Can one waitlist for an award for a preferred flight? Can one be confirmed on one date, but try to standby for an earlier date? If so, assuming there is one seat empty, would they open it up?

thanks
goodo

Yeah, you can do that. Official policy is that you can WL for 3 dates in each direction. Where things get a little tricky, is that once you ticket your reservation, you become locked into the class of service booked. This means that if you're able to confirm C, but WL for F, as soon as you decide to part with your miles, you're stuck in C and will have to fork over the change fee in order to switch F, should it become available. Fortunately, there are two ways to avoid winding up in this situation:

1) don't ticket until the day of your flight. In theory you can only hold award seats for 14 days, but in practice you can call up at the end of your 14 days and book a new reservation. While this practice is frowned upon, most agents are sympathetic when you explain what you're trying to do (and that it's not your fault that UA is stingy as hell when it comes to releasing XF inventory). Furthermore, even if they say "no", they can't stop you from canceling your res and calling back minutes later;
2) if just one of your segments clears in XF (even two class), you are permitted to ticket at the higher F award level. This strategy is a bit of gamble because you might end up riding in C for the price of F, but since you are free to change all dates once ticketed, you should have no trouble sitting upfront if your schedule is a bit flexible.

For me, WLs have been clearing about a week in advance for light loads and 2 days in advance for fuller flights. Some would argue that this system is more than a bit inconvenient, but my experiences with the system in 2002 were nothing but positive in 2002 -- I flew 3 international RTs in XF and sat up front on every single flight. Moreover, only once did I have to travel on a second-choice date, and that was just one day after my preferred date.

One more thing: I always make sure to get on the PA1 WL (with an FFCC designator). I'm not sure how much of a factor this is with respect to WL clearing times, but I would still suggest pressing for this status if you want to maximize your chances.

I have "held" one flight and WL'ed for anothre twice - both times they have cleared. Once without prodding, once by asking the agent (premier then) to inquire for me.