findark

Yes, but I'm doubtful whether it's really worth it at that point unless you're across the street from the airport anyway.

If you split the PNR manually ahead of check-in, the baggage allowance does not carry over the new PNR. Yes, if you ask the check-in agent to look at the history they should comp her bags too, but be prepared to have to explain this to the agent.

Generally speaking, manually splitting the PNR is not great. The auto-split at check in (AFAIK) does a better job of carrying status forward onto the new PNR although it's not perfect. If you're not interested in splitting up the party, don't split the PNR.

cur

thanks for this. i thought this would be best so at least one of us could get upgraded. but turns out f was 100% open at 72hrs, so if i did nothing both of us would have been upgraded 48hours out. not the end of the world because at least bae upgraded but i want free moscow mules too. oh well.

but can't airport clear it there at -23hrs? or is airport = gate at -:45? it's wide open up front and oversold in e and there is >1 in r

moral of the story: for purposes of upgrades, if you are happy with just minimum 1 upgrading, split but not until 4-5 days out.

jsloan

The fact that F was 100% open doesn't necessarily mean they would have CPU'ed two people then. They might have, but they might also have decided to clear neither of you.

The airport list is only used at time of departure. They will not upgrade her 23 hours in advance at the airport. They can add her to the list, but they won't clear her. Time added to the list is a minor tiebreaker in this situation -- her priority should be after all other Gold customers and before all Silver customers. Time added would only come up if there is another Gold companion with the same fare class on the waiting list. If R is non-zero and you want to secure the upgrade, you can call and use miles, and you can expect a buy-up offer at check-in.

Otherwise, you never know if they will be able to sell a bunch of TODs, or if some higher elites will buy tickets / SDC to your flight / have a weather cancellation / etc.

There's no reason to split 4-5 days out if you're a Gold looking for a CPU. Your CPU wouldn't be processed until T-48 anyway. If the system is working properly, they wouldn't upgrade a single traveler with lower status ahead of you, so there's no real need to split until check-in.

If you've applied an instrument, that's a different story, because a flight could go to R1 and then you could get skipped. But that shouldn't be an issue for CPUs.

cur

ok better moral of the story here ^^^

greggoak2

I saw a description of companion upgrades on "milecards.com" that said this of companion upgrades:

"As a Premier if a companion is traveling on the same reservation as you, your companion will be eligible to be upgraded with the same priority as you, though the two of you will be below all other Premier members within your level.

So if you are Premier Platinum you will have priority below all solo Premier Platinums, but ahead of Premier Golds. "

But if I read the "Understanding the United Upgrade List" thread here correctly, that isn't true. What I understood from reading that is that the companion and the primary passenger (if both on the same linked reservation) will be upgraded at the primary passenger's status AND at the relevant fare class, time of request, etc.

My husband (PG) and I (was PG but in 2018 will be GM - didn't travel much in 2017) both just booked "B" fares on UA metal SFO-AKL for late March 2018 and will request MUA upgrades. As upgrades clear, we should both be on the list below Plat, 1K, etc. but above all other PG pax booked with Y fare classes lower in priority than "B" - is that correct? Or will I sink my husband down such that we will both be at the bottom of the PG group and just above all PS pax? If the latter, we may try to quickly cancel this and just book the available "W" fares - $500 less per person. We wanted to book the "B" fare to increase our upgrade chances. Any insight appreciated.

jsloan

I would not pay $500 to move from W to B as a Gold. The chance that the available upgrades run out between those two fare classes seems fairly small. It's far more likely that either you would both get upgraded on either class or that the available upgrades would run out somewhere in the 1K range, well above Gold.

If you have some flexibility on your routes/dates, look for flights with R available in Expert Mode. Those would clear immediately at booking -- no waitlist required.

greggoak2

Thanks, jsloan. I've been debating the wisdom of this plan. What sold me on it, though, was that "B" would mean no co-pay to upgrade, so if we DID get an upgrade, it would actually cost less. But yes, it's a gamble. But do you know the answer to my original question, about priority processing for companions?

findark

Until you check in, you will both have priority over all Golds on lower fares than B. However, the system must allocate two or more seats to R in order for you to clear from a single PNR; otherwise you will be skipped and the next one-pax PNR in line will get the upgrade.

However, I would strongly second jsloan's advice that the difference between a Gold on a B fare and a Gold on a W fare is likely to be extremely small.

jsloan

I don't think that there's enough evidence to say one way or the other what happens*. My gut says that the thread is correct (companions more-or-less stay together) rather than the other website, but exceptions seem to come up all the time, and you may get different rules on the outbound and on the return if your PNR is split during check-in.

The SFO-AKL flight is out of season right now, but today's SFO-SYD flight has 12 people checked in on the waiting list (hours before departure) with two upgrades marked as cleared and two more seats available. Yesterday's flight is showing no gate upgrades. Now, understand that people upgraded in advance don't show up on these lists -- but if you got upgraded in advance, you probably wouldn't care about your priority order.

On these long-haul routes, nearly every single GS or 1K in Economy will have applied an instrument upgrade, because these are the best possible uses for them. However, that's not going to be true for Platinum and Gold members, who have to use miles plus the co-pay unless they have a generous friend with an upgrade certificate. So, I just don't think it's likely to make a difference one way or the other -- in my opinion, either you'll clear regardless of the B or W fare, or you won't clear on either of them, whether UA puts you after other Gold customers or not. I expect the number of Gold customers on the waiting list to be quite small, and possibly just the two of you.

Having said that, the B fare would get you extra redeemable miles and a 50% PQM bonus, whereas the copay would get you neither. So, at least you'll have that as a consolation prize if your upgrade doesn't clear.

* at the gate. I'm pretty sure findark is correct about your priority before the gate.

WineCountryUA

Priority of companion?
If on the same PNR and you agree to split the PNR, the companion should be prioritized base on your/their fare in your status group.

It does appear a gate requested companion upgrade of a companion on a separate PNR is prioritized at the bottom fare class for the elite's status group.

findark

Also relevant about splitting PNRs at check-in.

It's a mess, but the order-shuffling is strong evidence that instrument-supported upgrades originating from the same PNR maintain the status and fare class of the highest status on the original PNR.

SFOrunner

Planning on booking a roundtrip itinerary including myself and my girlfriend. I am Platinum and my girlfriend is Silver. Assuming we do not clear at T-72, will she be on the upgrade list as a Plat or will she be on the list as a Silver?

***EDIT*** Nevermind! "If the companion is a Premier member, the upgrade will be processed according to the highest Premier status level in the reservation."

IAH-OIL-TRASH

...and you may both get skipped over if only one CPU seat is released.

100% Green

So, can you explain this? If you split the PNR at check in on the outbound, will the companion still retain the status of the highest person in the group on the return?

Do I need to let the gate agent know something or is observing both our names on the upgrade list confirmation?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

No. Everyone’s on their own status after split and will be upgraded (or not) according to status. Whoever has the new PNR will have date/time reflective of split, so that may impact location on waitlist. The GA only needs to be involved if passenger split off has no status and you want to add them as companion at airport.