porciuscato, no one has replied to you yet so I will bump your post. I also want to know the difference because I have heard conflicting things from agents, namely:

• PP issued from a GS account will clear into PN as long as the issuing account remains GS
• PP are all the same, it is the GS status of the passenger that lets them book into PN (I was specifically told that a GS passenger with PP sponsored by a 1k can clear into PN, an important distinction for GS million miler companions)

Probably only one of these two is correct. Would love to hear how it actually works if anyone knows.

This has been shown in this forum as false multiple time, It is the type of PP points, not the traveler.

Also believe but less certain, evidence as shown that the PP retain there special PN access even if the account holder is loses status, but this needs verification by others.

Yes, in both directions (GS using 1K PP, non-GS using GS PP). It's pretty clear the coding is embedded in the instrument.

My son will earn 320 PP as a GS (MM companion) this year. Next year, he will revert to 1K status. Will those PP still have that "embedded" GS coding?

Per posters above, given that PP hold the characteristics of PN vs. PZ clearance and not the status-holder, there are still two possibilities:
1) Your son's PP are 1K PP because he earned them via 1K status - it makes no difference that he has GS designation from you via MM companion
2) Your son's PP are GS PP because of the MM companion status

In case #2, I would imagine any reservation that has PP applied (waitlist or confirmed) would maintain the PP status they currently have. From an IT perspective if his PP are currently GS PP, the most United could do (guessing) would be to do a swap of remaining unapplied PP to regular 1K PP.

My best guess overall though is that your son does NOT have GS PP but actually has regular 1K PP because he earned them via 1K qualification. His current (companion) status does not change what PP are automatically granted from United via status qualification. So your scenarios above are moot if his PP are currently 1K (PZ-clearing) PP. You could call and ask GS though or try applying to see if they clear into PN if you find a flight with PN space.

Per my above thoughts, he is earning the PP via 1K qualification so I don't think it matters that he has GS status via MM companion. I believe those PP will currently and at all times have 1K coding.

I know others have had MM companions who earned 1K though and could probably comment.

I have a hard time accepting this point. The first 320 PP everyone earns are technically part of 1K qualification. My son and I are on equal footing as far as earning future status goes: for example we both got the same PQP boosters. As far as the system is concerned, my son could qualify as GS and I could fall short. I'm sure it doesn't know in advance.

I don't recall any data points. Let us know what happens.

It's purely an earned GS distinction though. I just don't know how they would treat it.

I could see on the one hand, as you state they treat you both equally - just as you hitting 1K while having GS status would grant you GS PP, the same for him.
I could also see them not treating GS Companion quite the same and only granting GS PP status if 1K is hit while having earned GS status.

The more I think about it the more split I am but really requires someone else who has lived this scenario to comment.

To your point though: it's nothing to do with knowing the future. If your son truly is just a companion status, he has never earned GS. Thus there's rationale for not getting GS PP. You earned GS and thus get GS PP - it's not about predicting the future it's about current point in time actually with a distinction for earned vs. companion status.

Thanks for your well-considered thoughts on this. Doh, I just realized I have a reservation with his PP applied. It's waitlisted: the waitlist entry says United First (PN). When I click on the '?' mark, I get:

So now, the only question is, what happens Feb 1 and after.

Case #2 applies. The PP are earned while the account has GS status so they are GS PP. The question here is what happens if that account reverts to 1K after the application of the PP. I'd believe that the points would retain the status as of the time at which they were applied, so if they fall off a reservation when they were applied as a GS and are reapplied as a 1K they will count as a 1K. I could be wrong, but that's the way other things w:)rked in the past in this regard.

That's most likely, but it really depends on how the things are coded. We can theorize this to death, but without data points it's all just theory.

Indeed - but based :on past experience I'd expect it to work as I described. I could, of course, be wrong. Hopefully we'll get some data points on this...

That does seem most likely. It seems unlikely that a reservation that was upgraded to PN space would get changed when status reverts to 1K -- certainly not if the upgrade is already confirmed and probably not if it is waitlisted as PN. What happens if you re-book or book a new reservation as a 1K after Jan 31 is an open question. I'll let y'all know when we get to that point.

p.s. I like the Adventure reference. I played it on a PDP-11. Hated those damn twisty little passages.

I'd expect it to work like everything else at United. The PP's are not tagged as GS or 1K PP's. They are simply PP's. Your GS or 1K status only matters when you APPLY the PPs. So if you earn 320 as GS and apply them to a reservation as GS then you are waitlisted for PN. Assuming nothing changes with the reservation United can't be bothered "does current status equal applied status at time of PP application?" So you clear into PN, regardless of current status.

However, if you fall to 1K the following year and you somehow rollover a bunch of PPs and apply those PPs to a reservation then they are applied as "1K PPs" and you are waitlisted for PZ.

This is no different than someone who earns 280 PPs for hitting 1K and then subsequently that year hits GS thanks to their big spend. All of the PPs applied after hitting GS become "GS PPs". I would suspect any PPs applied to reservations *before* the account is upgraded to GS are stuck waitlisted for PZ and would have to be withdrawn and re-applied to waitlist for PN thanks to GS status.

-RM

Indeed - I'd be surprised if it did n:eek:t work this way.