does not fly 763s between Chicago and Frankfurt ...

laxmillenial

Maybe the OP meant 777? I fat finger randomly sometimes, its still a 3 class airplane with Global First

MBS MillionMiler

That's awesome! I had such a 'forgiveness' a few years ago as a lowly 1K pre-merger. But mine was because the check-in agent had problems because it was a cancellation, re-book, and at the precise time that upgrades went from $500 to $600 at the lowest fare co-pays...The agent couldn't figure out how to keep my upgrade in tact without charging me the new rate. So I flippantly suggested, "Just take a SWU!" and somehow she did.


I've never been GS and only have an outside shot if I ever get to 4MM, but I think it's great that they get special unpublished perks beyond what us lowly 1Ks (and subsequently everyone else down the line) receive...They pay the most and deserve the most. I am envious of those perks...But the perks that are in place for them are also not designed to (directly) screw over other passengers.

wxguy

Flying EWR-ORD-PEK in GF today. GS agent met me upon arrival at ORD, and escorted me to the B6 club. She took me upstairs, stamped my passport "DOCS OK," then gave me a chit for a premium drink at the bar. During the walk she apologized for the temporary closure of the GFL, and reminded me that as of December 1 the Polaris Club will be in the former GFL space on the C concourse.

It was a nice touch I wasn't expecting, given I have a 2+ hour layover.

porciuscato

If this particular upgrade to GF affected anyone, it would most likely be a Non-rev (e.g. "buddy pass") passenger. Oh, that just breaks my heart.