Today I was #3 for 3 seats left with an hour before boarding. 2 min before boarding starts, they haven’t cleared the list, so I walk over and politely ask if they’re going to clear upgrades. “We dont clear upgrades until half an hour before departure in case someone wants to buy up during check in,” was the response I got.

So boarding begins 10-15 minutes before the upgrade list clears? So then I should just stand and wait by the counter and not board while I wait for the upgrade?

I can accept that they wait until boarding *begins* to clear upgrades. It’s their prerogative to try to sell seats and make some extra $$. But waiting until after groups 1 and 2 (and preboarding) means that the people who get upgraded have to relocate to the front of the cabin after taking their seats.

And if I choose to wait by the counter, then that’s just more inconvenient time sitting around. If I have a carry on it means no carry on space.

In this case, it meant that I didn’t get to use the restroom. I was waiting by the gate instead of being on the plane. Then the rather rude and snippy first class attendant wouldn’t let me use the bathroom shortly before the door closed.

And this is the first time in 9 flights over the past month that I’ve gotten an upgrade. I can accept not getting upgrades on cheap fares, but I found today’s customer service crappy. My experience probably would have been better without worrying about or getting the upgrade. Thanks UA.

Well before there was a UA app - and buyup's - it was customary to stand by the counter and have no clue where you stood with upgrades. You'd usually get a customary - first class has check in full, or will Mr. So and So, and Ms. So and So wait by the gate for a possible upgrade - or, walk up to the counter and go, do I have a chance? And more often than not, practically the entire plane was onboard before they called your name for the upgrade. So - it is much better now than the old days.

You can board your original seat assignment - keep refreshing the app. There is a risk they will skip you though if you can't verify you want the upgrade.

This operating procedure became standard when CO took over running the airline after the merger. Lasted for several years but was abolished a couple of years ago in my experience. Must have been a GA on a bad day longing for the CO days. It’s asinine for the reasons you stated. I would write in about it.

Yes, and it has for years. While some GAs will start clearing before boarding, that’s against policy. Forget TODs; prior to the check-in window closing, they could sell a full F seat.

Your options, as have been pointed out, are to wait to board or to go ahead and board and then move forward when the upgrade comes through. I’ve only seen one report in the last couple of years of someone being skipped because they had already boarded; that’s definitely not policy. The GA will come on with upgraded boarded passes as necessary, or you can move up when you see your upgrade come through on the app.

The upgrade list has been broken for weeks, and it appears to be even more broken than usual recently. I wouldn’t necessarily draw any conclusions from what you described. In fact, it’s extremely difficult to do a TOD purchase after check-in cutoff, so I don’t know that it could have been a TOD either.

$829 via app, kiosk, and gate agent. Didn’t bite as have full row to myself.
All biz fare buckets incl. PZ were 9’s right up until departure. Cleared about 13 NRSA’s
L fare on Swiss ticket stock so wasn’t able to see options in UA app until the inbound LX flight had pushed back and closed out

1kvoice seemed to agree with my original sentiment: I wrote in and said that I thought beginning boarding before clearing upgrades was operationally inefficient and a less than optimal experience to GS and 1k who board and then switch seats. I also mentioned not getting to use the bathroom. They apologized, passed my feedback onto the crew / gate agent for that day, and gave me a travel cert.

If they had said “our policy is to wait until checkin closes to clear upgrades,” then I could have accepted that reasoning too (though I still would have thought it inefficient in all but money-making aspects).

Got $689 on LHR-SFO for 11/24. Said I was #5 on the list with two seats remaining. Mulled it over for a bit. When I went back it was $699 and the only window seat left was gone but I smashed that Buy button. Well worth it for nearly 12 hours when I have to fly back out 24 hours later, even in a middle seat.