WineCountryUA

Additionally with the limited visibility into the waitlist and those that clear (now only those that clear at the gate) there will not be sufficient data to drop any conclusions. And at the gate, once someone clears, the history of where they came from is lost. You could try to capture the two lists and those on top of the business waitlist and not on the PP waitlist are those from PP or those that waitlisted only for business. Parsing all this out with some much missing information is not going to provide clean guidance.

Ophelia

I'm trying to upgrade my parents - they are flying in a group fare (so I couldn't use a GPU), but decided to try to pay the difference (miles + $$) to see if I could get them an upgrade for at least their overnight. Right now, the flight is showing 3 seats free (while UA will let me book '5 seats at this fare') Chances on my upgrade clearing? (if it matters at all, I'm 1k, they have no status)

(EWR-SNN, 5/24)

jsloan

Essentially zero.

That's the Friday night before Memorial Day, and the cabin is nearly booked full six weeks before departure. There are 5 empty seats; 4 A/B are crew rest seats that will become available just prior to departure. (That's where the '5 seats at this fare' is coming from). UA is only selling those seats at full-fare, which means UA doesn't currently think they need to discount the seats.

Couple that with the position on the waitlist (last; your status doesn't carry over), and they're likely to be hoping for several mis-connects.

If it makes you feel any better, miles + copay and GPU have the same priority, so if you'd been able to buy the W fare and apply the GPU, it would likely just have been money down the drain.

Ophelia

I kind of figured that - Ah well. I told them it was a crapshoot even if I COULD apply an upgrade (with that few seats open) - at least this way, if by some miracle it clears, I'm happy to pay it, if not, I get my money back. (I didn't even tell them I put in to waitlist the upgrade, and chances are they won't log in to see it either - I'm actually hoping that if by some miracle it clears i can tapdance around the fact that I paid for it (to them)) (I didn't notice the holiday. Jeez folks, if you could book travel that would be easier for me to upgrade that would help....)

(thanks though, I'm still new-ish to having status of my own so I still have no idea of how mine carries over in various situations!)

mechteach

I don't want to stress you out, but you might want to at least tell them that you put in for an upgrade, in case a miracle occurs and it does happen, and they don't know to take a seat in J: use miles+copay to upgrade my Dad's flight without telling him.. so he sat in coach

In terms of talking about the co-pay, if your parents are anything like mine (and my in-laws), they are pretty unschooled as to the various ins-and-outs of status and miles, which lets me get away with treating them without them thinking about the money. Given that 1k has some fees waived, they tend to think that I have all fees waived, which helps my gifting! (Except when they purchase basic economy domestically, sigh.)

nealsense

I bought a ticket from LAX to LHR. Its Polaris to LHR and then on the return I bought a Premium Plus and applied a GPU. The flight's in August. The fare class for the return is Premium Plus (A). Any idea on the chances of an upgrade?

I have attached available fare class. Which one needs to open up for me to have a chance for an upgrade?

skylane

PZ needs to be available.

With an A fare, you're going to be pretty high on the upgrade list within your elite tier status.

spartacusmcfly

London is pretty cheap in W. If I may ask, what did you pay above W for PP on the return?

Aussienarelle

Because W is not a fare class for PP.

myperks

mduell

Is there an eligible R fare?

spartacusmcfly

I know. I'm asking because I've read that UA is severely over pricing PP seats on TATL routes. I also wanted to point out to OP that a deeply discounted economy (no W requirement) can be upgraded to PP with a GPU. Depending on what OP paid for that segment, they could possibly save 1-2K if cert cleared. Finally, I've been surprised to see how easy it is to secure a PP upgrade on SFO-HKG over the past week. That said, I'm not that familiar with LHR routes.

xcalibir

What are my chances of an upgrade (CPU) for a Tuesday flight LAX-IAH 787-9 dreamliner flight 08:10AM UA2359 as a 1K? Do upgrades ever clear early for that flight?

Thanks

1k650

In a situation like 875 on 4/9, it may be possible to get some information if UGs happen in advance. J is 45/60, P+ is 13/24, RN9. So all P+ upgrades have happened. If the P+ seats go down, it likely means an upgrade to J. A rough idea of how many P+ people are upgrading, at least on this flight. Of course, if all UGs happen at the gate, it may be difficult to determine anything since non-revs will likely fill J and P+ seats. Maybe best to just ask the gate agent !

Even a rough idea may be a good start.

I guess another consequence of P+ is that flights with P+ will rarely have PZ availability since UA would like people to book PP rather than W.

A question - is it possible to book a specific fare booking class with Expedia? EDIT: It is not.

KE26

My mom and I are waitlisted (miles + copay) both ways of our trip. Only status we have is that we are united explorer credit card holders. Booked flight beg of March, waitlisted end of March for flight mid May. Would like insight on our chances of being upgraded?

Outbound- ORD to FRA
currently 20 of 49 Polaris seats available and here are codes:
Available fare classes: J9 JN9 C7 D5 Z0 ZN0 P0 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L0 K0 G0 N9 XN0 X0

Return FRA - IAH
current 34 of 49 Polaris seats available and here are codes:
Available fare classes: J9 JN9 C9 D9 Z9 ZN9 P8 PN0 PZ0 IN0 I0 Y9 YN9 B9 M9 E9 U9 H9 HN9 Q9 V9 W9 S9 T9 L9 K9 G0 N9 XN9 X9

I'm a newbie here I hope I included everything needed.
Also can anyone tell me if United clears upgrade waitlist more than a few days or day before flight? Like a week or a month?

Thanks in advance!