PathologyGuy

Currently waitlisted for 2 upgrades on a transatlantic flight at the end of December using GPUs (I'm 1K).

Looks like about 50/50 chance this will clear on the day of travel looking at patterns for this flight, which is fine. Of course, it would be nice to clear earlier to remove the uncertainty and visit the Polaris lounge.

I've been periodically looking at PZ space (which is pretty clearly a waste of time!) and noticed that PN=2 just opened up. If I have a friend who is Global Services who has expiring GPUs (and yes, this is really a friend), can he apply his GPUs to replace mine and confirm us immediately?

Sykes

Yes. The GS member can call and ask them to redeposit your GPUs and apply his. United will usually ask for your name and date of birth for verification before touching your itinerary. The GS member will also have to provide the answers to his security questions. Alternatively, you can call to request redeposit of your GPUs and then he can apply his online afterwards (usually ... sometimes after a redeposit the website will say "online upgrade not available" and a phone call is necessary).

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I'm surprised UA will let someone manipulate use (i.e. the withdrawal) of another person's instruments on that person's PNR, no matter knowing the other person's birthdate. I would have thought the 1K would have to withdraw GPUs and then GS apply his.

cfischer

well, you are returning something ... so not that big of a deal. No harm to the ticket holder, in fact an instant upgrade while instruments are being returned. Agreed though that the certificate holder should ideally call to take of these things.

Hipplewm

I have done this several times and that is what happens - I always call first and have mine removed before even calling my GS buddy and have him apply. He has said he has tried to apply "over" and they won't do it until the person who applied the initial GPU's remove theirs.

I mean i guess YMMV, or HUCA but in my work we have round robin-ed so many GPU, I scratch your back, you scratch mine etc it isn't funny. I am pretty sure i am not alone with a tight knit group of 5-8 guys fly a lot and 2-3 make GS and don't mind sharing etc.

Aussienarelle

At what stage does this cease to be a gift and become an exchange for value, especially in a business setting?

findark

It would be easiest by far to remove your own GPUs yourself, and then GS friend can apply online.

Legally? It's very murky. Practically? Basically never.

Hipplewm

Well, it was only GPU's being exchanged and we basically "saved" the GS GPU's for when there was only PN inventory, but if there was R available, then the GS would use one of the 1K GPU's

Think of it as pooled inventory of GPU among co workers with zero money being exchanged and zero need to worry about whose got used first etc

The "Scratch your back reference" was meant that if a GS put his GPU on me and I was stuck on a flight with PN only, I would gladly apply mine to one of his flights with R space available, but if I had run out by the time he needed one, he would have gone and gotten one from someone else. We all had more than we knew what to do with, so no one ran out.

We are doing the exact same thing the OP is doing, we just did it among 5-8 guys who flew a lot.

Notice I used past tense, cause 1 guy retired and the other stopped flying to Dubai every 2 weeks, so the 2 GS regulars dropped to gold, but I still will apply my extra GPU to their flights, they don't even ask, I just look at the calendar and look up their PNR. Honestly, if UA was to delete my account over this, I would laugh and never look back. Compared to the shenanigans over what you see in the "My account got deleted" thread, this is nothing and zero money ever changed hands.

Sykes

Generally reps will assume that you're authorized to do it as long as you have someone's DOB. It's a very imperfect system, but it's how it works. They'll usually only ask for additional verification if you're withdrawing from an account, not redepositing. Of course, the only thing consistent about United is inconsistency, so your mileage may vary.

Many 1Ks and especially GSes frequently have others that they expect to be able to manage their itineraries (assistants, etc.). While we can debate where the line is between what other people should be able to manage and what should require the account holder, phone reps are pretty used to dealing with third parties. (The MileagePlus terms prohibit third parties from accessing MileagePlus account information, but there isn't any such prohibition on managing itineraries.)