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?)
Apr 23, 2021, 2:34 am
#181
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SEA
Programs: DL DM, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 570
Do we have any updates on if STW has been expanded beyond South African route from before? I'm searching for international flights (e.g. ATH) and none of the options are so far showing me any "Skip the Waitlist" availabilities through search. Wasn't this supposed to show for international routes? I thought we could see these results when ZN>0?
Apr 23, 2021, 8:27 am
#182
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,423
Do we have any updates on if STW has been expanded beyond South African route from before? I'm searching for international flights (e.g. ATH) and none of the options are so far showing me any "Skip the Waitlist" availabilities through search. Wasn't this supposed to show for international routes? I thought we could see these results when ZN>0?
The economics on Skip the Waitlist aren't great for UA in an environment where people may only have 3-6 months to use 12 months' worth of PlusPoints. They'd likely get a higher uptake rate than they were planning when they launched the program.
Apr 23, 2021, 9:16 am
#183
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 5,001
I don't think we ever quite worked out what fare bucket would be used -- and you mean South American routes, not South African. The last I looked though -- maybe two weeks ago -- they hadn't been expanded, despite UA claiming that they would be doing so.
The economics on Skip the Waitlist aren't great for UA in an environment where people may only have 3-6 months to use 12 months' worth of PlusPoints. They'd likely get a higher uptake rate than they were planning when they launched the program.
The economics on Skip the Waitlist aren't great for UA in an environment where people may only have 3-6 months to use 12 months' worth of PlusPoints. They'd likely get a higher uptake rate than they were planning when they launched the program.
Apr 23, 2021, 9:17 am
#184
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
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I'm not sure we'll ever see UA expand it beyond SA routes. In fact, I won't be surprised to see the entire StW benefit quietly disappear.
Apr 23, 2021, 2:17 pm
#185
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,423
When I looked at this back in 2019, my conclusion was StW requires ZN inventory. Post 116
Yes, it's possible that it will disappear quietly. It's also possible that they'll expand it, but probably not until February 2022. I agree with zombietooth -- they'll let the existing P+ break, or get used on CPU routes, first.
May 4, 2021, 12:07 pm
#186
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: UA 1K/MM, EK Gold, CX Silver
Posts: 880
STW for Companion on separate PNR?
Can I apply STW to my wife if I am on the same flight but on a different PNR? Has anyone done this - call them I suppose?
ZN is available, and my PNR is already in C
ZN is available, and my PNR is already in C
May 4, 2021, 12:33 pm
#187
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,861
May 4, 2021, 1:39 pm
#188
Suspended
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May 4, 2021, 2:04 pm
#189
Moderator: United Airlines
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May 4, 2021, 3:04 pm
#191
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,423
It took about a minute to verify that, yes, Skip the Waitlist still exists, on the same routes it always has (South America long-haul only).
OP: I suspect you'd need to call to use Skip Waitlist in that situation, and that assumes that it's available -- if you do a new search for that flight, you should see the option to skip waitlist. Keep in mind that Skip Waitlist requests can't be changed -- you forfeit the points if you need to alter the reservation.
OP: I suspect you'd need to call to use Skip Waitlist in that situation, and that assumes that it's available -- if you do a new search for that flight, you should see the option to skip waitlist. Keep in mind that Skip Waitlist requests can't be changed -- you forfeit the points if you need to alter the reservation.
Jun 14, 2021, 10:00 am
#192
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA Gold, SPG Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 991
Skip the Waitlist - "Best" flights to burn PP
Looking to fly west coast (SAN) to Europe (LYS) this fall. I've got PlusPoints to burn so I figure I'll "Skip the Waitlist" (pay double the points) and go out big. That opens the door to basically all flights! So, given that I have my choice of trans Atlantic options - which one do I pick? LH international flights are out due to no "Skip the Waitlist" (so no SAN-FRA).
SFO/LAX rather than DEN/ORD/EWR/IAD so I get the longest international leg possible. SFO & LAX both have Polaris Lounges too.
I'm thinking FRA over MUN over BRU.
I'm thinking 787 over 777.
Anything else I'm missing?
SFO/LAX rather than DEN/ORD/EWR/IAD so I get the longest international leg possible. SFO & LAX both have Polaris Lounges too.
I'm thinking FRA over MUN over BRU.
I'm thinking 787 over 777.
Anything else I'm missing?
Jun 14, 2021, 10:37 am
#193
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Jun 14, 2021, 10:42 am
#194
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
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Yeah, you should check if STW is available on the route you'd intend to fly. Your fare bucket must be W or higher, and booking must take place greater than 30 days prior to departure.
Also, still A LOT of uncertainly whether Polaris lounge would reopen by the fall. At the moment, no clear indications of reopening timeline.
Also, still A LOT of uncertainly whether Polaris lounge would reopen by the fall. At the moment, no clear indications of reopening timeline.
Jun 14, 2021, 10:42 am
#195
Join Date: Oct 2017
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I've only been to the Polaris lounges at SFO and EWR so far, and the SFO one is really nice (I think it's the largest of them all as well, but obviously SFO is a big hub so potentially more crowded).
LAX also has the Star Alliance lounge, which I've read isn't bad either.
In terms of connecting airports it hardly matters whether you pick FRA or MUC I'd say.
I find them to be very similar and since you're 1K you'll get into the SEN lounges either way.
Whether you prefer 787 or 777 is up to you, what matters more is the configuration.
Since SFO-FRA is not 787-10, you aren't guaranteed the new Polaris seats. I like the 777 quite a bit as well, since the seats are wider than on the 787.
You could also try to fly SAN-SFO-EWR-FRA-LYS and check out both Polaris lounges (I think you do get access on the feeder).
LAX also has the Star Alliance lounge, which I've read isn't bad either.
In terms of connecting airports it hardly matters whether you pick FRA or MUC I'd say.
I find them to be very similar and since you're 1K you'll get into the SEN lounges either way.
Whether you prefer 787 or 777 is up to you, what matters more is the configuration.
Since SFO-FRA is not 787-10, you aren't guaranteed the new Polaris seats. I like the 777 quite a bit as well, since the seats are wider than on the 787.
You could also try to fly SAN-SFO-EWR-FRA-LYS and check out both Polaris lounges (I think you do get access on the feeder).