Jan 21, 2017, 10:27 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
UA will generally offer cash upgrades from any non-Basic Economy fare for UA operated flights, these can be offered:
- At the time of purchase
- Before travel in the itinerary view
- At check-in (computer, smartphone, airport)
- You can inquire with an agent anytime (including at the gate)
The price can vary, as it appears multiple processes are used -- occasionally yielding strangely high offers. Always cross-check on what the fare difference (up fare) might be and consider insteadBuy up to higher fare class w/o change fee? {GG BUYUP}
Awards tickets may be offered similar cash upgrade but generally only at check-in (Aug 2022 update, frequent reports of award ticket cash upgrade offers; at booking, after booking and check-in. Unclear under what conditions.
For Check-in offers, these can vary post initial check-in, so check back closer to departure.
Such upgrades will be eligible for all the benefits of a premium cabin ticket, UA makes no distinction on how a passenger premium cabin ticket was obtained.
Generally, fees for upgrades are non-refundable if you voluntarily cancel. If UA cancels or fails to provide the upgrade, the fees will be refunded. On voluntary changes, the agent may transfer to the changes flight but that is not standard policy.
True up-fares (ADD/COLLECT) are transferable if the appropriate inventory space is available.
Fees paid for upgrades now {2020) earn PQPs
Will the upgrade earn PQDs or bonus PQMs see the wiki of Some Paid Upgrades Count Towards PQD & mileage bonus and some DON"T!
On how pricing is structured, see A Comprehensive Look at Domestic First Class Monetization (FCM) on United
Previous Threads:
UA Upsell Offers to Business/First at Purchase and Day of Departure (TOD) [Archive]
2016 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2015 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2014 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2013 "Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU)" Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
- At the time of purchase
- Before travel in the itinerary view
- At check-in (computer, smartphone, airport)
- You can inquire with an agent anytime (including at the gate)
The price can vary, as it appears multiple processes are used -- occasionally yielding strangely high offers. Always cross-check on what the fare difference (up fare) might be and consider instead
Awards tickets may be offered similar cash upgrade but generally only at check-in (Aug 2022 update, frequent reports of award ticket cash upgrade offers; at booking, after booking and check-in. Unclear under what conditions.
For Check-in offers, these can vary post initial check-in, so check back closer to departure.
Such upgrades will be eligible for all the benefits of a premium cabin ticket, UA makes no distinction on how a passenger premium cabin ticket was obtained.
Generally, fees for upgrades are non-refundable if you voluntarily cancel. If UA cancels or fails to provide the upgrade, the fees will be refunded. On voluntary changes, the agent may transfer to the changes flight but that is not standard policy.
True up-fares (ADD/COLLECT) are transferable if the appropriate inventory space is available.
Fees paid for upgrades now {2020) earn PQPs
On how pricing is structured, see A Comprehensive Look at Domestic First Class Monetization (FCM) on United
Previous Threads:
UA Upsell Offers to Business/First at Purchase and Day of Departure (TOD) [Archive]
2016 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2015 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2014 Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU) Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
2013 "Upsell Offers to Business/First (UFC/PCU)" Questions/Discussion (Paid Upgrades)
UA Upsell Offers to Business/First/PP at Purchase to Day of Departure (TOD)
Mar 28, 2024, 12:32 pm
#753
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: UA, SPG
Posts: 29
Hi everyone - I have a question that I think I know the answer to, but just want to confirm. I have an award ticket from HND to SFO in Economy. I see that there are upgrades to Premium Plus for $419, which seems like a good deal. The only issue is that I'm not 100% sure I'm going to be able to make this trip. If I pay to select a premium plus seat and then end up canceling the award ticket, am I out the $419?
Mar 28, 2024, 12:47 pm
#754
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: NJ
Programs: UA Silver, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 499
Hi everyone - I have a question that I think I know the answer to, but just want to confirm. I have an award ticket from HND to SFO in Economy. I see that there are upgrades to Premium Plus for $419, which seems like a good deal. The only issue is that I'm not 100% sure I'm going to be able to make this trip. If I pay to select a premium plus seat and then end up canceling the award ticket, am I out the $419?
Mar 28, 2024, 2:16 pm
#755
Join Date: Jul 2005
Programs: United
Posts: 60
SIN-SFO
SIN-SFO (9pm departure) mid-May, midweek, offered ~$707 from A -> J (x2) about a day after booking ... can't believe I am saying this but I took it given very low expectations of an MUA+copay success as silver. Probably overpaid but it's a short trip on the ground relative to travel time, which also influenced the decision.
Had to get some agency ticketing stuff cleared up first but this came up right after United got that done.
Had to get some agency ticketing stuff cleared up first but this came up right after United got that done.
Mar 28, 2024, 2:28 pm
#756
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,357
Mar 28, 2024, 3:00 pm
#757
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,940
According to point guy valuation, the UA miles are valued at 1.4 cents per mile; 30K miles are worth $420. Adding the copay ($450), you would have to pay $870. So, you come out ahead by only paying $707 or less than $50 per hour.
Good job!
Mar 28, 2024, 3:45 pm
#759
Join Date: Jan 2024
Posts: 66
SIN-SFO (9pm departure) mid-May, midweek, offered ~$707 from A -> J (x2) about a day after booking ... can't believe I am saying this but I took it given very low expectations of an MUA+copay success as silver. Probably overpaid but it's a short trip on the ground relative to travel time, which also influenced the decision.
Had to get some agency ticketing stuff cleared up first but this came up right after United got that done.
Had to get some agency ticketing stuff cleared up first but this came up right after United got that done.
Mar 29, 2024, 10:34 am
#760
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AA PP, UA 1K/MM, WoH Globalist, HH Gold
Posts: 1,194
Unless you have visibility to the waitlist for the PZ bucket, not sure why you would say your status matters. Even those with higher status would have to put in a MUA or PP.
Mar 30, 2024, 9:59 pm
#761
Join Date: May 2000
Location: IAH
Programs: UA 1K 2.7MM, Marriott Titanium/LT Plat, IHG Spire
Posts: 3,317
I'm being offered $829 to move from Economy to Premium Economy on SFO-SYD. Has anyone seen a better price offered lately? On another forum someone mentioned that it can be better than that the day of departure. PE doesn't have many open seats but Polaris has quite a few.
Mar 30, 2024, 10:41 pm
#762
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SFO, TPE, HNL
Programs: UA GS 4MM, RCC life member (paid), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, CLEAR
Posts: 1,822
Or calculating in a different way.
According to point guy valuation, the UA miles are valued at 1.4 cents per mile; 30K miles are worth $420. Adding the copay ($450), you would have to pay $870. So, you come out ahead by only paying $707 or less than $50 per hour.
Good job!
According to point guy valuation, the UA miles are valued at 1.4 cents per mile; 30K miles are worth $420. Adding the copay ($450), you would have to pay $870. So, you come out ahead by only paying $707 or less than $50 per hour.
Good job!
I guess there are those close to departure situations where J fare jumps up ridiculously to a huge number of thousands, and the adjustment of the award fares lags in time. Then one could get more value of the miles. But I am not sure to use 350,000 miles for a $7K J ticket is the purpose of my collecting miles.
Last edited by PanAmWT; Mar 30, 2024 at 10:49 pm Reason: adding the second paragraph
Mar 31, 2024, 12:42 am
#763
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,357
I am curious on how UA miles be valued at 1.4c, especially for TPAC flyers. In the few occasions where a few savers J open up, only Plat and above can get them and they are gone quickly. They also give up the RDMs of the elite revenue tickets. I would think the 1.4c is near the maximum value. For normal cases the value looks closer to 1.0-1.2 c than 1.4c.
That said, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten less than 2 cpm on my UA redemptions, and often better than that. But the best redemptions aren’t by flying UA — or they’re by flying UA just enough to use the Excursionist Perk.
I guess there are those close to departure situations where J fare jumps up ridiculously to a huge number of thousands, and the adjustment of the award fares lags in time. Then one could get more value of the miles. But I am not sure to use 350,000 miles for a $7K J ticket is the purpose of my collecting miles.
Mar 31, 2024, 11:06 pm
#764
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SFO, TPE, HNL
Programs: UA GS 4MM, RCC life member (paid), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, CLEAR
Posts: 1,822
That’s specifically why I wrote my version of the message without mentioning a particular value — everyone has their own.
That said, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten less than 2 cpm on my UA redemptions, and often better than that. But the best redemptions aren’t by flying UA — or they’re by flying UA just enough to use the Excursionist Perk.
That said, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten less than 2 cpm on my UA redemptions, and often better than that. But the best redemptions aren’t by flying UA — or they’re by flying UA just enough to use the Excursionist Perk.
My best use of miles is 100K miles for a one-way J savers award, revenue price ~ $2600. I figure the value being $2600/(100000 miles + 2600 x 14 miles*) = 2600 / 135000 miles = 1.9c. But this is not the same as 1.9 cents cash. If it were 1.9 cents cash I can use it any time. It is 1.9 cents only in a very small percentage of times when UA's IN seats are open and the schedule meets my requirement. Besides, I would lose 1600 PQD, which may be prorated to 10 additional Plus Pints).
*14 miles from 11 RDM and 3 CSR credit card
For Gold member or below, they need to spend 170K miles for the same J ticket, so their miles is worth about 1.1 cents - when the savers are available. Otherwise the standard J upgrade is at least 200,000 miles these days.
Apr 1, 2024, 7:59 am
#765
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,392