Hello there! First time poster to the forum - lots of good information here!

Here's my situation:

Traveling with family - 2 adults and 2 kids. I'm the only one with status (1K) and I've requested Mileage Upgrade for all 4 of us. We are currently booked into Premium Economy ("O" class fare). I also hold a United Club card.

Would you recommend splitting? We would need to be a minimum of 2 and 2 (since both kids are minors). Would my wife and kid inherit my status after splitting? What happens on the return?

Thank you in advance!

Welcome to flyertalk!

I'll cautiously recommend that, if you're fine with 1 child and 1 adult in each cabin, that you split to have you + kid1 on one PNR and wife + kid2 on another PNR. In that case, since you requested the upgrade for everyone, likely everyone gets your 1K priority. If your status doesn't get inherited, the 'O' fare class means highest priority among non-status passengers in Prem. Econ. as a backup.

If you want everyone together, don't split but watch for PZ4 like mad, especially within 1mo. of departure.

In this case, the Club card doesn't help anything (except meaning you can guest both kids and leave your wife in the cold if nothing clears).

Thank you!

Why watch PZ4? Do I need to do something to get the upgrades applied?

Check in after everyone else except you and your companion.

You can check in separately. When you check in it will ask about splitting. You can refuse.

Sorry, that was an incompletely-explained reference to this phenomenon:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...available.html

It should be handled automatically, but it may not be. So regardless of whether you split, you should check occasionally-to-frequently for PZ>0 if you waitlist an upgrade. Opening of two spaces is more likely to occur than four, so if you can chance clearing in twos you may all still ultimately clear), then splitting isn't a bad idea.

If you have an instrument applied, you're not eligible for CPU -- the instrument trumps it. I think what you mean is "give up on the possible gate upgrade." That said, AFAIK, if you haven't cleared by the time you get to the airport, you'd be out of luck in terms of avoiding the split. As soon as you check-in, the records will be split. It's not possible for a checked-in passenger to be waitlisted for an instrument upgrade without having split the reservation -- the systems don't permit it.

But, are you saying that your reservation wasn't split automatically at T-24, without checkin in, when you had an instrument applied? That would be new. Previously, waitlisted records were split at T-24 without check-in occurring. You'd sometimes get an email to tell you about it ("Sorry we were unable to confirm your upgrade.")

UA's day-of-departure system will not allow multiple-passenger records to be on a waitlist of any kind (including the standby list). It doesn't have the ability to process multiple passengers at once.

For instrument upgrades, there has been a process that would automatically move uncleared instrument upgrades to the day-of-departure system at T-24, which necessitated splitting the records. The passenger never interacted with this system, and the only way to avoid it was to call to remove the upgrades before T-24. If that is no longer occurring, that would be news.

Got it. I'll watch for it - for now I got lucky and my upgrades cleared just under T-96.

I think the auto-split at T-24 even with a certificate has stopped, actually. Instead it silently happens on check-in.

I believe it was always split at check-in, not T-24. The sweep running at T-(24+ε) just tagged the PNR with the appropriate WLPx SSR code which notified the check-in code to split the PNR and process the addition to the upgrade standby list at the corresponding priority. The check-in interface has an option to decline this for CPU priority but nobody every added it for SSR-driven upgrades. Technically you could still check in without the split, but you would need to find an agent who knows what an SSR code is (and you the pax probably need to be able to tell them that it's an SSR issue) and how to remove it from the PNR manually before processing the check-in. If you managed to do this, you would not be added to the upgrade standby list (though theoretically could still clear off of the PZ waitlist process prior to gate control).

Sorry if this is repeating what folks already know, but new to me. Checked in online (computer, not mobile) for 3-pax itin, one elite (myself). Alerted me to the ability to designate only one companion for upgrades, which it then allowed me to choose from a drop down. I selected one of my companions. The reservation was then split into three PNRs, but my selected companion appeared on the upgrade list with me (just below), and for the return trip also has "CPU requested" (or whatever the language is) showing. It's not clear whether I can move that companion to a different E+ seat online. We'll see if on the return companion appears on upgrade list with me, and where.

The only hiccup was that while the separated non-companion's PNR showed in my account, the retained companion didn't, so I had to log into companion (child's) MP account to get the info to complete checkin. Not sure why I could see one but not the other.

So, so far this seems like exactly the type of behavior that should happen, so long as my designated companion actually retains my status for upgrades. The E+/baggage issue is a possible hassle, but I guess is the cost of having a chance at an upgrade (which in this case is pretty low, with 10/12 booked).