StuckinITH

Welcome to FlyerTalk and especially the United threads!

Better late than never. Enjoy the flight! But it did make you lose the opportunity to enjoy the SFO Polaris Lounge.

thejaredhuang

Flight 869 SFO > HKG
Date: 8/29/2018
Fare Class: W
Status: 1K
Used a GPU

50/60 right now, I'd like to clear by the time I get to SFO so I can use the lounge.

Right now it looks like:
J9 JN9 C8 D7 Z6 ZN6 P5 PN0 R0 RN0
Econ is wide open, still G9

Mason22222

Anyone care to speculate on the odds of these upgrades? Using GPUs for me (1K) and my girlfriend (Platinum), booked on separate reservations for the flights below. I'm particularly worried that I might clear the upgrade and she will not.

Friday, Sept 7. UA926 SFO>FRA. W-fare. Flight status shows 41/48 booked.
J7 JN7 C6 D6 Z1 ZN1 P0 PN0 R0 RN0 IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W7 S6 T4 L1 K0 G0 N9 XN0 X0

Sunday, Sept 16. UA975 GVA>IAD. W-fare. Flight status shows 22/30 booked.
J7 JN7 C7 D7 Z2 ZN2 P0 PN0 R0 RN0 IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G0 N9 XN9 X3

Seems like SFO-FRA on a Friday is tough, but would like your thoughts. Thanks!

StuckinITH

Welcome to FlyerTalk and especially the United threads!

Weekend travel is always more difficult for upgrades to clear and there's still plenty of time for people to purchase business class tickets. At this point, I would make sure that you both have seats that you are comfortable flying in. For sure, it would not be good if you chose seats together and your girlfriend is the one having a middle seat as that would not be comfortable at all if you get upgraded and she does not. I would choose two aisles (at least that is what my wife (Platinum) and I do. Another thing to start thinking about now: if only you get upgraded, will you give your seat to your girlfriend?

Anyways, at this point there's no way to know how many passengers are waitlisted for the upgrades (GS and higher fares). And with those numbers you will have to worry about passengers being offered TODs and taking them at check-in.

ajGoes

I'm Silver, thinking of doing an SDC to 1981 LAX/IAH next Tuesday in the hopes of a CPU. I've been watching it for the last couple of weeks and it's often gone out with everyone on the upgrade list cleared.

Tomorrow's flight has looked odd though. Yesterday it showed 33/48 booked. Today the booked count has gone up steadily; right now it's 44/48. The odd thing is that nobody has appeared on the upgrade list. Are silvers getting instant upgrades at check-in, or is something else going on? It's F4 A3 JN4 C4 D3 Z2 ZN2 P1 PN0 R0 RN0.

WineCountryUA

As reported elsewhere ( https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...-upgrades.html ) those upgraded off the hidden, pre-gate list are not shown as upgraded. Those can happen as last as a few hours prior to departure. This lack of upgrade information has really placed us in the dark on what has happened except at the gate. Also, cash upgrades could have happened or some new seats have been sold at the last minute.

UAL250

What is the general consensus on the best days to fly to Europe to get R space? Wednesday? Tuesday? I'm looking to fly to Europe in Sep or Oct and am looking for R space for the night flight over. I am willing to go where the R space is in Europe, and I want to confirm the upgrade at booking. Any routes that are better than others? I'm willing to fly from IAD or DCA to EWR, ORD, or even IAH for a better chance. Thanks in advance. I'm looking very hard but can't find much. I guess it hasn't opened yet.

expressboy

I would like some advice from the FT GPU experts . I am planning to book a YUL-NRT trip (V class) in November. I am willing to route through pretty much any UA hub. Leaving on a Thursday and coming back on Saturday a week after. On the outbound EWR-NRT does not seem to have any R availability but SFO-NRT does (R=1). Is it worth making the transcon in Economy/Domestic First to confirm the shorter Polaris flight SFO-NRT rather than wait for EWR-NRT?

On the way back there is no R availability at all on any route. I don't mind missing the upgrade, but I do dread the 10 across E+. Are Saturday upgrades on Polaris flights (EWR/SFO) a possibility at all out of NRT or should I take a safe bet and go with NRT-IAH with the old E+ seats and very low chances of upgrading?

UAL250

I would always confirm the upgrade at booking when I can. Absolutely do the SFO option if there is R space but none for EWR. No point in waitlisting for an upgrade you may never get when you have an upgrade waiting for you.

Have you tried HND instead of NRT? If you're really flexible you could also look into flying from NRT to ICN or KIX and trying from there to the US for R space. I would personally go with the old E+ seats. I would actually think IAH is an easier route to upgrade than NRT-EWR/SFO, but I am not an expert. Good luck.

jsloan

IME, it's rare to find R space on NRT-IAH. When I've looked, the availability is, more-or-less in order, NRT-GUM, NRT-LAX, NRT-DEN, KIX-SFO, HND-SFO, NRT-ORD, NRT-SFO, NRT-IAD, NRT-IAH, NRT-EWR, NRT-HNL. (Admittedly, I don't always check NRT-HNL, because R space ex-HNL is so hard to find).

Kacee

Lately UA has been opening R on the TPACs in the 6-8 week window, so it may be a little early to be buying flights for November if you're looking to upgrade.

It would be helpful to know the booking numbers though (Flight Status Tool). That's really critical to assessing upgrade odds.

UAL250

Any knowledge on when they open up Europe R space?

StuckinITH

For Europe, I usually have good luck upgrading on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. When I book my tickets, I never find R space but always end up clearing on the ORD-MUC and MUC-ORD. Sometimes, the R space opens 2 months before my flight, sometimes 1 month before, sometimes 4 days before, sometimes at check-in and sometimes when I'm already sitting in the plane.

I know another FTer who always seems to have good luck with the upgrade clearing on routes to LHR.

The problem is if you wait for R to open to purchase your ticket, you might miss it when you plan to fly in the next two months.

Kacee

I don't really follow the Europe flights. From SFO it's mostly pointless. If they open R, it's random and unpredictable. I just look for discount J fares for Europe.

StuckinITH

I have better luck finding P fares to Asia than to Europe. For Asia, if I find anything below $4,000, I purchase Polaris Business outright. For Europe, I have not been able to determine yet the number where I should purchase Polaris Business outright but with prices at $7,000 when I need to travel there it's not going to happen. I need advice of what you would consider a good price for Polaris Business to Europe. Thank you!