sdel

Hello everyone,

I am flying United to Paris in July. Fare class is K (ticket was bought by third-party). I wanted to upgrade to Economy Plus (or better).

Apart from the price quoted at seat selection, is there any other avenue I could pursue? I have miles but it does not seem to work...

Thanks!

Duke787

Mileage upgrade from a K fare is 20k + $550. You can check for space directly on the UA website (advanced search setting).

If space is available and you aren't able to book from the website, it may be due to the 3rd party purchase in which case you'll need to call UA and pay $50 for UA to take control of the record and process the upgrade.

That said, I have been able to upgrade my flights to SYD the past two years when booking through a 3rd party (Concur/AMEX GBT) so if it's not showing on UA.com it's likely just unavailable.

For E+, you should be able to pay the E+ fare as soon as the itinerary actually tickets

Often1

E+ is not an upgrade. Simply a seat assignment fee. You should be able to select that and pay any applicable fee online. There is no particular way around this other than getting lucky at the gate should UA need your E- seat to keep a family together.

Polaris can be upgraded for a fee which can be miles, cash or a combination. As noted above, if ticketed by a third-party, it will cost $50 to have UA take over the ticket (and if it matters to you, the third-party will receive notice). Presuming space, this is always available for the fare difference. Upgrades at lower than fare difference are controlled by RM/IM and are unpredictable. If UA can't sell, it will drop the price somewhat. At some point, it will send the seat out empty.

Finally, you could get beyond exceptionally lucky, without status, and be upgraded for UA's operational convenience because UA needs your seat. Don't even think about that.

sdel

Thank you both for your replies! Very clear explanation. Thank you for taking time.

Indeed... In this regard, the monetizing of the emergency exits was a huge change for me. In years gone by, I would almost always score an emergency exit row seat (usually at check-in but even once in the plane) on the ground that I am almost 6'8" (all legs as well which does not help) and actually do no fit in regular seat rows. Nowadays, even on empty flights I have been denied relocating to what has become a E+ seat. To be fair though, I had a couple of surprises last year with seasoned flight attendants who decided to relocate me on their own.

chgoeditor

Welcome to Flyertalk. I'll move this to our United forum.

chgoeditor
co-mod, Info Desk

sdel

Sorry for selecting the wrong forum!