Apr 25, 2021, 2:48 pm
Last edit by: Lux Flyer
Yes it's a limited time promo in many CPU markets to help people use PlusPoints before they expire at the end of July. For flights through July 31st it should be offering StW when requested at least 2 weeks in advance (as opposed to typical 30 days for international).
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...questions.html
Edit: here's the promo details they will email to you if you ask
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...questions.html
Edit: here's the promo details they will email to you if you ask
Skip Waitlist
From time to time, our 1K members are able to use additional PlusPoints to receive a confirmed upgrade when traveling on select international long-haul flights.
When Skip Waitlist is available, you’re able to either request an upgrade on our standard waitlist using fewer PlusPoints, or use additional PlusPoints to skip the waitlist and confirm your upgrade right then and there, even if upgrade inventory is closed.
Skip Waitlist availability on international long-haul flights will vary; to be eligible, you must be traveling on an eligible fare*, and request your upgrade at least 30 days from departure
*Eligible fare classes include O, A, and R (for United Premium Plus to United Polaris business); Fare classes Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W (for Economy to United Polaris business); Fare classes Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, (for Economy to United Premium Plus).
From time to time, our 1K members are able to use additional PlusPoints to receive a confirmed upgrade when traveling on select international long-haul flights.
When Skip Waitlist is available, you’re able to either request an upgrade on our standard waitlist using fewer PlusPoints, or use additional PlusPoints to skip the waitlist and confirm your upgrade right then and there, even if upgrade inventory is closed.
Skip Waitlist availability on international long-haul flights will vary; to be eligible, you must be traveling on an eligible fare*, and request your upgrade at least 30 days from departure
*Eligible fare classes include O, A, and R (for United Premium Plus to United Polaris business); Fare classes Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W (for Economy to United Polaris business); Fare classes Y, B, M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, (for Economy to United Premium Plus).
- The earning Premier member may use PlusPoints for upgrade requests for themselves or to sponsor others with the exception of “Skip Waitlist” upgrade requests, for which the earning Premier member must be traveling. Although the earning Premier member may use PlusPoints to request upgrades for others, PlusPoints are not transferable to other members.
- PlusPoints used for Skip Waitlist upgrades are not refundable or transferable to other flights in the event of itinerary changes. A PlusPoints upgrade on a changed itinerary will require additional PlusPoints.
- Skip Waitlist upgrades won’t be available for corporate and agency account travelers who are using upgrades from a Corporate Upgrade Bank account.
When is STW available?
First UA needs to decide the route is eligible and then ZN seems to be the key inventory requirement.
PN or PZ is not required (if they were the regular amount would be sufficient)
Appears to be no special/separate GS STW inventory
STW has generally been limited to deep South America except for a short period in late summer 2021 when some TATL STW was offered, never to be seen again.
New Promo 20 June 2023 till 31 July 2023 (to use expiring PlusPoints?)
So thanks to this promo and playing around with various flights the past day. I think there's enough data for how StW works, with the major deciding factor if it's offered being if UA has "enabled" StW for the market in question.
For StW it needs these 6 things:
Inventory (ZN for business/first; /ON for PremEcon), advance purchase met (30 days international, 14 days CPU market [promo]), eligible fare (W+ to Polaris, non-BE for PP/first), eligible market, and redeeming account is 1k/GS, redeeming account travelling on the PNR.
The StW segment(s) will confirm into PZ/RN, if there are other non-StW eligible segments in the line-of-flight they are considered "paid for" by the StW pricing and will waitlist as part of the request/process as any other waitlisted upgrade.
To summarize the different scenarios:
To find StW
-Redeeming account must be GS/1K and must be travelling on the PNR
-PlusPoints being used to StW must not expire prior to the flight (oldest, eligible PlusPoints taken first)
-Cannot have pending upgrade WL request
To Polaris
-Voluntary: forfeits the upgrade and PlusPoints
-Involuntary: PlusPoints can be redeposited if not able to be accommodated in upgraded cabin
For StW it needs these 6 things:
Inventory (ZN for business/first; /ON for PremEcon), advance purchase met (30 days international, 14 days CPU market [promo]), eligible fare (W+ to Polaris, non-BE for PP/first), eligible market, and redeeming account is 1k/GS, redeeming account travelling on the PNR.
The StW segment(s) will confirm into PZ/RN, if there are other non-StW eligible segments in the line-of-flight they are considered "paid for" by the StW pricing and will waitlist as part of the request/process as any other waitlisted upgrade.
To summarize the different scenarios:
To find StW
-Redeeming account must be GS/1K and must be travelling on the PNR
-PlusPoints being used to StW must not expire prior to the flight (oldest, eligible PlusPoints taken first)
-Cannot have pending upgrade WL request
To Polaris
- ZN inventory
- 30+ days in advance
- Fare class: non-award, published W or higher
- Eligible market (only appears to be GRU, GIG, EZE, SCL, and LIM as of June 2023)
- Cost per person; 140 PlusPoints from economy/110 PlusPoints from premium economy
- Confirms into PZ
- ON inventory (yes, it appears when StW is offered to PremiumPlus, it is effectively allowing last seat inventory)
- 30+ days in advance
- Fare class: any non-BE published revenue fare
- Eligible market (only appears to be GRU, GIG, EZE, SCL, and LIM as of June 2023)
- Cost per person; 70 PlusPoints
- Confirms into RN
- ZN inventory
- 14+ days in advance/flight prior to or on July 31st (effectively July 17th is last day to book)
- Fare class: any non-BE published revenue fare
- Eligible market (basically CPU markets, see promo announcement)
- Cost per person; 70 PlusPoints
- Confirms into PZ
-Voluntary: forfeits the upgrade and PlusPoints
-Involuntary: PlusPoints can be redeposited if not able to be accommodated in upgraded cabin
Skip the waitlist (STW) questions. (New Promo thru 31 July 2023?)
Dec 4, 2019, 10:30 am
#31
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Westchester NY
Programs: UA GS 4+ MM
Posts: 373
This may not be popular, but wow: a lot of complaints about the implementation of a brand new benefit (STW) that United wasn't under any obligation to offer. Something that didn't even exist a little over two months ago and couldn't have played much of a role in your RPU/GPU plans for the year. Talk about kicking a gift horse. If I were United, I would be thinking "we can't win".
Dec 4, 2019, 10:32 am
#32
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,398
This may not be popular, but wow: a lot of complaints about the implementation of a brand new benefit (STW) that United wasn't under any obligation to offer. Something that didn't even exist a little over two months ago and couldn't have played much of a role in your RPU/GPU plans for the year. Talk about kicking a gift horse. If I were United, I would be thinking "we can't win".
Dec 4, 2019, 10:43 am
#33
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: united
Posts: 1,636
Who said "everyone"?
Many were hoping to use this benefit with expiring points. If the agent was correct (always an "if"), it appears none will be able to do that.
Nice way for UA to delay the benefit a month and thus remove the liability for expiring instruments from its books at zero cost. Fits perfectly with current management's overall approach to MP.
Many were hoping to use this benefit with expiring points. If the agent was correct (always an "if"), it appears none will be able to do that.
Nice way for UA to delay the benefit a month and thus remove the liability for expiring instruments from its books at zero cost. Fits perfectly with current management's overall approach to MP.
Had they allowed what you wanted to do, the chances are that MANY FF'ers would have tried to take advantage of it. Which would have forced UA to do one of a number of things,
1. Surge pricing STW to the point where it would be very difficult to use.
2. Restrict the flights on which STW was available.
3. Create a new waitlist for STW customers.
By effectively starting in February, UA is preventing that. It's a no-brainer from a business perspective.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 4, 2019 at 11:31 am Reason: Discuss the issue, not the poster(s)
Dec 4, 2019, 10:45 am
#34
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Somewhere in EWR
Programs: UA GS, HH Diamond
Posts: 858
Dec 4, 2019, 11:19 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,337
Dec 4, 2019, 11:24 am
#36
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
That just wouldn't make basic business sense to allow a large number of expiring points to skip the waitlist immediately. United (or any airline) is not going to financially put risk into the last month of the quarter or allow soon to be expiring points to be used in January which might take out a large amount of inventory. Any potential financial hit is mitigated by spreading out those point redemption's over the course of a year rather than a 2 month period.
Ultimately, hope is not a viable strategy.
Ultimately, hope is not a viable strategy.
Dec 4, 2019, 11:30 am
#37
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,439
As said before, this is another mean spirited decision by United. 600 of my 960 points expire in January, so the logical decision would be to use them to skip the waitlists before they expire. United knows this will be an issue for a lot of people, so rather than being forced to give up a lot of guaranteed upgrades, they will not activate skip the waitlist until people’s points expire in January.
If the gripe is that United isn't offering STW options from Day 1 of the PP regime, I don't really think that's fair criticism, either. The fact that United is putting PP into effect before the end of the year is a benefit, because now even 2020-expiring GPU/RPU have new benefits and flexibility they never had before, such as:
- Intercontinental J upgrades from <W fares
- Less-than-GPU upgrades from Y to PE
- Less-than-GPU upgrades from PE to J
- 1 GPU equivalent for Platinum members
- Multiple upgrade listings
- Conversion of (2) RPU into GPU
Nearly two months to use those new benefits, which weren't available when the instruments were earned, is a pretty nice windfall.
I really don't see how this is "mean-spirited"? It's no worse than in years past, and there's a theoretical window (albeit a narrow one) for January-expiring PP to be applied to the new STW upgrade scheme, in addition to the normal process before expiration.
The way I see it, the 520 PP (in your case) would have been orphan points anyway, to the extent not redeemed any other way. If UA offers *any* window for those points to be applied as STW, it's a gain over years past, when no such option was available.
Dec 4, 2019, 12:10 pm
#39
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: UA GS, Amex Centurion, UA 1MM
Posts: 555
This may not be popular, but wow: a lot of complaints about the implementation of a brand new benefit (STW) that United wasn't under any obligation to offer. Something that didn't even exist a little over two months ago and couldn't have played much of a role in your RPU/GPU plans for the year. Talk about kicking a gift horse. If I were United, I would be thinking "we can't win".
I so agree with you. Come on guys. The upgrade programs for DL and AA are not even close to as generous. New or old for Intl flights. It’s like New Yorkers and the weather. Always complaining.
Wow. You all realize no one is entitled to anything. yes this said from a million miler and current GS. You want guaranteed first class pay for it. If you can afford it. If you can’t or don’t want to then don’t. Simple. Have a nice day. Rant over. 
Dec 4, 2019, 12:19 pm
#41
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA Plat, UA 1K>Plat>moving to Silver
Posts: 2,075
I think it is just speculation until we’ve seen it in practice for a few months, though my own suspicion is that it will not be an improvement for most. Next year, I will be plat, so kind of a moot point for me. If there is PZ at booking when traveling international, I’ll use miles. If not, I’ll use the cheapest discount business or upgrade at booking on OAL. I like the BA lounges for CW, and also flew on LH TATL last week, reminding me that their business class soft product is far superior to UA as well. I kind of doubt I’ll be on UA for international much next year unless their prices are competitive.
Dec 4, 2019, 12:19 pm
#42
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K & 2MM, Bonvoy Titanium & LTP, HH Gold, Accor Silver, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 2,349
The more I think about it, the more I realize that StW is likely to be something I almost never use. I simply very rarely have travel booked more than a month out that is not at significant risk of changing. As a result, the risk of committing a high number of points that I can't get back even if I change my plans is one that is unlikely to be worth taking. I think this is a nice extra benefit to offer, but after reflection, largely worthless for me.
Dec 4, 2019, 12:20 pm
#43
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,130
The lack of a skip the waitlist option is really annoying. At least show something on the search page with an “unavailable” if that’s the case - there is no documentation or insight whatsoever.
I have 340 points less 80 I can push to April. That leaves 240 points expiring 1/1/20 or 120 per direction I would cash in for the upgrade, or I would just dump the whole 340 since I’m getting more when I requalify and next year looks like mostly PQP runs if I decide to stick around.
@UNITEDInsider we need an update on this - is it happening or not?
I have 340 points less 80 I can push to April. That leaves 240 points expiring 1/1/20 or 120 per direction I would cash in for the upgrade, or I would just dump the whole 340 since I’m getting more when I requalify and next year looks like mostly PQP runs if I decide to stick around.
@UNITEDInsider we need an update on this - is it happening or not?
Dec 4, 2019, 12:24 pm
#44
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,731
Just a reminder
It is a bad idea and a rules violation to make personal comments about other posters -- individually or collectively. This is a long FT tenant based on the desire to have useful discussions. Making broad dismissive comments about others is not conducive to that goal.
as the FT Rules state
State your position / opinion, disagree, .... but realize others have the same "privelage" on FT.
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
It is a bad idea and a rules violation to make personal comments about other posters -- individually or collectively. This is a long FT tenant based on the desire to have useful discussions. Making broad dismissive comments about others is not conducive to that goal.
as the FT Rules state
12.1 Friendly, Respectful and Welcoming
FlyerTalk is a community and is intended to be a friendly, helpful and collegial place.
Please post in a friendly, respectful, welcoming manner. 'Snarky,' unfriendly posts will not be allowed. If you don't have something constructive to contribute to a thread, please do not post.
.....
12.2 Avoid Getting Personal
If you have a difference of opinion with another member, challenge the idea — NOT the person. Getting personal with another member is not allowed. Personal attacks, insults, baiting and flaming will not be tolerated.
FlyerTalk is a community and is intended to be a friendly, helpful and collegial place.
Please post in a friendly, respectful, welcoming manner. 'Snarky,' unfriendly posts will not be allowed. If you don't have something constructive to contribute to a thread, please do not post.
.....
12.2 Avoid Getting Personal
If you have a difference of opinion with another member, challenge the idea — NOT the person. Getting personal with another member is not allowed. Personal attacks, insults, baiting and flaming will not be tolerated.
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
Dec 4, 2019, 12:24 pm
#45
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
I have 340 points less 80 I can push to April. That leaves 240 points expiring 1/1/20 or 120 per direction I would cash in for the upgrade, or I would just dump the whole 340 since I’m getting more when I requalify and next year looks like mostly PQP runs if I decide to stick around.
@UNITEDInsider we need an update on this - is it happening or not?
@UNITEDInsider we need an update on this - is it happening or not?
Last edited by HNLbasedFlyer; Dec 4, 2019 at 2:27 pm
