Apr 25, 21, 3:48 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?)
Jul 7, 23, 3:13 pm
#436
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.96MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 65,117
Have not seen this for the domestic promo routes but then I am a Plat and not eligible.
Jul 7, 23, 9:07 pm
#437
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,271
Put an eligible route into the advanced search (South America > 30 days out, or domestic > 14 days out , through July 31), select PlusPoints as the upgrade type, and search. The “Available only” option will filter out flights without upgrade availability, and you’ll see restyles for both regular availability and Skip Waitlist availability. The Skip Waitlist options will be flagged so you can tell the difference.
Jul 12, 23, 8:44 pm
#438
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: LAX IAH AMS
Programs: UA GS 1MM
Posts: 1,231
“Skip the waitlist on more flights” Instagram Ad
I personally have never been offered to skip the waitlist on any flights since this was rolled out years ago. Obviously the “skipping” must be targeted as I’d love to burn my several hundred plus points that expire, lol.
Who actually gets these offers to skip the waitlist in real life?
Who actually gets these offers to skip the waitlist in real life?
Jul 12, 23, 8:57 pm
#439
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: Alaska 75K, Delta Silver, UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 9,590
I personally have never been offered to skip the waitlist on any flights since this was rolled out years ago. Obviously the “skipping” must be targeted as I’d love to burn my several hundred plus points that expire, lol.
Who actually gets these offers to skip the waitlist in real life?
Who actually gets these offers to skip the waitlist in real life?
Aug 7, 23, 12:17 pm
#440
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: SDA
Posts: 90
Does anyone know if you do skip the waitlist to Premium Plus, does that lock you out of an upgrade to Polaris if space frees up? I always liked that you could put in for both Polaris and Premium Plus and get the best that frees up. (Though because the skip the waitlist offer is not voluntarily cancellable, I probably wouldn't take it unless much closer to the date of flying or going to expire anyway). If it matters I am 1k and looking at flights to/from EZE upgrading from economy.
Sep 12, 23, 10:35 am
#441
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1MM, 1K, HHonors Gold
Posts: 23
Unexpected PP upgrade behavior
I booked two separate itineraries SFO-IAH-SCL-IAH-SFO in PE. Separate because if there was limited upgrade space, I wanted to get one upgrade if it was available, and was told that if there were 2 PAX on the same itinerary, we'd get skipped over.
Bought the 2 tickets. Same price, same fare classes. Partner is my 1MM buddy, so (aside from PP), we should have the same status. When I got to trying to apply PP to upgrade to BC, she was only offered waitlist (30PP), which I took, but when I got to me, I was offered instant upgrade (for 110pp). WTH? I have plenty of PP, and this is the only trip before the end of the year that warrants using it, but still. Will I be able to swap her into BC?
Bought the 2 tickets. Same price, same fare classes. Partner is my 1MM buddy, so (aside from PP), we should have the same status. When I got to trying to apply PP to upgrade to BC, she was only offered waitlist (30PP), which I took, but when I got to me, I was offered instant upgrade (for 110pp). WTH? I have plenty of PP, and this is the only trip before the end of the year that warrants using it, but still. Will I be able to swap her into BC?
Sep 12, 23, 10:50 am
#442
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,010
I booked two separate itineraries SFO-IAH-SCL-IAH-SFO in PE. Separate because if there was limited upgrade space, I wanted to get one upgrade if it was available, and was told that if there were 2 PAX on the same itinerary, we'd get skipped over.
Bought the 2 tickets. Same price, same fare classes. Partner is my 1MM buddy, so (aside from PP), we should have the same status. When I got to trying to apply PP to upgrade to BC, she was only offered waitlist (30PP), which I took, but when I got to me, I was offered instant upgrade (for 110pp). WTH? I have plenty of PP, and this is the only trip before the end of the year that warrants using it, but still. Will I be able to swap her into BC?
Bought the 2 tickets. Same price, same fare classes. Partner is my 1MM buddy, so (aside from PP), we should have the same status. When I got to trying to apply PP to upgrade to BC, she was only offered waitlist (30PP), which I took, but when I got to me, I was offered instant upgrade (for 110pp). WTH? I have plenty of PP, and this is the only trip before the end of the year that warrants using it, but still. Will I be able to swap her into BC?
See this post for more information:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35350168-post407.html
If you were both on the same record, you might be able to skip for both of you (for 220 +P total), depending on the available space. Or you can still waitlist and potentially clear later if PZ opens. Someone in Premium Plus with 1K status usually has a decent chance of clearing.
Sep 12, 23, 10:50 am
#443
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,271
When I got to trying to apply PP to upgrade to BC, she was only offered waitlist (30PP), which I took, but when I got to me, I was offered instant upgrade (for 110pp). WTH? I have plenty of PP, and this is the only trip before the end of the year that warrants using it, but still. Will I be able to swap her into BC?
In the future, note that you can always book together and then split.
Sep 12, 23, 11:00 am
#444
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1MM, 1K, HHonors Gold
Posts: 23
You can only use the Skip the Waitlist feature if you’re traveling on the reservation. Since you booked separately, it wasn’t available for her. If it’s not too late to cancel and get a refund, and you didn’t already accept the StW offer, and you book a new reservation together, it may give you the option to Skip the Waitlist for both (assuming there are two StW seats available). If you already accepted the offer, you may be out of luck, as StW is supposed to be non-refundable and you may not get the PlusPoints back if you cancel.
In the future, note that you can always book together and then split.
In the future, note that you can always book together and then split.
Learn something new every day.
Sep 12, 23, 11:06 am
#445
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,061
Dang. Too late. I guess we'll just have to hope space maintains in the front of the plane. Lots of open seats, but it's also 2 months away. I''m still within 24 hours, so could cancel the tickets, but If I lost the PP, we're no better than we are now.
Learn something new every day.
Learn something new every day.
Sep 12, 23, 11:11 am
#446
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,271
If it doesn't refund automatically, which my hunch is it probably will, the StW should be refundable under flexible booking policy, just like every other "nonrefundable" items such as BE fares, seat fees, PCUs, booking service fees, etc. that all refund under 24-hour flex booking policy. Never been tested that I've seen, but if someone wants to be a guinea pig.
Oct 10, 23, 10:58 am
#447
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: KEWR
Programs: UA 1K, HH Diamond, SPG/Marriott Gold, Hyatt Plat, National Exec, GE/Nexus
Posts: 500
STW - Skip the Waitlist
What international flights are eligible? (I sort of recall it's only available for South America?)
How many PlusPoints does it require per leg?
Any way to tell before purchase whether the flight is STW eligible?
Thanks!
What international flights are eligible? (I sort of recall it's only available for South America?)
How many PlusPoints does it require per leg?
Any way to tell before purchase whether the flight is STW eligible?
Thanks!
Oct 10, 23, 12:46 pm
#448
Join Date: Oct 2023
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy LTP
Posts: 103
When I have used STW, it cost 110 points per person one way. So for two travelers, round trip, it came to 440 instead of the normal 160 points.
There was a time during covid when some flights to Japan also had STW. Other than that, i have only seen to sputh america. But i havent looked lately
Oct 10, 23, 7:40 pm
#449
Join Date: Sep 2023
Posts: 167
