bwg03

Flying to Beijing in October. What is my best chance of getting a successful GPU? Book now or wait?

I am originating from DEN but would prefer to fly either from SFO, LAX, ORD, EWR or IAD longhaul...

Thanks!

Kmxu

If your schedule is flexible, you can find R spaces in midweek days (EWR-PEK on Oct. 1 has R1; SFO-PEK on Oct. 2 has R1). Just search longhaul segment only. The EWR connection may not work unless you want to overnight at EWR. There is no LAX-PEK flight on UA. So, you have three choices (SFO, ORD and IAD). I would skip IAD due to the lack of Polaris lounge unless you cannot find R spaces for the other two routes.
If your schedule is fixed, you will have to waitlisted and hope that UA won't sell it for $599 under your nose. My friend just had this happened.
Good luck.

jsloan

That depends upon how much flexibility you have. Activate expert mode, if you haven't already (there's a board thread on this); then, search from each US gateway to PEK. (Note that UA does not fly LAX-PEK). If you see R space, your GPU will clear immediately on the long leg, although you'll likely be waitlisted domestically.

If you don't see any R availability on the nonstop routes to PEK, consider flying via NRT (UA has flights from every hub, including DEN), or HND, KIX, or ICN (UA has flights from SFO). You won't be eligible for upgrades on the last leg, but you'd be able to clear the long-haul flight immediately.

If you can't find any R availability at all, or you're not willing to add a stop outside the US, I would look for the flight that comes closest to R. PN > 0 is better than PN=0; if PN=0, then P > 0 is better than P=0, etc. That would be the flight to target if you want to waitlist. The more flexibility you have, the less I'd be inclined to waitlist, and the more I'd want to check repeatedly until I found R. Note that you're much more likely to find R space midweek than on the weekends.

Having said that, DEN-PEK flights in October are as low as $515 RT, but the W fare, which you need for a GPU, is $1420. I would only use a GPU on this route if there were R space available when I booked it. If you feel that you're going to have to waitlist, I'd strongly consider a miles + copay instead of a GPU if you have some spare miles. If you can travel on the dates where the fare is $515, your cost would be $1715 plus 60,000 miles -- but each upgrade that failed to clear would result in a refund of $600 plus 30K miles. If you buy the W fare at $1420, there's no refund if the upgrade fails to clear.

764toHI

When in October do you plan to travel to PEK? Keep in mind the first week of October is Golden Week so it might be easier to find R space during that time as business travel slows down. PEK will be crowded though as the Chinese will be traveling domestically during that time...

fumje

PEK airport may be more crowded, but the city itself tends to be quieter that week (for the reason you cited).

bwg03

Need to fly into PEK on either Oct 19/20/21 (Leaving USA on those dates)..

I know there is availability in early october but cannot find it later..

Should I lose hope on the 777-300 from SFO to PEK as a GPU success?

I flew the 777-300 to AKL and loved it.

Just me flying so the single seats are highly desirable..

Kacee

Friday/Saturday/Sunday are toughest days for TPAC upgrades.

Bookings on those flights are very light, but it's way too far out to predict whether they're good bets for waitlisting.

fumje

I judge PEK to be one of the easier TPAC upgrades. However, I fully agree with Kacee that it's too far out to be sure, and Fri/Sat/Sun are more difficult.

StuckinITH

For some reason, PEK is the destination that I never had to look for an upgrade: UA always gave me a good P fare. PVG and HKG have been more difficult. And as other people said: traveling mid-week increases the chance of upgrades clearing.

narvik

Sadly true.

It's either VERY low P fare AND GPU availability with wait-list, or VERY high P fare and no GPU availability. Not sure that this was always this obvious.

I'm wait-listed for October EWR-PEK. Used to see GREEN on these flights......just ORANGE these days....

Kmxu

It seems that you have your mind set on SFO-PEK flight. If so, you may want to book your flights in V class to beat out other 1Ks in W class. I would avoid Saturday. Either Sunday or Friday has a higher probability for clearing GPU. You can also wait and check R spaces daily before booking. UA may not open any R spaces for weekend flights at all (UA erroneously opened a lot of R spaces for Oct. 18 SFO-PEK, which had 17 seats booked). IAD-PEK has relatively small J cabin (B788), but has more direct access seats.
Good luck.

DENflyer3

If you are flying out of DEN, my best luck over the last two years has been the NRT flight, and then business on ANA and same back. I have had almost no luck as GS through SFO. and as another said, try to make it middle of the week flights, the weekend flights are terrible as well.