So the more time I have to deal with this reservation the more I regret having booked it so far in advance.

Flying LAX-FRA-CDG in early July and returning NAP-FRA-LAX mid-July. I booked PE through United thinking applying newly earned PP would be easy enough. Called to change to LH native flight and it was $360 per person which for a July flight seems like a bad idea. I'd already paid LH for seat assignments as well. Another mistake on my part.

Anyhow it now looks like we're going to be flying back FLR-?-LAX and I'm wondering if I call in to UA can they just switch the first segment of the return trip so I don't have to pay an additional $414 per person to stay in PE on the TATL leg(option presented to me if I want to stay on the same FRA-LAX flight). Alternatively if they touch these tickets now will LH lose the seat assignments and want me to pay again? Honestly since that was only $316 total I'll happily call that a loss to make everything else about this as painless as possible.

Appreciate any help here and sorry if this needs to be merged with another thread. Went back 5 pages and didn't see anything that looked relevant.

A lot of things only make partial sense here. LH native flight number conversions are free ... sounds like you needed to upfare to get to an UG eligible fare class? PE seat assignments on LH are not free and they are not refundable either (unless there is involuntary change or cancellation). If you make a change to the ticket it will get re-issued which will likely mean the seat assignment on LH is gone; LH does transfer seat fees to new flights, but you will likely need to call and it'll probably be difficult since these are not 220 tickets. Should be solvable though ... https://www.lufthansa.com/ge/en/seat-reservation

I booked into United A which sounds like is LH E (which I understand to be upgradeable with PP)but when I called to change to native flight she said to do that it would be $360 per person. I didn't mention using Plus Points though. Maybe I got a bad agent and I should call again?

Best to convert the flight to Lufthansa and then attempt any changes to the routing/seat assignments here?

There is no fee to convert flight numbers and A indeed maps to E, which is upgradable. HUCA ... that should not cost a cent to do. Now, the seat assignment fee will be gone if you upgrade and succeed. You call UA to ask to 'use +Ps to upgrade and you need a conversion to the native LH flight number' ... that should trigger the right pavlovian reflex And be free.

All of that has nothing to do with the change you want to do. Do the change before or at the same time as the flight # conversion. Once the UG request is in or confirmed ... it will be a MUCH greater mess to solve to say the least.

LH upgrades are comparatively easy and clear very often. While they are waitlisted ... call LH and get your seat assignments back. If the upgrade clears ... I'd still ask for the seat fees to be returned ... but it is not likely to work IMO.

No, that's not the way that airfare works. You can't change cities without recomputing the fare, and while you might be able to use historical fares, you'll need to use current inventory. Airfare isn't priced on a cost-plus basis, and it's generally not possible to hold one flight while changing a connecting flight without having to reprice the whole thing.

Yeah I kind of figured that was the case but I was wondering if maybe calling 1K would be of any use here. I'll have to reconsider my strategy for the return flight.

Appreciate all the help here!

How long after booking do you make this call? Always best to do immediately after booking?

If you have an UA A fare, is LH offering E fare? If you waited too long or if you emptied out the fare class inventoey, E may be gone and UA has to up-fare you to G -- $360 sounds about right for that

Yeah I booked 11/28 and called 12/16. Sounds like I blew it. I already changed the return routing and it moved me from A down to U but I did get a $38 FFC for both of us. I'll consider calling again to see if the switch to native is cheaper. Apply PPs and attempt to not to fly coach back. The nice part is my LAX-FRA-CDG seats all held(for now).

ugh. U is no longer PE ... was there no other option? Hard to believe that 'E' on LH is not available for July travel; check before calling, but that can be converted. U is also upgradable on LH.

Is that always true? Aren't there times where the faer bucket availability is different between the codeshasre and the native number? I've seen this on UA/NH flights before. And, if so, if there is no availability in LH E (vs UA A), what happens when you try to convert the flights?

Unless you're on an early morning NAP-FRA flight, an alternative to changing your flights might simply be to take the direct high-speed train from Florence to Naples for your flight. It is a 3-hour journey, but comfortable and convenient, and not too expensive if booked in advance, say €25 for the train, and then €20 for a taxi to the airport.

6:25am flight out of Naples with a 5.5 hour layover in FRA which honestly wasn't that appealing. I've already changed the flight at this point though.

To stay in PE was $414 per person. The one option that didn't charge more to stay in PE was FLR-MUC-IAD-LAX and then I'm in Y for IAD-LAX which I feel like will almost assuredly not clear based on what I've read here. I'm hoping I can still apply PPs as U should be upgradeable if I understand correctly. I can only throw so much money at this thing before it goes from an okay deal($4,400 RT total for both BEFORE I paid the $316 for seat assignments) to over $5k.

U and E are both upgradable. Require the same amount of +Ps as well. Get the flight numbers converted and you will be all set to apply them

Somewhat related - I changed a codeshare, booked on United, to a LH native flight a few days ago. It took six (6) calls. Agents claimed "cannot be done", "can only be done if you want to upgrade with miles" etc. 2 of the agents were at the rate desk. The agent who converted (in a few mins) worked at the "international rate desk". If there is such as thing. :-)

Hi Guys. Rookie here trying to learn more. This "conversion" mentioned...is that changing a UA metal flight to LH metal?...both revenue and award? Any particular reason to do that?

Separately, but somewhat related. Is there a WIKI for LH award F? Saw mention in another thread of using Plus Points for upgrade on LH metal. Have not heard that before for non UA metal. Just trying to do my homework. Thanks!