rbakker

Thanks! KEF only gets you halfway to Europe but I get your point and I did find a BOS-LHR one on Sep 12.
I suppose a good idea would be to book award travel and then in the days before get ready to cancel it if a non-waitlisted option comes up to get me across the pond. I'll try it out when I try to go SFO-AMS at the end of October. Thanks again.

UPDATE: when going to book my flight I noticed that there was no waitlist! Maybe I've been too harsh. Booked and PlusPoints applied!

Sorry for the possibly noob question but where do you see PZ status? Thanks.

jsloan

Activate Expert Mode -- there's a board thread on this -- and then do a search and look at the details for each flight you're interested in.

mfirst

ok, clearly YMMV on this - but it might reflect an interesting approach to using PP's
I posted a question separately about using and then canceling PP when I thought a CPU was going to clear, so here is an update on how this went down:

outbound: LAS-DEN
90min flight, even with tons of PP, probably not worth wasting them for a short flight with no meals, etc
.. besides, I had the seat that I usually like
t-48: 2 open F seats, I'm #2 on the list with a CPU
t-24: same at check-in
at one point the #1 cleared
at boarding, my upgrade cleared.... yeah!

DEN-MSY:
2+ hour flight, lunch provided, heck probably worth 20 PP to try
t-48: 4 seats in F, I am #1 with PP requested
t-24: before check in, I cancel the PP, but stay #1 on the list with 4 seats left
... then 2 of the 4 got taken - not sure how, but I became #3 on the list and 2 cleared - now back to #1, but only 2 open seats
... at boarding, with 2 open seats in F - both #1 (me) and #2 cleared for UG - yeah

so, UG on both with CPU as a 1K on S fares
... yes, it is a gamble - but isnt all of this a game these days, especially with the PP

jsloan

If you saw yourself become #2 on the list, either a 1K with a higher fare class or a GS bought tickets, or, more likely IMO, somebody below you did the opposite of what you did -- "hey, I'm not going to clear, may as well use PlusPoints."

mfirst

jsloan - yup, that was my thinking... there were 2 different last names and I wasn't paying enough attention to see how far below me they were..... but it does make the PP poker game more intriguing with seeing where you are with PP and without if there are bunch of seats... and for me, the upgrades are nice, but does it really mean much on a sub 2 1/2 flight?

-m

fumje

Did your DENMSY flight not run the J2 upgrade sweep at t-24h? Or did you get pushed down to 3rd by t-24h? (Or you did not check obsessively right around t-24h?)

Aussienarelle

I got a CPU on DEN-MSY on September 13. First CPU in aong time

mfirst

Aussienarelle - maybe we were on the same flight.... left around 2pm arrived around 5p?
(were you the guy sitting next to me watching top gun?)
-m

Aussienarelle

No I think you were in 3A? I was in 1B

Yes that was the flight

mfirst

3F

all around a good flight......
PFB - including champagne
"thank you for being 1k and flying with us"
asked first about my meal choice as there were limited numbers of each (I told him that I would take whatever he had extras off)
my adult beverage served in a glass with ice - vs the plastic bottle handed to me (which I actually sometimes prefer)
.. a refill when he saw it was empty

even though delayed a little out of DEN - arrived on time (I think)
luggage came out as I got to baggage claim

the FA was very friendly and professional......

... and no one had to get kicked off

mfirst

ok - here is a new way to limit upgrades - just dont even offer them at all. Dont even offer the option to get on a waitlist

I have an upcoming IAH-CLE flight on monday (737-700) and I wanted to see if I could apply PP
there are 4 seats open as of now (see below)
but when I go to see what the options are - they say nothing is available (no PP/$$/miles options) and there is no "CPU requested" as I often see.....

what's up with this?

-m

• J4
• JN4
• C3
• D2
• Z1
• ZN1
• P0
• PN0
• PZ0
• IN0
• I0
• Y9
• YN9
• B9
• M9
• E9
• U9
• H8
• HN1
• Q7
• V4
• W1
• S0
• T0
• L0
• K0
• G0
• N9
• XN0
• X0

jsloan

IT glitch; there have been a couple of reports. Check back later, or try switching from website to app (or vice versa, as appropriate).

mfirst

jsloan - that was my initial thought, but I have been trying for several days now on both the website and the app - same thing
...could it be a sign of a potential airplane swap?

-m

jsloan

Well, the 737-700 has the smallest F cabin in the mainline fleet, so I don't know why they'd intentionally shut off the upgrade list. :/ Any swap to/from a flight without an F cabin would necessarily involve a flight number change, so it should reset the list anyway.

I'm guessing standard UA IT weirdness.

With any luck, maybe other people are having the same problem and then they can't jump you

RobOnLI

Are you sure you're not on a Basic Economy ticket? You cannot use any upgrade methods on BE tickets. If you don't think you're on BE, check your e-ticket receipt in the endorsement sections and make sure it doesn't include things like NOASR or NOCBBG. If it does then you booked Basic Eco.

-RM