I wonder then what is the point of using a TA and what exactly they are being paid to do...

Did a bunch of research. United > ANA (SFO NRT)

I was able to book my mom on NH7 Seat 2k using points through AMEX I believe.

Now, I'm looking to get onto the same flight. SFO To NRT. Yes I have an economy ticket now (can cancel/get credit).

What I'm looking to do, is buy a Business class ticket as I don't think any more 1st class/Suite seats will be offered. The seat is about 5k USD.

Thank you in advance, I've learned a lot here.

I'm reading that as long as I call into United, and have this ticket re-issued / re-named into an ANA type ticket, there is a chance to use Plus Points to upgrade from the Business class to the First Class/Room. With that being said, I've had my friends use plus points to upgrade my United SF > Europe tickets before. Is this the case also? I'm guessing its 40 plus points (trying to find this info also).

TL;DR Booking through United for an ANA Business class flight, then calling to change the ticket to an ANA named ticket, then having a friend upgrade my ticket using their Plus Points to get into 1st class.

If that is not possible, as a Business class person, can I still visit my mom in 1st class/room? I know at times there are curtains dividing

Welcome to FT. Yes all possible with 40 PlusPoints. The wiki at the beginning of thread contains all the steps you need to take and other useful advice. Not sure about visiting F cabin from J - usually happens in reverse.

Aloha from the first-class lounge in Narita! Just a heads-up, you can use 40 PlusPoints for the route, but make sure you’re purchasing the correct qualifying fare class discussed on the UA website. This also applies to Lufthansa (LH) flights from San Francisco to Europe.

Regarding guesting privileges, a first-class passenger can guest one person traveling on another Star Alliance flight the same day. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now with my partner.

Fingers crossed that your upgrade clears!

You need to purchase at least Z-class (P is not eligible) to upgrade on NH. Once you have your ticket (assuming it is a UA ticket with a codeshare flight) you call UA to get it changed to the native NH flight number - tell them you want to upgrade. How full is the NH flight right now? Just see if it is worth the gamble (assuming you can otherwise get a cheaper ticket).
Visiting from Business is unlikely going to work out - will have to be the reverse.

Thank You!!! Yep I'm a bit new here, just learned most of this on Reddit, and this place is much better and the wiki is awesome. Thank you.

Yes! I saw that I have to use Z class which works. Forgot to mention that it's an eligble class.

Yep its a Z class on United. Yes its a UA Ticket with a codeshare.

The NH flight only has 2 out of the 8 Room cabins booked, one being my mom.

Buniess class has 38 seats empty out of 64 or so.

Premium economy 11 seats empty out of 24

Economy is like 70% open with only 35 seats occupied.

So seems pretty light.


Thank You to everyone!

Hmm, it has been 2 weeks and the UA codeshare segment still shows up on ANA's site (see screenshot). Any ideas whether this is fine? Still looks okay on UA's website - only NH 8 displayed.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...721b57ce16.png

is UA code share R fare (operated by ANA) eligible to use Plus Pts? it is not in the PP upgrade eligible fare list of ANA. thanks

Probably not eligible for upgrade for NH flight.

No. It maps to NH code N, which is not an upgradeable class.

Curious.

I know for United flights / Plus Points use we can see the Pz to see our chances of using a PP upgrade.

I'm going to try a ANA Business class seat on the United site for Feb 2025. Class Z, and try to do the 40PP upgrade to First class after switching the ticket to ANA code. There is still tons of room in all cabins of the plane.

Is there a way a person with enough PP can actually see the chances of it being upgraded? Only 2 people so far in First class, with one being my mom.

Lastly if that upgrade does not take, I'm assuming the PP will get bounced back and I can use it for a later trip in July.

O class available would guarantee the UG to clear. With F6 ... there almost certainly won't be any O available.

If the UG does not confirm it will get refunded of course.

No. ANA’s process is very obscure. IMHO, I think ANA doesn’t want people thinking “I think my chances are pretty good”, but rather “Maybe I’ll get an upgrade”. They don’t want upgrades to be an expectation. If you’re not upgraded 24 hours before flight, you will not be upgraded - even if there available are seats.

Do Global Services member PP's clear with a higher priority when applied to NH (or for that matter, LH) flights? Or is the GS benefit for UA flights only?

No one knows. The NH upgrade process is completely opaque.