Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > United Airlines | MileagePlus
Reload this Page >

Ways to search for upgrade space at booking?

Old Nov 3, 2018, 11:06 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Until 18 Oct 2018, upgrade space for RPU/GPUs was "R" ("PN" for GS), starting 19 Oct 2018 "R" has been replaced by "PZ"
Changes to UA's Fare Classes (19-20 October 2018)
"R" upgrade / fare class is missing! (replaced by PZ)
Expert Mode Update: better upgrade visibility and opt-in to see fare bucket data.

When using Expert to find upgrade space, check segments individually because checking multiple segments may defaults to reporting the less inventory (such as zero) of any segment for the multi-segment result
R / PZ Avail changes depending on how you search flights
Segments clear individually based on their upgrade space

UA provides Advance Search options for Mileage Upgrades or GPUs or RPUs -- There are complications with those searches, so if used to find space best to just record the flights and then book without the extra search options.

If you expect for an upgrade to clear after booking and it does not, remember you can cancel within 24 hours with no cancellation fee.

There are no tools available for searching for more than one day or one route at a time. UA has blocked any attempts by third parties to provides such tools,
Print Wikipost

Ways to search for upgrade space at booking?

Old Nov 25, 2017, 7:16 am
  #16  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,186
Originally Posted by Artpen100
Not exactly. I’m usually looking for R on specific dates. I check pretty much every day on UA.com anyway. But if I have seen no R or I for a long time, then get an EF alert on I, usually overnight, there is a good chance R was also opened overnight, telling me to log in and grab it first thing in the morning before it is gone. If they release only 2 or so, you may need to act fast.
Sure. The problem is that United will regularly release R space without releasing I space, so you’d miss out on those upgrades unless I later opens (or you find it during your daily searches).
jsloan is online now  
Old Nov 25, 2017, 7:27 am
  #17  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,299
Originally Posted by Hipplewm
Maybe I need to expound....if I need to take a trip to Asia sometime in late April, I tag basically 30-40 possible flights that will get me there, or close with a small final flight at the end. ie - if going to HKG - flying business to TPE, then whatever to HKG isn't too bad.
It's not hard to check all UA TPACs at once for a given day using expert mode. If you search, for example, SFO-HKG, .com will show all the UA TPACs with connections on various *A partners onward to HKG. So one search returns all UA flights for a particular day.

I would estimate that I=0 R>0 occurs easily at least 75% of the time. So if you rely on an I alert for R, you're missing out on open upgrade space at least three-quarters of the time. If you're satisfied with that, great
Kacee is offline  
Old Nov 25, 2017, 10:05 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Washington D.C. via Sao Paulo via Houston via Washington D.C. via Boston via New York
Posts: 1,172
I usually search routes, if there is saver space then it's upgradeable given the correct fare class
letsbeadventurers likes this.
macdonaldj2 is offline  
Old Nov 25, 2017, 2:16 pm
  #19  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,257
Originally Posted by mduell
How dumb do people think the airlines revenue management is?

"Golly, we haven't sold any business class seats 6 months in advance, may as well start giving out upgrades." No sense in looking at historical sales curves...
Originally Posted by PPM
I have written multiple times about GPUs and RPUs in this forum. First of all, United provides these instruments as a result of miles flown by elite members. They are not "free" with respect to United deciding to "give them away". We pay for these multiple times over with our paid tickets. Second, I have also been frustrated with a completely empty business class cabin and no confirmable upgrades months in advance for off-peak travel (London Heathrow from Chicago in February, mid-week). I do not agree that there should not be some confirmable space for upgrades on these flights months ahead. However, that said, I just booked a confirmed GPU on this route two days ago because I checked multiple times weekly about availability since June, 2017. Usually weekend days are the best chance to secure a confirmed upgrade, but I have also had lots of success in the past during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is how I was able to confirm the ORD-LHR GPUs.
Clearly opposite interpretations of GPU/RPUs. Most of us think its a benefit where we still must pay a "copay" (W fare) for our hard earned loyalty after spending thousands of dollars and hours in order to sit in a seat that would probably otherwise go out empty. UA values loyalty at $0 so they think GPU/RPUs are a nuisance costing them thousands of dollars every time one clears.

Originally Posted by Kacee
It's not hard to check all UA TPACs at once for a given day using expert mode. If you search, for example, SFO-HKG, .com will show all the UA TPACs with connections on various *A partners onward to HKG. So one search returns all UA flights for a particular day.

I would estimate that I=0 R>0 occurs easily at least 75% of the time. So if you rely on an I alert for R, you're missing out on open upgrade space at least three-quarters of the time. If you're satisfied with that, great
One search wouldn't give you all TPACs, only flights for one origin-destination. (SFO-HKG, ORD-HKG, EWR-HKG, SFO-NRT, ORD-NRT, etc etc) If you wanted to see all UA TPACs for a given day, you'll need to search every UA TPAC route separately, then the returns.
Lately, I can only get a dozen or so searches in before I start getting "The Page Encountered an Error Processing your Request" and have to stop and come back later

Last edited by eng3; Nov 25, 2017 at 2:52 pm
eng3 is offline  
Old Nov 25, 2017, 8:20 pm
  #20  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,299
Originally Posted by eng3
One search wouldn't give you all TPACs, only flights for one origin-destination. (SFO-HKG, ORD-HKG, EWR-HKG, SFO-NRT, ORD-NRT, etc etc) If you wanted to see all UA TPACs for a given day, you'll need to search every UA TPAC route separately, then the returns.
Actually, if you search SFO-HKG, .com will return routings via ORD and EWR. Though functionally, you're correct, it's really only useful for the SFO originating TPACs because the domestic connection will render the R inventory invalid for the ORD/EWR itineraries. Since I'm not interested in connecting TPAC via ORD or EWR, this doesn't matter to me.
Kacee is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 3:35 am
  #21  
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: YYZ, ON
Programs: UA 1K (2MM)
Posts: 394

Originally Posted by bruinflyer
Is there a way to check for guaranteed upgrade space for GPUs or RPUs? Basically, do those book into a specific fare class, kinda like "I" is theoretically business class upgrades, thus if you see space in I-class then you can buy an economy and upgrade? I'm happy using the United site or using ExpertFlyer, for the record.

I'm asking because I'm trying to buy a route that is showing 100% availability in the front cabin (2cabin flight, literally no seats are booked yet according to the United sites' seats-available-per-cabin info) but is also showing zero GPU and zero RPU guaranteed seats (it only shows "waitlist").

Caveat: I know there are a bunch of threads on upgrades, I know there are a bunch of threads about EF. I have searched both here in the forums and via Google and I can't find this exact question, so if you know where I can find the answer I'll happily accept a link directly to the answer!
For GPU usage wouldn't you just use the filter/option in the united.com reservation engine? The search results are marked with whether it is waitlist or upgrade available.
SLC-YYZ is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 5:09 am
  #22  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
Originally Posted by SLC-YYZ



For GPU usage wouldn't you just use the filter/option in the united.com reservation engine? The search results are marked with whether it is waitlist or upgrade available.
Yes, in the end, that is how you have to do it more or less. There is a chrome plugin that helps as well. But you can only search one flight at the time. Some people based say, out of SFO, can get most flights direct. Some of us at a small east coast airport have to 2 or 3 hop it, all we care about is the TPAC portion and we have IAD, IAH, EWR and ORD we can get to in a single flight, so checking all of them to NRT, HKG (ORD, EWR only) etc to see what flight on which days would have R availability gets to be quite tiresome, so I personally use a few "tricks" that are NOT 100% by any means, but generally "good enough" for my use, although YMMV to get a decent indication when R may possibly open up.
Hipplewm is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 10:07 am
  #23  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,299
Originally Posted by SLC-YYZ



For GPU usage wouldn't you just use the filter/option in the united.com reservation engine? The search results are marked with whether it is waitlist or upgrade available.
You can. That tool has not always been reliable and I personally never trust the results.
Kacee is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 2:42 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,257
Originally Posted by Kacee
Actually, if you search SFO-HKG, .com will return routings via ORD and EWR. Though functionally, you're correct, it's really only useful for the SFO originating TPACs because the domestic connection will render the R inventory invalid for the ORD/EWR itineraries. Since I'm not interested in connecting TPAC via ORD or EWR, this doesn't matter to me.
Does it always return all possible routings or is this only the case for SFO-HKG? I thought that .com will sometimes leave out some options for whatever reason.

I do agree that searching one day is relatively easy. When I search for vacation travel, I might want to search over a one or two month period in order to find R inventory aligning to the vacation length. This greats really tedious. Then if I want to try to check every day incase something opens up, it gets ridiculous. Now that UA has messed up something where I can only search about two weeks or so before getting an error message, the task becomes nearly impossible. I'm not sure what UA gains with making R difficult to find. They control the inventory.
eng3 is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 2:50 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
Originally Posted by eng3
Does it always return all possible routings or is this only the case for SFO-HKG? I thought that .com will sometimes leave out some options for whatever reason.

I do agree that searching one day is relatively easy. When I search for vacation travel, I might want to search over a one or two month period in order to find R inventory aligning to the vacation length. This greats really tedious. Then if I want to try to check every day incase something opens up, it gets ridiculous. Now that UA has messed up something where I can only search about two weeks or so before getting an error message, the task becomes nearly impossible. I'm not sure what UA gains with making R difficult to find. They control the inventory.
This, combined with the fact you can exclude partners on the initial search to weed out all the flights GPU aren't eligible (Yes, i know they are eligible on NH and LH, but if I pay for the fare class they are eligible, I'll just buy business outright) but the second you click on a second date in the search results, you get all the partners back, making that search almost useless again
Hipplewm is offline  
Old Nov 26, 2017, 3:53 pm
  #26  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Rockin' the Bakken
Programs: Several
Posts: 978
Originally Posted by dvs7310
One point to note, if you're looking at an itinerary with multiple segments, then look at your longest segment first by itself. United.com will only show the lowest of all segments on the itinerary, so for example if you have DEN-LAX-OGG, if LAX-OGG has R open but DEN-LAX doesn't, then you'd still see R0 even though you'd clear instantly on LAX-OGG if you bought the ticket and went to the upgrade screen in your reservation.
That tidbit of info was a life saver! I've been searching practically daily for weeks now trying to find an upgrade-able fair to no avail, however that was because I was searching with connections. First search looking at an individual segment, and I was successful.
UVU Wolverine is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2018, 11:31 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NYCEWR
Programs: MP(1K) Million Miler, Marriott Plat
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by Kacee
You can. That tool has not always been reliable and I personally never trust the results.
Perhaps I misunderstand, but if you can't trust the United booking engine, what can you trust to show availability in R, I, X or P?
TheCount2 is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2018, 1:14 pm
  #28  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,324
Originally Posted by TheCount2
Perhaps I misunderstand, but if you can't trust the United booking engine, what can you trust to show availability in R, I, X or P?
Expert Mode is the most reliable source for United inventory (especially proprietary inventory). The "search for upgrade" tools aren't as good.
findark is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2018, 2:45 pm
  #29  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NYCEWR
Programs: MP(1K) Million Miler, Marriott Plat
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by findark
Expert Mode is the most reliable source for United inventory (especially proprietary inventory). The "search for upgrade" tools aren't as good.
I use Expert Mode whenever it is permitted, and I would still start my search for an upgradeable fare by searching for a GPU upgrade; however I do look at the list of available fare classes. If that is what Kacee meant, I agree. If not, is there another way to search that I am missing?
TheCount2 is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2018, 9:11 pm
  #30  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,580
Originally Posted by TheCount2
I use Expert Mode whenever it is permitted, and I would still start my search for an upgradeable fare by searching for a GPU upgrade; however, I do look at the list of available fare classes. If that is what Kacee meant, I agree. If not, is there another way to search that I am missing?
The reason for the concern on that GPU option search method are problems that arise in some cases, such as
-- try to search with a min of W fare
or
- try to search using an ETC
or
-- search returns partner flights (this may be fixed)

Mixed options in the advanced search seems to have some bugs and many avoid it.
WineCountryUA is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.