jsloan

Miles + copay upgrades aren't usually a great deal, as United will often offer a cash upgrade price that's not that much more than the copay. For example, if the LAX-NRT flight is lightly loaded, a buyup of $900 or $1000 wouldn't be out of the question. However, there's definitely something to be said for having secured the upgrade in advance and not having to worry about UA deciding to charge an arm and a leg.

Comparing LAX-NRT to SFO-LHR is a fool's errand, though. For one thing, airfare is priced based on the route, not based on the length of the flights, so there's no obvious correlation between LAX-NRT and SFO-LHR. $2000 is an excellent sale price for SFO-LHR, but that's what it is -- a sale, not usually available, and not really a good baseline to use as a comparison.

eyi

Thanks, that's very helpful! And confirms what I thought. Not a great deal, but at least it's a confirmed upgrade.

FlyerTalker70

The typical offer reported by FlyerTalk members from mainland US to NRT on UA is around $1000 (see Upgrade Offer Spreadsheet). I find it somewhat surprising you were able to get a confirmed MUA for LAX-NRT since availability on INTL flights tends to be very limited. I'd be curious to see what the cash upgrade offer was back then.That being said YMMV on these upgrades with some members reporting the lowest offer being several thousand dollars. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a bad deal, if we take the conservative estimate of $1000, then your 30,000 miles was worth around $450 or about 1.5 cents per mile which is about the market rate for those miles. In other words, it wasn't an amazing redemption but you didn't throw anything away and at the end of the day isn't the whole point of the exercise getting a confirmed upgrade?

Safe Travels,

James

jsloan

LAX-NRT is one of the easier upgrades to confirm in the system, actually. There is a ton of competition on that route.

BThumme

For reservations with a companion:

If I decline to split the reservation at checkin, will that remove us from the upgrade list for the return segments?

WineCountryUA

Yes
If the return is a support upgrade request there will be no problem. If a CPU request, you will have to call -- good chance the agent will struggle with this and need help for a more experienced employee (a supervisor or web support).

BThumme

So am I getting this correct (I don't have many experiences with r/t's with a companion).

Flying DTW-ORD-SAN and back. ORD-SAN is not going to clear for 2 of us it looks like. At checkin, if I split the reservation, gf and I are on the UG list, but separated (she will go to bottom of the 1K list...probably next to me now that I think about it). Return (SAN-ORD-DTW) CPU's stay in tact. Downside is that there's a chance we get split up (my ug clearing, not hers), although maybe I can just ask GA not to be cleared?

If I decline to split, we stay together ORD-SAN, but then no automatic CPU (if possible) SAN-ORD-DTW without talking to SAN GA. That seems like a bit of a hassle, and the possibility of losing out on the upgrade (currently R9) on the redeye makes me a bit anxious.

FlyerTalker70

My understanding of PNR splits is that you'd only want to do that in the event there's one seat available at the gate, then if the PNR is split your upgrade would clear. From the upgrade priority standpoint you and her would have equal priority (since same PNR) and be on the same position on the list. Based on what you're saying it might make sense to leave the PNRs alone and see what the buy up offers are during OLCI since you want an all-or-nothing upgrade experience.

On a side note, there's a wonderful LH lounge at DTW that's located near gate 8 and has a decent selection of food and booze. The good news is that since the lounge is operated by LH and not UA, you and your significant other (guest) will have access to that lounge while flying domestically on UA. Hours are 11 AM to 8:30 PM (last I checked). Hopefully that'll take some of the edge off that itinerary! There's also an LX and SK lounge at ORD in Terminal 5, which I doubt you'll have enough time to access since that involves terminal changes and re-clearing security. Further details on these *A lounges UA domestic travellers can access can be found here.

Safe Travels,

James

jsloan

I'm pretty sure this is backwards. If you decline to split, you shouldn't have any problems with upgrades clearing on the return, because you'll still be on the same PNR.

If you do split, that's when some people have reported issues with the upgrades on the return.

It's a pain for the agent to get you back into Y if you decline the upgrade after clearing, so I agree that it's better if you can get the gate agent's attention first.

That's not how it works. You can't get onto the gate list without splitting the PNR, as the gate upgrade process can only handle one-passenger PNRs. During check-in, it will ask you if you want to waitlist for the upgrade and split the reservation. The two are linked. As for being next to each other on the list -- YMMV. That would make sense, but it's definitely not always the way it works.

The hours vary. The *A site has them listed as 0500-2030 M-Sa and 1100-2030 Su, but I'm pretty sure I've been there for evening departures and found the lounge already closed, so I'm guessing these might be seasonal. I agree that it's a good place to wait for the flight though.

BThumme

Thanks James, very familiar with the LH lounge. They actually open about 530am, so I'll definitely be there before my flight.

Okay, that makes sense (and I think contradicts the previous answer I got). That's why I had asked if declining to split would remove all CPU requests in the itinerary. I will just wait until the very last minute and decide what's better to do based on the status - no use in splitting if it books up/people buy up. Current buyup offer is $219. Not horrible for a 4 hour flight, but I'd rather have $440.

I did get the redeye upgrades SAN-ORD for us, but don't like getting into ORD at 4am and leaving at 8am, so am eyeing a SDC to IAD (and that's why it's just easier to have one PNR).

Thanks guys.

ChateauMargaux

Do I get priority boarding and a free checked bag if I use my UA card to book in basic economy? What about my UA authorized user?

rjs11

For flights operated to/from the US, is there a legally mandated timeframe for an airline to finalize a delayed/damaged baggage claim and provide compensation? I couldn't find such a timeframe on the DoT's website. My claim has taken a couple of months now, which is quite frustrating.

jsloan

This is false. OP absolutely gets a free checked bag and priority boarding on a BE fare. The rules are specific about it.

OP: You will get one free checked bag for yourself and 1 other person on the reservation, and you will get priority boarding for the entire reservation. An authorized user, not traveling with you, won't get any benefits.

No, but if it's taken a couple of months and you're not getting satisfaction, file a DOT complaint. It's painless -- you can do it via an online form and it only takes a few minutes. I can't think of any reason it should take that long.

Repooc17

Not sure if this is an UA specific issue, or industry wide.

Flying the following connection: TPE-SFO on UA and SFO-YYZ on AC (UA codeshare). TSA Pre is printed on the TPE-SFO segment, but not on the SFO-YYZ. UA agents do not know how to fix. TSA agents insisted I don't have TSA Pre because it's not on the ticket SFO-YYZ UA ticket.

In hindsight, after CBP reentry into US, I should have gone to the AC check-in desk and asked for a AC boarding pass before going through security at SFO. I had just thought TSA-Pre would be printed on all of your boarding passes.

Also, because of the TPE-SFO arrival time, I could have gotten on AC758 instead of the AC738; getting stuck on TSA lines dashed any hope.

Is the omission of TSA-Pre marking because it is a codeshare ticket?

mahasamatman

It could be if AC doesn't have your Trusted Traveler information. The operating airline needs that information, not the marketing airline.

And they are 100% correct. You're never guaranteed to get the TSA-Pre designation even if you qualify. They do randomize it.