The way of the Dodo? - 1K upgrades, PP or CPU
 

It's pretty crazy...was flying LAX-ORD on 789 and I was 19/40 on upgrade list. Too many 1Ks!

I knew I would not clear so I applied PP and jumped up to #3 (and did clear).

Also missed a CPU on LAX-SFO-MSY on a L fare (left at #1 from SFO-MSY, but #14 from LAX-SFO) and DEN-LAX, L fare (I was around #9 on the list)

That makes me think rather there are too many +P out there, and people are throwing them at everything (guilty).

As for LAX/SFO, I think that route just doesn't do CPU. I think the front cabin demand isn't really matched to UA's fleet allocation. Since even early 2021, GS would be lucky to clear.

With little TPAC elite travel and still reduced elite TATL. there are less international travel options for using those PlusPloints, so domestic it is.

Take the 10:59pm redeye, you should clear on a CPU. Ive been top 10 on both of the ones I've taken this year as a 1K on K fare.

UA's also selling F cabin cheaper than the competition, leaving very few seats for upgrades. On my regular route (SFO-PHX) F is often hundreds less than AA or AS, both of which have raised their fares back to pre-pandemic levels. For a flight 10 days out, I just paid $214 for F on UA, while AA was over $360 and AS over $400.

With all of mine expiring 7/31, and international travel still looking to be burdensome for quite some time, I don't see any reason to hoard them. :). Better to use 20 points to secure a domestic upgrade, even when a CPU probably would have been successful, then have them go to waste.

Using PPs on domestic routing seems to be in vogue these days

Suspect I'm not the only one who's really not into the total crapshoot of waitlisting instruments for international long-haul these days.

Used to be UA would opened R (PZ) fairly regularly so you could confirm in advance. It also used to be possible to check actual bookings on a given flight and thus make a reasonable assessment of upgrade odds. Those days are gone.

This is the reason that I continue to log a lot of miles on UA even though I no longer care who I fly. UA is consistently the cheapest for paid F. I will pay more to avoid a connection though, so a non-stop on DL or AA is worth paying a few hundred more than a UA flight requiring a connection.

The way of the Dodo - 1K upgrades, PP or CPU
 

I know, people are back flying, lots of miles being blown etc. etc. lower numbers of flights, pilot and FA shortages, yada, yada yada, but my upgrade rate as an organic 1K this year has been truly atrocious. I've twice missed when trying to apply PP's on long-haul international flights with an A ticket, even when booked months out. Not a single of my 6 YBM instant upgrades every showed availability for a booked Y fare and not a single, not one, nada, zip CPU upgrade in 16 segments and 8k PQP's. And the domestic PP misses were not traditionally 'hard' upgrades. For instance for a Tuesday PDX-ORD-PHL, I died at #1 with PP applied. Another flight was a Wednesday AM IAD-DEN-PDX. I died at #3 on the first segment and #4 on the second. This is a trend I am not enjoying....

And no, unfortunately I am not in a position to ask my employer to change their company-wide travel policy and pay for domestic first or international business.

I'm sorry to inform you that this is, very likely, the new post-COVID reality. Domestic F is going out full on most days with paid F flyers. My casual observation, as someone that pays for F on every flight now, is that there are a lot of non-elite customers paying for F these days. Since I get to board early, I see the majority of the GSs and 1Ks walking back to coach on nearly every flight. PPs are worthless domestically and have value internationally only if you have flexibility in travel dates and routes.

Corporate travel departments should be made aware that UGs just don't happen anymore and perhaps give you the option of discount F domestically, which is cheap on UA these days (my average cost for a transcon in F is around $1,500-). For example, my next flight, EWR-LAX in PS is $1,845- where Y is $3,058-. And, even though a Z-fare isn't refundable, it is changeable for no charge, and a $1,200- savings seems like a good motivation to change the corporate travel policy.

As someone who's part of the WFBF crowd, sorry.

And meanwhile, we cleared CPU as Gold last week. It's about your choice of routes.

UA has been far too generous w/ extensions past two years. People who didn't fly much are clogging the lists. Luckily, they didn't get PPs, so that's the way to clamber over them (as application of your PPs showed). As I've said before, UA should have prioritized those who earned over extendees for upgrades w/i each Premier level.

I agree with all of this - on a midday DEN-CLE on a 737.... as a 1K who applied PP+, I was 9th on the list and I think maybe 2 open seats a week in advance.....
there were 9 1k's and 3 GS on that flight

although my PP DEN-OGG got me 2 true polaris heading out......