Best way to monitor upgrade prices?
May 9, 2023, 2:31 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 75
Best way to monitor upgrade prices?
Upgrade prices for United trips to Europe seem to be fluctuating like crazy right now. On the UA Reddit group people are reporting things like $300 premium plus upgrades, and I just checked one of my own upcoming flights to Europe and the price for both PP and Polaris just dropped by like $1000 since this morning. Still not low enough for me, but if either drops by a little bit more I might jump on it.
Is there any kind of app or alert or service to subscribe to (totally happy to pay) that monitors this? Or is this just a matter of logging into the app and checking price offered manually on like an hourly basis?
Is there any kind of app or alert or service to subscribe to (totally happy to pay) that monitors this? Or is this just a matter of logging into the app and checking price offered manually on like an hourly basis?
May 9, 2023, 2:41 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: HPN, LAX, HNL, or somewhere in between
Programs: UA 1K, JetBlue Mosaic
Posts: 436
Since upgrade offers are dynamic based on the flying passenger and reservation (eg: I've seen non-status passengers offered upgrades cheaper than 1K/GS), I doubt there are any "upgrade" monitoring services. And even if there were, there's no way for them to be accurate without giving them your record locator. I'd recommend monitoring flight loads and checking daily or when lower fare premium cabin or award fare classes open.
May 9, 2023, 2:56 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: HPN, LAX, HNL, or somewhere in between
Programs: UA 1K, JetBlue Mosaic
Posts: 436
You can use Expert Mode search (or a tool like ExpertFlyer) to identify when specific fare classes open (eg: discount premium cabin fares like P or R), or use Google Flights like mduell said to monitor overall itinerary fares for Premium Economy or Business (assuming you don't have a complex itinerary that can be priced via Google Flights).
May 9, 2023, 3:38 pm
#7
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
IME, For the best PremPlus upgrades offers, look for R>0. ExpertFLyer / KVS (paid services) provide fare class alerts.
And for First/Polaris, alert for P.
And for First/Polaris, alert for P.