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FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Feb 8, 2018, 1:50 pm by WineCountryUAArchive thread
[Consolidated] Chance of upgrade clearing on my flight {Archive}
Related thread -
Ways to search for upgrade space at booking?
Understanding the United Upgrade List Comprehensively
Decoding the alphabet soup - fare buckets for UA
Expert Mode Update: better upgrade visibility and opt-in to see fare bucket data.
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Youre providing United an interest-free loan. Your only incredibly small chance of an upgrade is if a bunch of connecting passengers don't make it because of a combination of weather and mechanical events. In reality, you should not expect an upgrade.Originally Posted by tinypsu
Wonder why they advertise and charge my card $600 + take away 30K miles if no chance of an upgrade ... is this a mind game? hahha
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Thats odd. Usually you get those pqp only after you take the flight and are upgraded. (And even then you may need to call in)Originally Posted by escapefromphl
One benefit when this happened to me last year is the PQP from the non-cleared upgrades & copay pushed me over the threshold of the next tier, which stuck, even though the PQP & copay eventually refunded. But YMMV.
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Yes, but only in the sense that United doesnt mind.Originally Posted by tinypsu
Wonder why they advertise and charge my card $600 + take away 30K miles if no chance of an upgrade ... is this a mind game? hahha
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Those will be refunded if the upgrade does not happen. Such waitlisting varies dependent on the route, day of week, season, .... so a different flight might have been a better opportunity,Originally Posted by tinypsu
Wonder why they advertise and charge my card $600 + take away 30K miles if no chance of an upgrade ... is this a mind game? hahha
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Wait. What? Originally Posted by Kacee
We actually upgraded HKG-SFO for cash ($1097) while waitlisted just two weeks ago.
Did I miss the fact that they finally allow you to see a cash an upgrade when waitlisted? Since they started selling upgrades so blatantly, this had never workedGreat news if its been fixed!
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Yep, for at least the past couple of months.Originally Posted by MBS MillionMiler
,,,Great news if its been fixed!
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We are 2 *G, and me United Silver - booked on UA 870 departing April 1
Currently showing #8,9,11 on upgrade list with fully booked -what do we think, does the upgrade clear?
Looks like this flight will go out 100% full with maybe #1 in J clearing if a seat opens up - if it does, you'd need to pay to get upgraded since you won't get upgraded from J unless ~20% of the cabin cancels their ticketsOriginally Posted by tinypsu
Hi Folks,We are 2 *G, and me United Silver - booked on UA 870 departing April 1
Currently showing #8,9,11 on upgrade list with fully booked -what do we think, does the upgrade clear?
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So you're saying there's a chance... Originally Posted by UAflyerwhoflystomuch
Looks like this flight will go out 100% full with maybe #1 in J clearing if a seat opens up - if it does, you'd need to pay to get upgraded since you won't get upgraded from J unless ~20% of the cabin cancels their tickets
Regarding seeing upgrade prices if already on WL, can you still see that for a domestic itin? I remember you could see that but not on an international itin, but happy that's fixed.
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I applied Pluspoints for my wife's trip to HKG. I can see buy-up offers, which have not changed ($170 for LAX-DEN, and $230 for DEN-ORF) for a long time. However, the offer for IAD-SFO varied by a wide range, $400-2300. RIC-IAD was consistently $100.Originally Posted by VRFast
Regarding seeing upgrade prices if already on WL, can you still see that for a domestic itin? I remember you could see that but not on an international itin, but happy that's fixed.
For an upcoming flight SFO-SIN in May, the paid upgrade to Polaris was not available. I did use the money/miles option to waitlist. However, checking today on availability, the cash upgrade is now showing $2200. If I buy that, will I get the mileage/money credited back when I make the purchase?
For the return flight, the cash upgrade cost is a whopping $16,000. Yikes. I guess I will just stay on the waitlist for that segment.
For the return flight, the cash upgrade cost is a whopping $16,000. Yikes. I guess I will just stay on the waitlist for that segment.
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Yes.Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr
For an upcoming flight SFO-SIN in May, the paid upgrade to Polaris was not available. I did use the money/miles option to waitlist. However, checking today on availability, the cash upgrade is now showing $2200. If I buy that, will I get the mileage/money credited back when I make the purchase?
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Why is the return flight (SIN-SFO) Polaris upgrade cost so ridiculously high? $16,000 is more than the entire roundtrip in Polaris class. Originally Posted by jsloan
Yes.
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Sometimes the algorithm spits out crazy numbers. If the seats dont sell, the prices will drop.Originally Posted by HawaiiTrvlr
Why is the return flight (SIN-SFO) Polaris upgrade cost so ridiculously high? $16,000 is more than the entire roundtrip in Polaris class.
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Sometimes the algorithm spits out crazy numbers. If the seats dont sell, the prices will drop.
it is especially true for mileage tickets. UA wants $1260 for a 30-min flight, ORF-IAD. 😂