Buying up to W to take advantage of available GPU
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2008
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Buying up to W to take advantage of available GPU
Hi everybody
I'm traveling with my girlfriend and one of her friends to Singapore later this week. We are returning next Tuesday 27th via Tokyo. We booked a fantastic deal and are traveling on a K fare, but now I'm looking at the flights back from HND/NRT and there is R9 on pretty much every flight heading out of Tokyo to North America on the 27th. Is there any way to take advantage of this to use three of my GPUs? I tried the change my flight tool on the UA website and even if I type W then it still only shows me K fares in the results. Is it possible for them to waive the change fee if we kept exactly the same flights? Is it possible to do this at the last minute, for example at the airport?
Does anybody have experience with this? I've attached our flight details below. We would like to keep the SIN-NRT segment to that flight time so we can take advantage of a few hours in Tokyo
I'm traveling with my girlfriend and one of her friends to Singapore later this week. We are returning next Tuesday 27th via Tokyo. We booked a fantastic deal and are traveling on a K fare, but now I'm looking at the flights back from HND/NRT and there is R9 on pretty much every flight heading out of Tokyo to North America on the 27th. Is there any way to take advantage of this to use three of my GPUs? I tried the change my flight tool on the UA website and even if I type W then it still only shows me K fares in the results. Is it possible for them to waive the change fee if we kept exactly the same flights? Is it possible to do this at the last minute, for example at the airport?
Does anybody have experience with this? I've attached our flight details below. We would like to keep the SIN-NRT segment to that flight time so we can take advantage of a few hours in Tokyo
#2
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If you're not buying up to a new cabin (i.e., GG/BUYUP doesn't apply), I believe you need to pay the change fee in addition to the fare difference. You can do this on the phone.
#3
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You'll have to refare the entire ticket . . . you can't just upfare a single segment. The easiest way to figure out cost is to call UA.
An agent might waive change fee, but that would be a courtesy, not a right.
An agent might waive change fee, but that would be a courtesy, not a right.
#4
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It does look like a fairly pricy buyup either way, though. Looking at the current fare table, K fares start as low as C$315 half-RT, whereas the lowest W fare I see is C$793 half-RT, and it could be more depending upon the day of travel, original date of purchase, etc. So, you could be looking at ~C$500 in fare difference plus a C$300 change fee if the agent doesn't waive it (per ticket). If you explain that you want to change to a W to use GPUs, that might help induce the agent to waive the fee.
#5
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Agreed. There's no way that a K fare SIN-NRT would be combinable with a W fare from NRT-YYC -- and, even if it were, it might well be more expensive than the W through fare. Note that you'll need W inventory on all flights (including NH804, which I'm a little surprised to see under a native code instead of a UA codeshare).
my ideal scenario would be to attempt a SDC immediately after arriving at NRT so we can get a couple of extra hours in Tokyo and store our luggage at NRT, then call again to try to get the W fare and upgrade to new Polaris on the NRT-SFO route. I know the odds are low, but I’ll give it a shot
#6
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What if I attempted to make the change after arriving in Tokyo? Would I still face the same issue with fare construction, or are all bets off at that stage?
my ideal scenario would be to attempt a SDC immediately after arriving at NRT so we can get a couple of extra hours in Tokyo and store our luggage at NRT, then call again to try to get the W fare and upgrade to new Polaris on the NRT-SFO route. I know the odds are low, but I’ll give it a shot
Barring IRROPS, in which case you might end up in W+ just by serendipitous chance, this is something that needs to be done before you leave SIN. And you can't waitlist a GPU within 24 hours of departure -- you'd need open R space at the time of application. Throwing in the SDC is going to make things tricky. I would suggest just changing to the flights you actually want ahead of time, assuming that there is both W and R availability, but the chances of getting the change fee waived drop precipitously if you're changing the flights too.
#7
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The realistic options are:
1. Call UA and ask how much to refare to W (and see if they'll waive change fee);
2. See if it's possible to upfare to P;
3. Do a miles + cash upgrade for the NRT-SFO segment.
#8
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I actually don't think it's possible. The ticket is priced RT to SIN. You can't retroactively create a fare break.
The realistic options are:
1. Call UA and ask how much to refare to W (and see if they'll waive change fee);
2. See if it's possible to upfare to P;
3. Do a miles + cash upgrade for the NRT-SFO segment.
The realistic options are:
1. Call UA and ask how much to refare to W (and see if they'll waive change fee);
2. See if it's possible to upfare to P;
3. Do a miles + cash upgrade for the NRT-SFO segment.
#9
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Call me crazy, but unless you really can't find a home for your GPU (or really need to use the SFO arrivals lounge) I would just fly this in Y. NRT-SFO isn't a terribly long flight, and I would be amazed if the upfare from K to W is less than $400. NRT has nice lounges, so you can eat / drink (/ shower) before the flight.
#10
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Call me crazy, but unless you really can't find a home for your GPU (or really need to use the SFO arrivals lounge) I would just fly this in Y. NRT-SFO isn't a terribly long flight, and I would be amazed if the upfare from K to W is less than $400. NRT has nice lounges, so you can eat / drink (/ shower) before the flight.
#11
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Call me crazy, but unless you really can't find a home for your GPU (or really need to use the SFO arrivals lounge) I would just fly this in Y. NRT-SFO isn't a terribly long flight, and I would be amazed if the upfare from K to W is less than $400. NRT has nice lounges, so you can eat / drink (/ shower) before the flight.
#13
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What if I attempted to make the change after arriving in Tokyo? Would I still face the same issue with fare construction, or are all bets off at that stage?
my ideal scenario would be to attempt a SDC immediately after arriving at NRT so we can get a couple of extra hours in Tokyo and store our luggage at NRT, then call again to try to get the W fare and upgrade to new Polaris on the NRT-SFO route. I know the odds are low, but I’ll give it a shot
I believe it's possible, in the strictest definition of the word. I think a determined agent could get the record updated to show either an earlier fare break or -- what I was actually thinking -- to update the flown leg retroactively to W and price the thing. Keep in mind, SHARES does very little validation on its own -- it basically trusts the user to know the rules. But I agree that it's unrealistic, and that the three options you have listed here are the ones to plan for. Of the three, only the last could be done after departing SIN, and it would require R space that's currently available and a US$600 co-pay per person. There's also #4 , attempt to buy a TOD/HOD upgrade after check-in, but this probably won't be an option until the SIN-NRT coupon is lifted, as opposed to at T-24.
As a data point I was one time able to refare from T to W on a 1/2 RT TATL with no change fee. It took the agent a very long minute to work it out. By the time my friend applied the GPU (2days later) it had gone from R2 to R0
#14
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And this is a POTENTIAL problem for the OP. While I agree his chances look good, once changed no guarantee of upgrade. Been burned on this more than once as well.
#15
Join Date: Nov 2009
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i did exactly this the other day. called up the 1k desk and up'ed to a W fare, immediately applied GPU and the change fee was waived, with a thank you for being a 1k. if you find the agent won't waive the fee, then hang up and call again. beware that in addition to the fare increase, there might be some country-specific premium fare charges (i'm doing cdg-ewr and had to $49). enjoy!