Well that was a whopper from the agent. A PNR can always be split. Each passenger has a separate ticket.

It looks like they did me a favor by not trying to split it. Thank goodness for FT!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-segments.html

I posted this on another thread, was directed here by a mod:

So it's the passenger's status all the time now - even before the pre-flight departure window, when it used to shift down to the actual passenger's status?

I was on the phone with an agent regarding my 2 kids' PNR which I wanted to split so that they could get upgraded with only R1 (if it happened - it's WL'd now), but he talked me out of it.

1 is 1K. (not yet an adult, but older than 14)

The other is UA*G (14 years, thus required under new UA rules to have parent/guardian, unless we arrange unaccompanied minor service). (Both have gifted status)

Any insights on what I should do?

I separated myself off the PNR and took myself off the WL, but have another ticket confirmed in biz with a different return date. (As I needed to come back earlier, have a second ticket with the return leg on the same flight as them)

Flight is in about 2.25 days / 60 hours and closing... (R0, P9)

Another question would be whether I can/should cancel my original ticket (which was booked together with the kids) or wait if/until they are upgraded?

Edited to Add: Went ahead and canceled my own ticket (matched with theirs), then called in to have the agent notate my new(er) biz ticket - and they just cleared about 1-1.5 hours afterwards.

Also, a lot of other seats were being taken in the biz cabin, so Revenue Management was probably going through the WL and moving people forward...

Confusing Upgrade Process
 

So, myself (1K) and husband (no status) flying tomorrow to Florida. Flight had been sitting at F8 with 8 seats available on the seat map for days. At 72 hours, when the status page was available on the reservation, it looked like 2 people were upgraded. Up until this morning, it was still F8. I wasn't sure if it was best for me to check-in at the T-24 mark or not since I assumed that the EUA sweeps would take place up until the airport takes control. When I got up this morning, I saw that three folks had checked-in and were on the waitlist but not cleared. About 30 minutes later, I saw two people had been upgraded (but they looked to have different last names). So, I went ahead and checked us in - and split our reservation. About 20 minutes after that, i received an email that both of us had cleared. So, very grateful to be in F on a Holiday flight that I am sure will be a zoo - i don't get if splitting our reservation helped us (when I did that we showed up as #1 and #2 on the list) since upgrades seats were only coming out 1 at a time or if we would have been upgraded anyway if I had not checked us in since it appears that there are now 7 people that have been upgraded.

Much prefer the method at AA -

So here's my situation...

Myself (UA Gold), my son (5yo no status) and my wife (lap infant with no status) are traveling from EWR to AUA (Aruba) at the end of this month. As of now (and since booking) our mid week flights (737-900's) are pretty wide open and wondering what my UG strategy options are with my 3 person reservation.

Current Outbound Seat Map: 13 of 20F Seats Open / 8E+ Seats taken besides us.
Current Return Seat Map: 10 of 20F Seats Open / 2E+ Seats taken besides us.

I would assume availability in E+ would be a decent indicator of UG probability as anyone with UA Gold or better would/should already be seated in E+ as we are.

Would my best bet be to split myself and my son (5yo w/ no status) off from my wife w/ lap infant in hopes of a double (or at least single) upgrade?

Only other option would be splitting just myself off (since 5yo cannot be on his own) but as I understand it that would be giving up my extra companion baggage allowance in return for a better UG probability.

Any insight or experiences would be appreciated! ^

Question about splitting PNR for CPU
 

Hello,

My husband and I are flying SFO-LAS next week and F is about half full so we are hoping for (but not expecting) a CPU. I am platinum and he is gold.

If I split him off do I have a better chance at the CPU? I would do it in a heartbeat :D

The OP with the 5 year old should split himself and the child. Make sure to give the wife an aisle with an empty middle with your 5 yo in the window and yourself in the other aisle.

The OP with the Gold husband should sit tight unless R is less than 2 before the Plat sweep. That gives the husband a fighting chance at a companion CPU. Then again...even a Plat out of SFO has low odds.

While true... the OP asked if splitting gives her a better chance at the CPU, which it will ;)

Only if R is less than 2. If R is 2, her chances are the same, and her husband gets to tag along.

To be precise, only if CPU inventory is less than 2. R is not necessarily an indicator of what UA's going to do with CPUs. That inventory is not displayed.

I would not split prior to T-72 (Plat sweep), and even after that would probably wait until check-in.

To split or not to split PNR {Archive}
 

I see your point, but disagree with the precision - in that since she can't see it, best guess is R. Whether she'll be upgraded or not is covered in the "R is above 1 but no CPU thread" versus the split thread.

Happy you agree with the overall conclusion of not splitting anyways.

My husband and I are both Platinum on AA but have decided to try something different this year. He applied for a status match/challenge on UA, I didn't, so I have no status while he is temporarily Gold (looks like he'll meet the challenge and stay Gold for this year).

I AM SO CONFUSED by the process of splitting the PNR and assigning upgrades on United. We used the app to each check-in for LAX-CUN last week. Hubby apparently split the PNR (not sure he was clear on what he was doing!) and got upgraded immediately, and we thought that I would be eligible for an upgrade at the airport. However, I was not on the upgrade list and none of the 3 employees we talked to (at the check-in counter, and then 2 gate agents) could explain why I wasn't on the list or even if I should be. So I flew in his seat. :cool: But the plane went out with an empty seat in F. :td:

On the return, he was again immediately upgraded on check-in. When we got to the CUN airport, he spoke to the agent at 1st class check-in who immediately added me to the #1 spot on the upgrade list. I ended up with the only upgrade at the gate which was nice. ^

So, what was supposed to happen? Was I supposed to be denied a spot on the upgrade list as they did at LAX, or was I supposed to be added to it as they did at CUN? One agent at LAX was very rude as she informed me that I had no status and no right to upgrades, and the only way to get a seat in F was to pay almost $1400.

You are supposed to be on the list, at the bottom of the Golds.

I would suggest your husband write customer care about the failure to process the upgrade at LAX, emphasizing that the F seat went out empty. That is a violation of policy and they should give you some miles.

Ok, I'm just learning about this today. I read through a bunch of the threads, and I didn't really see this question answered. I always put my wife on the PNR with me, now that I am UA silver. Today, I was asked if I wanted to split the PNR to show my name on the CPU eligible list online. I said yes, but she somehow didn't do it. It's no big deal. They said I can only now qualify for an upgrade if I do it at the gate. I am just assuming we'll stay in E+.

So, going forward, I'm trying to figure out if this will work once I become gold status (should easily hit it this year). If I were gold, I'm assuming I could still put us on the same PNR, not split it, and then wait for an upgrade. If I need to break the PNR, I'm more concerned I could get it and she wouldn't. She will likely never have much status, as most of my travel is for work.

What is the best way to do it if I only want an upgrade if we both can be upgraded? We won't split up.

Gate CPU is only as individuals -- no guarantee for both.

If you want none or all guarantee, do not take the check-in option to be placed on the waitlist. Do not split the PNR.

Some will suggest you take the gate option and then swap seats back to economy if only one is upgraded. Could get a little awkward if the the person in economy wants to stay in economy but most single travelers will gladly swap.