"Expired" buyup offers still on Manage Itinerary page
May 31, 2019, 6:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NorCal - 1K 2MM
Posts: 2,089
"Expired" buyup offers still on Manage Itinerary page
(Mods, please consolidate if relevant. I couldn't quite find a place for this). Has anyone else had buyup offers on the Manage Itinerary page that won't execute, and then UA phone rep and also web support say that the offer has "expired?" I've got this situation on an upcoming TATL in Y, where the web page is offering a $972 roundtrip buyup to PP, but clicking the link just takes you to a different (old style) itinerary page. Of course UA has the right to expire offers, so I suspect in this case it's just poor web programming that fails to remove the offer. But might I not have a case to complain to the DOT with a screen shot that they are offering a fare that doesn't exist?
May 31, 2019, 6:47 pm
#2
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Try requesting to be transfer to Web Support. they will be able to see what you see (normal reservation agents cannot) and if the offer is still there but fails to execute, they have the power to honor the offer.
May 31, 2019, 6:49 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NorCal - 1K 2MM
Posts: 2,089
I did exactly that after res couldn't do it, and wen support also said "offer has expired, too bad."
May 31, 2019, 6:51 pm
#4
Moderator: United Airlines
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May 31, 2019, 7:39 pm
#5
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Did you have a waitlisted upgrade to PP on the itin? I have seen this exact behavior when waitlisted for an upgrade: clicking the offer almost always takes you to the old style itin with no further option to upgrade. I've had mixed luck calling and getting it resolved.
Jun 1, 2019, 1:06 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NorCal - 1K 2MM
Posts: 2,089
Yes, this is exactly my situation. But web support said even when they built a dummy record without the waitlisted upgrade, they couldn't accept the cash upgrade offer. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get, since it truly is false advertising. They need to either correct the website code to remove the offer, or honor their written offer.
Jun 1, 2019, 1:33 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,115
What "buy-up" is this? Is this a full differential buy-up involving a change flight process with change fee waived? That should be available as long as there is premium cabin fare/inventory. It does not "expire".
Or is this the discounted option mentioned at https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/pro...miumCabin.aspx? This is more restricted as it depends on "the number of seats available in the premium cabin and the demand for premium cabin seating", but even that one doesn't "expire" at a set time according to the T&C, UA can just offer it whenever they feel like it. They could offer it yesterday, not today, and offer it again tomorrow if they want.
@OP what is the current premium inventory on your flight?
Or is this the discounted option mentioned at https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/pro...miumCabin.aspx? This is more restricted as it depends on "the number of seats available in the premium cabin and the demand for premium cabin seating", but even that one doesn't "expire" at a set time according to the T&C, UA can just offer it whenever they feel like it. They could offer it yesterday, not today, and offer it again tomorrow if they want.
@OP what is the current premium inventory on your flight?
Jun 1, 2019, 11:05 am
#8
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Yes, this is exactly my situation. But web support said even when they built a dummy record without the waitlisted upgrade, they couldn't accept the cash upgrade offer. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get, since it truly is false advertising. They need to either correct the website code to remove the offer, or honor their written offer.
Jun 1, 2019, 4:11 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NorCal - 1K 2MM
Posts: 2,089
What "buy-up" is this? Is this a full differential buy-up involving a change flight process with change fee waived? That should be available as long as there is premium cabin fare/inventory. It does not "expire".
Or is this the discounted option mentioned at https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/pro...miumCabin.aspx? This is more restricted as it depends on "the number of seats available in the premium cabin and the demand for premium cabin seating", but even that one doesn't "expire" at a set time according to the T&C, UA can just offer it whenever they feel like it. They could offer it yesterday, not today, and offer it again tomorrow if they want.
@OP what is the current premium inventory on your flight?
Or is this the discounted option mentioned at https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/pro...miumCabin.aspx? This is more restricted as it depends on "the number of seats available in the premium cabin and the demand for premium cabin seating", but even that one doesn't "expire" at a set time according to the T&C, UA can just offer it whenever they feel like it. They could offer it yesterday, not today, and offer it again tomorrow if they want.
@OP what is the current premium inventory on your flight?
Jun 1, 2019, 4:12 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NorCal - 1K 2MM
Posts: 2,089
Jun 1, 2019, 4:25 pm
#11
Moderator: United Airlines
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Jun 1, 2019, 4:46 pm
#12
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Jun 1, 2019, 6:40 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Jun 1, 2019, 7:45 pm
#14
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as the OP said, there are plenty if seats and thus it CAN be purchased which I am certain any phone agent will gladly offer. Will be important to list that quoted price together with the screenshot and UAs unwillingness the honor the advertised price in the DOT complaint.
Jun 1, 2019, 8:09 pm
#15
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,115
According to the offer T&C, these discounted offers don't depend on seat availability as is the case for classic buy-ups, instead, they depend on upgrade availability. The FAQ seems to further specify that this means they take "demand for premium cabin seating" into account. And that could be general system-wide demand, projected future demand for this particular flight, or anything really. It doesn't specify that it has to be the current demand for this flight.