I have noticed YN and XN flights are CPU eligible and my wife and I have been on the CPU list. I used to have the MP Explorer card but canceled it during Covid.

AA upgrades all elites on award tickets just as if you were on a paid ticket. I'm surprised UA doesn't.

UA offers award CPU for elites with Chase MP cards. Includes 1 companion

Approximately 1.5 years ago, I showed up on an upgrade list though booked on an award ticket and cleared the upgrade. 1k at the time. The last time I had a credit card was about 10 years go. Sometimes elites on award tickets slip onto upgrade lists. There is likely some programming bug (thats undetectable) that triggers 1/10^x cases...I am guessing x is quite large and this is why we hear these reports so infrequently. And United rightly so realized not worth investing so many human-hours to figure it out.

Conversely, I had multiple UA CCs up until about 1 1/2 years ago and I've never once showed up on the UG list on an award. Tech support could never figure out what was going on, and I never once got the promised benefit.

Go figure !!!

Happy wife, Happy life.

Also, spouse wasn't upgraded as 1K because I'm assuming she had two companions (your kids, or more?). So to the extent she was considered for upgrade, either she's ineligible with more than one companion, her status is that of the third pax on reservation (no status/non-1k child), or was ineligible because they are minors so they couldn't upgrade her without kids.

Yes, that's what I would assume but even so, don't the non-status pax inherit her status for the purposes of an upgrade? When I was upgraded there were over 8 empty seats in FC and when I called the 1K line they said everyone else was a platinum or lower on the upgrade list.

No CPU upgrade was offered and the only options by 1K were buying the upgrade with miles.

I've seen lots of reports of award tickets showing CPU eligible despite not having the CC.

As mentioned, the presence of non-status pax on the PNR would be the reason the wife did not get upgraded. If there are two or more non-Premiers on the PNR, it is not CPU-eligible.

On behalf of all of us who are married and travel with their spouses, thank you. You made the correct decision.

Regards,
Bill

In all of my award flights (just took two more a week ago), I have NEVER been on the upgrade list and I have NEVER gotten an upgrade before the flight or at the gate. I've even asked gate agents nicely if they'll accommodate me when I know the flight is going out with empties (e.g. IAH-MEX last year) and they flat out refuse since I have never held a UA CC.

-RM

If this occurs will some regularity with your travels might be worth getting a cheap Chase MP card.

You guys have to call into AA for nearly EVERYTHING because your website and app are awful.
I don’t know how you live ; )

I think it is only EXPs, but still...