Dec 31, 2019, 7:53 am
Last edit by: wxguy
United Global Services ("GS") is the highest tier of MileagePlus elite status. It is by invitation only, reviewed annually -- the invite criteria is not public but seems to require substantial annual spending with UA both in terms of absolute dollar amounts and purchasing higher fare classes (higher cpm - cents per mile). There are also reports of GS status being comped by UA Marketing to VIPs in companies who sign corporate travel deals with UA, and also to those individuals that purchase an annual PassPlus enrollment of $50k or greater. The sole published way to qualify is to become a 4MM, having flown 4 million BIS miles on UA metal (plus additional grandfathered credits at the time of the UA/CO merger).
GS have enhanced services / benefits over 1Ks. There is little said publicly by UA on GS benefits and/or qualification.
Last year's thread, Consolidated Global Services Thread - Qualifications, Benefits and Q & A [2019]
Thread on 2020 Global Services Notifications
Thread on 2020 Global Services Qualification Discussion
Known facts concerning qualification and eligibility from United:
Thread on 2020 Global Services Notifications
Thread on 2020 Global Services Qualification Discussion
Known facts concerning qualification and eligibility from United:
Quote:
Global Services recognizes the extraordinary dedication of our top flyers. We consider a number of factors beyond the usual Premier-qualifying criteria.
We look at your travel spend on United-operated flights relative to that of other top Premier flyers over recent consecutive years.
Usually, members invited to Global Services tend to consistently purchase premium cabins or fully refundable tickets.
Global Services recognizes the extraordinary dedication of our top flyers. We consider a number of factors beyond the usual Premier-qualifying criteria.
We look at your travel spend on United-operated flights relative to that of other top Premier flyers over recent consecutive years.
Usually, members invited to Global Services tend to consistently purchase premium cabins or fully refundable tickets.
Published Benefits
Full detail of published benefits can be found at https://mystatus.united.com/gs [MP credentials login required, existing GS only]
Shortlist (incremental/different to 1K):
- Dedicated phone number, usually answered on the first ring, and generally by specially-trained GS agents. Some exceptions occur, especially during busy periods (such as when weather waivers are in effect)
- Dedicated email address for MileagePlus and other inquiries, usually answered personally within hours
- Dedicated check-in at main airport stations, including private Global Reception centers at major hubs, providing priority TSA security access. May bring guests/companions into Global Reception areas or dedicated GS checkin lanes who are traveling on same itinerary as GS member.
- Instrument-supported upgrades (PlusPoints or miles) clear into PN class rather than PZ class for other elite tiers, which usually have much better availability. Instruments drawn from the GS member account and applied to other reservations will also clear into PN class.
- Complimentary Premier Upgrades (CPUs) cleared beginning 120 hours prior to flight departure (versus 96 hours for 1K) for GS member and up to one other traveling on same PNR
- Highest-priority when waitlisted for Upgrades, Award Travel, and Sold-out Flight Availability. GS members clear before any other status level or full-fare customers.
- Priority Boarding, among the first to board the aircraft (currently after unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities and/or need more time boarding, Active-Duty Military, and now prior to families with children under age of 2)
- Priority handling in event of IRROPS, including next flight guarantee in case of re-accommodation, overseen by dedicated team of location-based GS Customer Service Agents (identified via gold scarves/ties)
- Mercedes-Benz Tarmac Transfer for tight connections between flights at major hubs (cannot be requested in advance)
Access to United Arrivals Lounge at SFO when arriving from international flight, regardless of cabin class (no guests permitted)Closed- Access to Arrivals Lounge at LHR T2 when arriving from inbound UA-operated intercontinental flight, regardless of cabin (no guests permitted, must present Boarding Pass or physical GS card)
- Access to Lufthansa / Swiss Welcome (arrival) Lounges in FRA and ZRH for same-day inbound UA intercontinental flight, regardless of cabin (no guests permitted, must present physical GS card)
- Effective January 2021, GS members who do not have a United Club membership may access United Clubs on domestic itineraries, but no guests are permitted.
All benefits noted below require calling a GS agent:
- GS can create saver economy award space (XN) if T inventory is available. United-operated flights only. Update 12 Dec 2018: Only for GS member + 1 companion.
- GS can create saver business award space (IN) if PZ inventory is available. United-operated flights only. Update 12 Dec 2018: Only for GS member + 1 companion.
- GS can upgrade economy awards (XN or YN) into Business / First with PlusPoints if PN inventory is available, provided both instrument and miles drawn from GS member account. United-operated flights only.
- GS can confirm any waitlisted instrument-supported upgrade (miles/co-pay or PlusPoints) within T-72 hours to flight departure provided at least 2 (two) J class premium seats remain for sale after the upgrade is processed and they are at the top of the waitlist.
- GS are entitled to one Saver Award seat in the same class of service with their purchase of any premium cabin fare. GS agents can open space if it is not available provided that at least 2 seats remain for sale afterwards. United-operated flights only.
- GS can upgrade a companion with an instrument (PlusPoints or miles) from Economy to Business / First when flying on a paid premium cabin fare, even if PZ or PN is not available, as long as J > 2 after upgrade processed. Companion needs to be ticketed in W class or higher on international cash fare itineraries, or ticketed in X/XN for upgrades from award tickets.
- (Note: Only ONE of the two above options can be exercised per premium fare purchased. GS traveler must remain in same itinerary as companion)
- GS can buy up from Basic Economy fares, which is usually forbidden
- GS can access VIP Lounges (former Global First Lounges) in NRT, LHR, and HKG when booked in Polaris Business on an international itinerary. One guest permitted (two guests if a United Club member). Not accessed if booked in United Economy.
- Post 12/12/2018, agents have been instructed to grant only one "exception" when opening award space for a companion. Thus, you can open T->XN for a companion, or you can force a companion upgrade into PN, but you can't convert T->XN and then force clear an upgrade into PN. Some have reported success by requesting this in two separate calls.
- Some agents will allow GS to open economy award space for a companion to allow for an upgrade with an instrument, even if XN or T are unavailable
- According to GS Customer Service, a GS on a paid coach fare using an instrument will clear into Polaris business before a lower-status passenger with a paid PremiumPlus fare (i.e. O, A, R). In other words, for example, a paid O, A, R for a 1K will got give higher priority than a GS with a W fare if both are using 40 PlusPoints. This is true even on the gate waitlist.
- Post 12/12/2019, agents have been instructed that they can only grant a companion exception for one segment per ticket. Thus, if you have a roundtrip premium fare, they will only open saver space, or force an upgrade, for one segment. This means you must either waitlist (if upgrading) or use a standard award, for the remaining segments.
Consolidated Global Services Thread: Benefits, Questions, Experiences [2020]
May 17, 2020, 6:12 pm
#631
Suspended
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Chicago
Programs: ,united 1k, AA EXP, HH Diamond,BA gold, Hyatt globalist
Posts: 974
I take the daytime flight to SIN from SFO and need to take the first flight out from ORD to make the connection. They are nice enough to transfer me with the car from my arriving gate to the Polaris Lounge around 75% of the time. Love exiting the plane and seeing my name on a sign in the jet way!
I have also had the car from the Polaris Lounge in C at ORD to the B17 gate before. That was because they know me very well and actually like me. Yeah, who would have thought.
And there is no way in hell they are going to get rid of GS.
I have also had the car from the Polaris Lounge in C at ORD to the B17 gate before. That was because they know me very well and actually like me. Yeah, who would have thought.
And there is no way in hell they are going to get rid of GS.
May 18, 2020, 9:13 am
#632
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO / LHR
Programs: UA GS 2.2MM / UC / AS Gold 75K / Bonvoy Plat / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,028
On the MB front, the MBs are provided under a partnership lease agreement with MB USA, and not owned by UA - the problem is not the cost of the vehicles (negligible), but the cost of the ground transfer staffing. Even before the MBs, the agents were always looking out for tight connections - on foot, in a golf cart, and now a car.
May 18, 2020, 2:05 pm
#633
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
Programs: Global Services UA 1MM , Ambassador Elite Marriott
Posts: 66
Can't say this enough ... what you give is what you usually get at UA. In SFO last Summer, my no-status In-Laws were meeting us at SFO, connecting in from Central CA. Flight was canceled after rolling delay, they were rebooked leaving 15 minutes between their new flight and our FRA departure. My GS Agent friends (formed over years) at SFO jumped on it, the lead agent coordinating GS Ground Transfers called me on my cell in the Polaris Lounge, and promised she'd get them personally, and on to our flight. She did exactly that - FRA was completely boarded up, these two seats in Polaris remaining. The lead agent whisked them across the tarmac and walked them right to their seats, hugged them both, left and the door closed. The forward galley FA, who I also had gotten to know over the years, came forward with PDB champagne and some packaged snacks, knowing they hadn't eaten. Apparently the lead agent doing the transfer had said to them both "your Son In Law is considered one of our friends, and a family member of his is a family member of ours". All of this is shift timing, of course, but underscored that investing in these agent friendships over the years was worth it many times over just for that one incident.
On the MB front, the MBs are provided under a partnership lease agreement with MB USA, and not owned by UA - the problem is not the cost of the vehicles (negligible), but the cost of the ground transfer staffing. Even before the MBs, the agents were always looking out for tight connections - on foot, in a golf cart, and now a car.
On the MB front, the MBs are provided under a partnership lease agreement with MB USA, and not owned by UA - the problem is not the cost of the vehicles (negligible), but the cost of the ground transfer staffing. Even before the MBs, the agents were always looking out for tight connections - on foot, in a golf cart, and now a car.
VERY NICE TO READ... I had my personal experience with flight attendant, so much that mid flight we would take pics together but nothing as far as GS that says wow, but again, I am a new GS and even if I flew the first quarter, enough to put me already premier 1k, nothing special happened that made me feel different from being last year premier 1k... but trust things will turn out... flying from SFO to New York and Albany this week and back next week... I am not expecting anything due to Covid-19... but glad to fly again.
May 18, 2020, 3:14 pm
#634
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,976
I received a call from my mother's nurse that I should come to see her as the end was near. I live in Chicago and she lived in Cincinnati. Not really wanting to go there by myself, I called my niece (her granddaughter) who lives in Denver to fly to Chicago and meet me so we can go together to CVG. I told the UA GS staff and the GS manager (thanks, Steve) what the situation was and they said they would monitor everything. As you can probably guess, the DEN flight was on a rolling delay (I had scheduled a 2.5-hour connection). The DEN flight was parking in the C concourse and the CVG was leaving from F in Terminal 2. The flight was going to land at the same time the CVG flight was leaving. A GS agent accompanied me to the C gate where the flight was parking and told me to go down the jet way with her as the flight was parking and she would drive us to the CVG flight. My niece was in F and one of the first ones off. We immediately went down to the tarmac and drove to the CVG flight. They actually delayed the flight for us and we were obviously the last ones to board. The captain announced that we would depart soon but that we were waiting for a bag - my neice's bag.
The GS staff had also made back-up plans for the both of us, but they came through on this flight. They said that I was UA family and that they would take care of us. They certainly did.
Epilogue: We arrived in Cincinnati and went to the nursing home to be with my mother. She was still alive. After we left her, we receive a call a few hours later that she passed away. If UA hadn't gone the extra mile for me, the back-up flights would have gotten us there too late to see her alive.
I certainly can be critical of UA at times, but with service like this, I cannot abandon them.
The GS staff had also made back-up plans for the both of us, but they came through on this flight. They said that I was UA family and that they would take care of us. They certainly did.
Epilogue: We arrived in Cincinnati and went to the nursing home to be with my mother. She was still alive. After we left her, we receive a call a few hours later that she passed away. If UA hadn't gone the extra mile for me, the back-up flights would have gotten us there too late to see her alive.
I certainly can be critical of UA at times, but with service like this, I cannot abandon them.
May 20, 2020, 8:59 am
#635
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: SFO
Programs: UA GS 2mm
Posts: 94
Benz transfer IAD
Benz transfer IAD
May 28, 2020, 9:18 pm
#636
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 72
I see it is possible to book an economy saver (XN) award ticket and upgrade to business using plus points. Has anybody done this and can you confirm how many plus points it uses to upgrade? Not sure if it would be the 80 required to upgrade from economy or the 40 required to upgrade from economy plus.
May 28, 2020, 9:27 pm
#637
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,857
I see it is possible to book an economy saver (XN) award ticket and upgrade to business using plus points. Has anybody done this and can you confirm how many plus points it uses to upgrade? Not sure if it would be the 80 required to upgrade from economy or the 40 required to upgrade from economy plus.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 1, 2020 at 10:56 am Reason: updated: (and GS award tickets)
May 28, 2020, 10:29 pm
#638
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Corvallis, OR, USA
Programs: UA GS; Hilton LT Diamond, Marriott, Hyatt; Hertz
Posts: 321
Four agents in GS reception in SFO today ... love that it's open, but was a bit eerie to see so many agents for so few people.
May 28, 2020, 10:34 pm
#639
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Mlife NOIR
Posts: 320
EWR was a different story. GS lobby was closed. In fact, the entire premier floor check-in was closed; you could only use the economy self-service check-in on the lower floor. The whole place felt like a ghost town -- very eery.
Last edited by UAflyer93; May 28, 2020 at 10:39 pm
May 31, 2020, 6:54 am
#640
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: LA,NYC
Programs: AA-EXP 2.8 MM,UA-GS 1.3 MM,DL-PL,HH-DM,LH-SEN,Bonvoy-GL
Posts: 296
I see it is possible to book an economy saver (XN) award ticket and upgrade to business using plus points. Has anybody done this and can you confirm how many plus points it uses to upgrade? Not sure if it would be the 80 required to upgrade from economy or the 40 required to upgrade from economy plus.
May 31, 2020, 11:41 pm
#641
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO / LHR
Programs: UA GS 2.2MM / UC / AS Gold 75K / Bonvoy Plat / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,028
Domestic First inc Hawaii and United Business (Canada/Mexico/Caribbean) are 20 PP.
Jun 1, 2020, 3:17 am
#642
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: BOS, PVG
Programs: United 1K and 1MM, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 10,000
XN Class Econ > Business Award Upgrades take 40 PP on all Polaris marketed long haul routes ... they’re basically treated like a W class fare, so the 80 PP is not applicable. XN > Premium Plus is 20 PP. If you waitlist for both Premium Plus and Polaris on the same reservation, you’ll be charged either 20 or 40 depending on what clears.
Domestic First inc Hawaii and United Business (Canada/Mexico/Caribbean) are 20 PP.
Domestic First inc Hawaii and United Business (Canada/Mexico/Caribbean) are 20 PP.
EWR SFO cleared to 777 Polaris.
SFO CTU is waitlisted.
Wide open. But there is no PN. Can’t find any PN to Asia.
Jun 20, 2020, 11:58 am
#643
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: IAH/EWR-LGA/MIA
Programs: UA Global Services 3.2 MM, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 2,505
So I just booked a friend using my miles IAH-SFO-IAH, IAH-SFO in Y and SFO-IAH in F. PN is wide open on IAH-SFO but when I went to the reservation to apply PlusPoints to the IAH-SFO segment, it says "This reservation is not eligible to be upgraded." What gives?
EDIT: when I first tried, reservation was apparently confirmed but not ticketed. Post-ticketing, no problem.
EDIT: when I first tried, reservation was apparently confirmed but not ticketed. Post-ticketing, no problem.
Last edited by st530; Jun 20, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Jun 22, 2020, 12:31 pm
#644
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
Programs: Global Services UA 1MM , Ambassador Elite Marriott
Posts: 66
Best thing to do is simply call.. sometimes it may be their site but this happened to me way many times.
Jun 22, 2020, 7:00 pm
#645
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: DFW
Programs: UA peon (+decades 1K), AA Exec Plt
Posts: 1,117
I called a GS agent over the weekend to make some changes to upcoming trips, and she told me that there are actually five levels of GS. This makes sense to me, I was just unaware of this being an actual thing that (perhaps) agents can see. Does anyone know more about this and/or is there info in a thread somewhere that I may have missed?
Modern Family Season 5, Episode 18: Las Vegas: Jay: “Gloria, there’s a floor above us.”