chandi

I agree with this. I normally buy my flights at best 7-10 days out from Australia or Europe due to the nature of my work. Since I almost always have to buy high fare categories I don't think this will be a huge issue for me.

IMHO many 1k's have neither the knowledge, experience, time or the interest to try and "work" the system.

At the end of the day like most people if UA ticks me off I can always fly another carrier (QF, SQ, DJ?).

rcs85551

Tell you what, my gut feeling tells me that while some want to lobby for less restrictions on SWUs, that this might actually backfire.

I personally would hate it if UA were to relax the fare restrictions on the SWUs while introducing the same co-pay as with mileage upgrades.

Anybody flying on a more expensive fare (=read: not the very cheap elites flying on their T/L/K/S fares) is being penalized over the status quo.

Some as always, YMMV.

But the way the industry is transforming right now, UA certainly won't give the cheapo elites who want to upgrade on the lowest fares more benefits for nothing.

Glenn, I hope you don't take this personally - but what you wrote is the exact scenario of a cheap elite trying to maximize his benefits while flying on the lowest fare. So please don't give them stupid ideas which will in the end penalize the real frequent fliers who simply don't happen to be on rock-bottom fares all the time. To them, an added co-pay to SWUs will be a very bad "enhancement" - and as said, you won't get the upgrades on the lowest fares for free.

Doug 1029

UA just received my email. I'm with you ozstamps on this one.

TravelManKen

Count me in with ozstamps on this one, as this is a subject that has grinded on me for several months now. I've been a 1K since 2000, and it used to be any published fare (excluding group, priceline, etc.) which I think is a logical way to reward the most loyal customers. Earlier this year, for the first time ever, I was refused the use of a SWU. While flying IAD-PEK I was told I would have to buy-up to a new fare (~$600 more) if I wanted to use my SWU, otherwise I would have to enjoy my E+ coach seat (my wife was on the same flight in award C).

We have always flown this way for international, award for wife, economy + SWU for me. As self-employed persons, we don't have the resources to spend thousands on air tickets, but remain loyal (she is a 2P) to a single airline in hopes of reaping the benefits. Allowing the use of SWUs on all published fares is a reasonable benefit that should be returned to 1Ks.

why fly

I did not know UA was changing the rules for SWU........ Email sent!

BenjaminNYC

Your limited resources are not a reason for UA to make SWU's useful on the cheapest fares. It is wholly unreasonable to expect any airline to allow upgrades to international Business on the deep discount Coach fares. You're lucky UA has such a generous policy that it does. I think it's absurdly liberal.

How is UA changing the SWU rules? Which rule in changin. The isn't at you - it's how this "campaign" has already confused you into sending a likely incorrect email to you.

chitownflyer

My thought on this is United might make SWUs elegible on all fares, and then make 1Ks pay a copay to use them as well which would make things much worse. BTW, inventory management has become ridiculous on some routes like ORD-HKG only allocating NC1 on Tuesday and Wednesday flights months in advance and setting everything else to NC0.

BenjaminNYC

Should just be a co-pay on the cheap fares. This would be very logical.

If by "ridiculous", you mean preserving seats for paid pax and irrops in a proper fashion and not wasting them on pre-assigned upgrades, I agree. ^

1cericks

Why not instead (or also) ask United to waive the copay entirely for elites and their companion travellers? They already waive/discount fees for lots of other benefits (cheaper e500 purchase, baggage fees, mileage redeposit fees, close in award fees, etc).

why fly

OOPS so its just gossip that UA has changed rules for SWU for next year... I have been off FT for two weeks... I guess I need to read some threads, thanks.

jackonferry

...or perhaps I just don't understand the new rules. But, UA isn't going to open the whole C section for upgrade. Neither are they going to "give away" all of the upgrade opportunities to the miles+co-pay crowd. Elites will still be able to use an SWU on a higher fare, with the risk that you might not get the upgrade. You bank on status to help you get the upgrade. So, really, not much has changed, except the introduction of a second option -- miles+co-pay. You get the miles and co-pay back if the upgrade doesn't clear. You won't get the fare difference back, as always, if your SWU upgrade doesn't clear.

RS250Racer

You guys need to keep one thing in mind...upgrades will not be harder to get...the economy is very weak, UA is furloughing 380 pilots in Jan. The planes are not going to be full...trust me, upgrades will not be that hard!

mahasamatman

The change is to mileage upgrades, not SWU upgrades. ozstamps' proposal would be a change to SWUs.

mre5765

My takeaway was that SWUs would if anything, be more valuable, at least to the set of people that can purchase the higher fares. That set of people likely has an employer paying for the upgradeable fare.

As I am not in that set, SWUs remain, as before, useless to me.

MacDanny

It would seem Jack has the right idea here. The only impact of this co-pay thing on a SWU user, would maybe be a seat or two way ahead of time. The way IM works these days, is that there is barely any NC space open ahead of time.

Once the waitlist comes out, the person who has at least a 'W' fare will be sitting pretty since they will be ahead of all the less than 'W' fare people, plus the 1K status will be trumping whatever status they have.

Are Jack and I missing something? It seems like elites are no worse off.