LondonElite

It cheapens the product.

It leads to behavior shifting. Those who qualify for the upgrade will be disinclined to pay for it, confident that they stand a good chance of a Polaris seat. UA will be disinclined to invest in ‘upgrade class’ and slowly the hard and soft product deteriorates. The ability to upgrade with miles or PP is a fair policy, and as a 1K who flies to every corner of the globe, you’ll have plenty of both, so what is the problem?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Definitely. UA does provide multiple ways to move up to Polaris - day of departure upgrade offers, PlusPoints upgrades, mileage upgrades. UA does want to provide some sense of exclusivity to the cabin and Polaris lounges.The last thing most people in the lounge or cabin wants to hear is some rube bragging about how he/she got in because of a free upgrade. At least with the upgrade avenues, the passenger has put a bit more "skin" into the purchase. If one wants to sit up front, don't complain about NRSAs sitting in a Polaris seat when one had multiple avenues provided by UA to sit there instead.

UA already loses money by giving CPUs domestically. I, for one, would be buying more F fares (well, P fares), if I wasn't able to count on CPUs at times. UA doesn't want to extend that behavior to the Polaris experience.

keisari

Also for travel to Central America and the Caribbean.

cfischer

agreed. This would be the end of what is already a marginal product. UA provides many options to upgrade and a further dilution of this would be very detrimental.

mahasamatman

Should car rental agencies give you a Lamborghini when you pay for a Yugo just because nobody else rented it? Should a restaurant give you a wagyu steak when you pay for a hamburger?

lockman21

Hey all - I booked a regular (not basic) economy ticket going to Europe connecting in IAD a few weeks ago. This was a cash booking (not miles) on United.com with a United credit card. I am new to 1K status, and the upgrade list is now appearing in the United app - I thought I'd see myself on the upgrade list, but I'm not appearing on there. Is that normal? I didn't use "PlusPoints", so figured it'd be a long shot anyway, but I should still be on the list, right? I wanted to check here before I started complaining to the 1K desk.

findark

For which flight? There are no complimentary upgrades for anyone on trans-Atlantic segments.

lockman21

Well that's an education piece for me. So everyone on the upgrade list from the US to Europe is using PlusPoints?

JimInOhio

Yes... or using miles.

Separately, do you see yourself on the upgrade list for the first (domestic) flight, assuming it's not the odd aircraft without First Class seating?

lockman21

Thanks! Yes - we already got upgraded on that domestic flight. It's a mainline 737 going into IAD then a 767 going to Europe.

LondonElite

Yes, and if you are 1K you’ll have a few of those PP kicking around. I’d argue it’s good use of them for a flat bed on an overnight flight to Europe. No CPUs on international flights.

Nagasaki Joe

Perhaps not anymore, but back in the mid-90s when I was Premier Gold (the highest elite tier at that time), 2 or 3 times I received complimentary upgrades to business class on TPAC flights between the US and Japan. Mind you, the upgrades were not given before or at check-in but only after departure. In all cases, the FA came to my seat and told me there was available seating in Business Class and that I could move there if wished. Today that would never happen. Now, the only way I can get an upgrade as Premier Gold is with points and cash, which is fine by me, as I agree with your point about free upgrades cheapening the product, but I would certainly never refuse one.

Repooc17

Then: actual two-way loyalty

Now: monetization at every opportunity

dgtsf

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of United. They were my primary career until about 7 years ago. Then I gave up on them and finally switched out to a combination of Delta and Alaska for my travel (about 150k/year split between the two). However, I work for the federal government now, so I fly the carrier they tell me to fly. I usually can find some wiggle room, but I'm heading to Guam soon, which has no gov contracts from the states other than United. So as of right now, I don't have anything but lowly Silver on United, which if I recall correctly I'm getting free via my lifetime Marriott Titanium. Or maybe it was Hertz President's Circle. I don't know, doesn't matter. I didn't earn any status on United with my butt in a seat on its planes.

Routing is SFO --> NRT --> GUM on the outbound. Return is GUM --> HNL --> SFO.

I fly out on a Friday and return on a Sunday.

My fares are government-contract Y class in economy. I'm military traveling on official orders. I have already paid $341 out of pocket for Economy Plus seats. The pricing for Premium Economy and higher is a non-starter -- it's around $3,330 on the way out and $1,600 on the way back.

Do I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting a complimentary upgrade? It's a long, long way to Guam. I'd love to be in Premium Economy, but I'm betting Silver won't get me anything, especially out of San Francisco. I'm willing to change my outbound routing to go through HNL instead of NRT if it might increase my odds. But that seems unlikely too.

EDIT: I have nothing left in my United mileage account except 41k miles. So not enough miles to secure anything with, and even if I got a card, the miles won't post soon enough to be useful.

Just curious for thoughts from anyone who still travels on United regularly. I'm probably not going to have a choice but to fly United a lot more going forward.

bjdj94

Couple problems. First, the only segment in your itinerary that United offers complimentary upgrades is HNL -> SFO. Second, Premier Silver is low upgrade priority. Combine that with current travel demand, and your odds on HNL -> SFO are extremely low.

You could look into MileagePlus Upward (miles plus copay). You’d probably end up waitlisted right now, but you might have a chance that way.