Upgrade bait and switch {refund processed}
Dec 27, 2018, 4:06 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: United Mileageplus
Posts: 4
Upgrade bait and switch {refund processed}
Last week I flew United non-stop from SFO to LHR. I booked a seat in Economy Plus) I am a Platinum member) but requested an upgrade to business with miles + copay. This did not clear the waitlist, which is not unusual for such a busy route. Upon boarding I found myself seated in row 20, which is apparently "Premium Plus". I thought this was not available until March next year so just assumed it was a stroke of luck while they are fitting the planes out. However, I've now realized that United pocketed the copay and miles for the business class upgrade and provided an inferior product.
OK, the seat is a bit better than Econ Plus, but otherwise the service was absolutely identical. The possibility of being placed in Premium Plus was not mentioned when I requested the upgrade. As far as I'm concerned this is an outright bait-and-switch. Would anyone seriously pay the same for an upgrade to Premium Plus as to Business ?
I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience. I have asked UA to refund the fee, but I would be surprised if they do given past interactions with customer service.
OK, the seat is a bit better than Econ Plus, but otherwise the service was absolutely identical. The possibility of being placed in Premium Plus was not mentioned when I requested the upgrade. As far as I'm concerned this is an outright bait-and-switch. Would anyone seriously pay the same for an upgrade to Premium Plus as to Business ?
I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience. I have asked UA to refund the fee, but I would be surprised if they do given past interactions with customer service.
Dec 27, 2018, 4:55 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: DCA
Programs: UA 1K; *G and *A Top 1000; HHonors Diamond; *$ Gold; Global Entry
Posts: 2,272
United is not yet selling Premium Plus. So, forget that you sat in it when you write to United to request a refund of the miles and copay for your unsuccessful upgrade.
Dec 27, 2018, 5:00 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,057
How did you determine this? Did you ask UA and this was the response you received? Did you request a refund and it was denied? More info is needed.
Dec 27, 2018, 5:17 am
#4
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: United Premier 1K 1MM; AA Plat Pro; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Platinum; Avis President's Club
Posts: 2,529
May seem like a bait and switch but United announced, some time ago, that they would begin selling their Premium Plus product on Dec 3rd. That said, the T&Cs for miles/copay is listed online. Details here: Miles & Copay T&Cs. Appears that you are eligible for a full refund. I would contact UA and ask about the status. It can take a few days to get that refund.
Dec 27, 2018, 6:35 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,890
Last week I flew United non-stop from SFO to LHR. I booked a seat in Economy Plus) I am a Platinum member) but requested an upgrade to business with miles + copay. This did not clear the waitlist, which is not unusual for such a busy route. Upon boarding I found myself seated in row 20, which is apparently "Premium Plus". I thought this was not available until March next year so just assumed it was a stroke of luck while they are fitting the planes out. However, I've now realized that United pocketed the copay and miles for the business class upgrade and provided an inferior product.
OK, the seat is a bit better than Econ Plus, but otherwise the service was absolutely identical. The possibility of being placed in Premium Plus was not mentioned when I requested the upgrade. As far as I'm concerned this is an outright bait-and-switch. Would anyone seriously pay the same for an upgrade to Premium Plus as to Business ?
I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience. I have asked UA to refund the fee, but I would be surprised if they do given past interactions with customer service.
OK, the seat is a bit better than Econ Plus, but otherwise the service was absolutely identical. The possibility of being placed in Premium Plus was not mentioned when I requested the upgrade. As far as I'm concerned this is an outright bait-and-switch. Would anyone seriously pay the same for an upgrade to Premium Plus as to Business ?
I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience. I have asked UA to refund the fee, but I would be surprised if they do given past interactions with customer service.
May seem like a bait and switch but United announced, some time ago, that they would begin selling their Premium Plus product on Dec 3rd. That said, the T&Cs for miles/copay is listed online. Details here: Miles & Copay T&Cs. Appears that you are eligible for a full refund. I would contact UA and ask about the status. It can take a few days to get that refund.
Dec 27, 2018, 7:29 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
Not only is P+ only on sale for end March onward, but for SFO-LHR they’re only for sale on the 77W.
Last week's SFO-LHR flights were on 772 and several of them (including my UA930 on 12/20) got Polaris/P+ swaps. Those in rows 20-22 therefore got P+ seats but were still in Economy/E+. OP and I may have been on the same flight; I tried out a couple of P+ seats for a couple of minutes at the start of boarding (very nice they are) before returning to my Polaris seat 15L.
I suspect a delay in returning the miles/copay due to the holidays. I passed 150K PQM on that flight and as of yesterday my additional GPUs hadn’t been credited. I’m giving it a couple more days before calling in.
Last week's SFO-LHR flights were on 772 and several of them (including my UA930 on 12/20) got Polaris/P+ swaps. Those in rows 20-22 therefore got P+ seats but were still in Economy/E+. OP and I may have been on the same flight; I tried out a couple of P+ seats for a couple of minutes at the start of boarding (very nice they are) before returning to my Polaris seat 15L.
I suspect a delay in returning the miles/copay due to the holidays. I passed 150K PQM on that flight and as of yesterday my additional GPUs hadn’t been credited. I’m giving it a couple more days before calling in.
Dec 27, 2018, 11:35 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFO
Programs: UA MMGold, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 1,263
I flew SFO-LHR earlier this month (mid December). Requested Miles+co-pay to upgrade but miles never deducted and co-pay was in pending state. Credit card charge eventually dropped after the flight as upgrade was not successful.
I thought UA changed the process as all my previous Miles+Co-pay upgrade requests were always miles deducted/credit card charged and refund afterwards if upgrade did not happen.
I thought UA changed the process as all my previous Miles+Co-pay upgrade requests were always miles deducted/credit card charged and refund afterwards if upgrade did not happen.
Dec 27, 2018, 12:38 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 5,000
I don't like them at all and certainly wouldn't pay anything for an upgrade from E+.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 27, 2018 at 1:11 pm Reason: removed response to deleted content; discuss the issue, not the poster(s)
Dec 27, 2018, 1:16 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
You're sort of correct. UA will gladly let you sit in P+ and keep your miles/money. If you ask for the miles/money persistently enough, they'll give it back.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Dec 27, 2018, 2:00 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: RDU
Programs: AA, UA, DL Silver, SW, BA, AC 25k, Marriott Gold
Posts: 56
You're sort of correct. UA will gladly let you sit in P+ and keep your miles/money. If you ask for the miles/money persistently enough, they'll give it back.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Dec 27, 2018, 2:24 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
Dec 27, 2018, 2:37 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 5,000
You're sort of correct. UA will gladly let you sit in P+ and keep your miles/money. If you ask for the miles/money persistently enough, they'll give it back.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Some call it broken IT, but it seems intentional enough to me, even if it doesn't match their written claims in marketing materials.
Dec 27, 2018, 3:27 pm
#14
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Given that nobody has flown in P+ yet, it is a little early.
However, I have no question but that one of the long-term purposes of PE on all three legacy carriers is to have it be an upgrade vehicle to protect the premium products whatever carriers want to call them, e.g. Polaris, D1, F or J).
However, I have no question but that one of the long-term purposes of PE on all three legacy carriers is to have it be an upgrade vehicle to protect the premium products whatever carriers want to call them, e.g. Polaris, D1, F or J).
Dec 27, 2018, 4:51 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: United Mileageplus
Posts: 4
Thanks for the comments. I talked to Mileage Plus customer service today. They confirmed that this was done in error and that I should not have been charged miles or copay. They redeposited the miles and put in a request for the copay to be refunded.
Possibly of more interest; my opinion of PP is that it's an improvement over EP but would have to be priced right to make it worthwhile. I would rate PP is to EP as EP is to regular economy, which is similar to my previous experience on Singapore Airlines PP equivalent. It's not a radical improvement for a long haul flight. YMMV.
Possibly of more interest; my opinion of PP is that it's an improvement over EP but would have to be priced right to make it worthwhile. I would rate PP is to EP as EP is to regular economy, which is similar to my previous experience on Singapore Airlines PP equivalent. It's not a radical improvement for a long haul flight. YMMV.