Newgene

I know this one has likely been answered before, but you guys would surely know. I'm trying to figure out if I should go for plat status to get a better selection of IN inventory. Somewhere in the past, I have read where it didn't seem to make a difference. Does anyone really notice a better selection with plat and above status? Regardless of the route, I rarely find much outside some off-hour mixed cabin stuff.

I definitely see more economy options with my silver status, but I have a ton of miles that I've been holding for international business class trips.

Kacee

The difference between I and IN is not significant. It's occasional. Lack of business saver availability still plagues Plats and 1Ks. This is definitely not a reason to chase higher status.

jsloan

Agreed. If you activate expert mode, you can see for yourself; just search for a paid ticket on the route(s) you're interested in and check out I and IN. In most cases, you'll find them to be the same.

ordflyer18

Thank you!

BH62

Except when it doesn't? Had a recent TPAC (that I've discussed before) on 016 stock, with a leg on JeJuAir for which UA explicitly says does not quality for PQS & whatever other PQs one can think of. I rationalize the "016" as a placeholder for that 500 mile JeJu segment (KIX-ICN) as the check-in was separate (not at UA); however, UA at ICN clearly recognized us as Transfer pax & bags were interlined successfully. Apparently, JeJu is not a partner per se. YMMV

WineCountryUA

Only *A partners (and a few select UA MP partners) earn mileage credit. Non-partners, even if on UA ticket will not earn mileage / PQD credit.

The interlining of a ticket and baggage is not what is considered a "partnership." UA will interline bags to DL if on the same ticket but it is clearly not a partner relationship. As JeJu is not a UA partner but has a interlining agreement -- which the the vast majority of airlines have with each other.

Kacee

And UA's "Airline Partners" are clearly identified on the website. Airline Partners. If an airline isn't listed there as a partner, it doesn't matter who issues the ticket, you're not going to earn.

BH62

Thanks for the comments, always something new to learn. Not to belabor the point (altho that's apparently what I'm doing), the KIX-ICN JeJu leg was 500 miles & actually was an East-to-West backtrack, so that 500 miles was effectively embedded in the subsequent UA ICN-SFO flight. As part of the learning experience, the seat pitch comfort on JeJu taught us that a 2 hr flight was just about tolerable, but a 4+ hr JeJu segment on an ICN-HAN itinerary that I was looking as a possibility for later in the year should have us consider another carrier or routing (but I digress).

scracer14

OP Update

In IAH I spent over an hour with several agents who ultimately were able to combine the reservations but notcheck the bag IAH - DFW - IAH - PHX

The only solution was to try and deplane, collect the bag, and re-clear security in DFW

This might have worked while we were set to land 20 minutes early, but seconds from touching down in DFW, ATC had us go-around. This added 20 minutes, and made collecting my bag impossible in DFW.

Fortunately, the late arrival caused a late departure in DFW - IAH, and I was able to talk a UA agent into booking me on AA DFW - PHX direct. Lost the upgrades, but arrived 2 hours earlier in PHX (and didn't have to abandon my bag in DFW)

WineCountryUA

They needed to call the Help Desk -- if they had not done this before, your outcome is common without involving the Help Desk.

scracer14

Good to know as this same situation may be in the cards again for next weekend...

One question I have is, will the DFW ground crew even think to check the bags back onto the plane if DFW is not traditionally a connection airport for UA?

I'm worried that even if the bag gets tagged to go IAH DFW IAH PHX, it still goes to the carousel in DFW. Although at least if this happens UA can presumably re-route the bag to PHX the next morning.

Newgene

Yeah, I went through a bunch of desired routes, and all were I0 and IN0. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I would try to get a higher status, and I'm struggling. I'm Marriott Platinum, and I usually spend about $2500 to $3000 on close to 50k miles per year on average. So, unless I get a chase MPX card, I'll be in silver in any case. I could push 75k miles/year or pay for some first class tickets more often, but I'm not really seeing the value in it. If CPUs are rare, and the IN inventory is not any greater...well, you know.

On a different note, with silver, I average 3-5 slots away from CPU on nearly every flight (mostly to and from IAH). If I check in right at 24 hours, I'm usually in the 2-4 range away from the CPU cutoff. At least that's what I see locally. I wind up between halfway and two-thirds of the way down the overall starting list before boarding, most of the time. I had a couple upgrades last year, but I think they were flukes. I would think I would get a decent shot going forward if I were plat, but I'm guessing. If others say they still get buried under 1k travelers, then no I won't. I always get E+, but at least I would get it at booking.

Other than the cheaper fees to change award travel (if I ever find any), is there anything big I'm missing?

WineCountryUA

Free SDC is one thing that comes to mind. And getting Gold the E+ at booking - which the credit card does not offer.
These may help -- see the respective thread wikis for a summary ...
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...solidated.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...solidated.html

Newgene

Decent discussion there. Thanks. It looks like I'm not missing anything.

Brennan Vincent

I requested an upgrade with miles on a round-trip flight. One leg has R fare inventory available; the other doesn't.

My upgrade still hasn't cleared (I requested it about an hour ago), even on the flight with available R inventory. Why is this?