Lurker

UA1k4EVER, since your first post you seem to have indicated that you have some insider information. First, what the upgrade instruments would be called in the merged airline and now that UDUs are to be renamed URU's. Care to elaborate on your source(s)?

And now let's assume for a moment that you are correct in your you crystal balling above. if UACO rename UDUs as URUs (presumably for the reason of expanding their range beyond the Domestic region), then surely UACO will have solved what you perceive as their major problem above of different territories being covered by the 2 instruments.

Please let us in on your secrets

Lurker

UA1K4EVER

Speculating, of course...

Except for the p.s., UDU has always kicked in whenever I have reserved an upgradeable domestic segment, without regard to how many CR1s I had in my inventory. I have generally not bothered putting a CR1 as a "collateral" to guarantee the UG and have been upgraded every time under UDU... then again, my domestic traveling is very limited.... As 1K, unless you do p.s. regularly, UDU and CR1 are redundant for most markets....I speculate.

RE: URU. It is public information that came with the email announcing the change:

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53656,00.html

Elite members can earn unlimited Regional Upgrades

* These versatile upgrades can be used on all domestic routes, including transcontinental p.s.® and Hawaii flights. Regional Upgrades are valid for travel within the continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

CR1 becomes URU but UDU stays UDU.

In fact, it makes sense... Confirmed Regional (CR1) upgrades have become Unlimited Regional upgrades because you can earn as many as you can afford!!

COSPILOT

I think you are mistaken. URU is not the new term for UDU's. United is saying the one can earn unlimited numbers of CR1's. UDU is seperate.

UA1K4EVER

I did not say URU was the new term for UDU (someone misquoted me). Rather, I'd said that URU was the new term for CR1... See above...

TechnoPagan

I guess this is arguing semantics, but I don't think this is the new name just noting that you can now earn more than 8 CR1s. Of course I guess we can adopt the URU and USU (Unlimited Systemwide Upgrades) as there is (theoretically) no limit to how many you could earn.

While the earning potential is unlimited (of course I'm sure someone can figure out how many you could ACTUALLY earn if you flew EVERY day of the year) there is a practical limit, unlike UDU.

UA1K4EVER

The terminology is UA's: Unlimited Regional Upgrades... CR1 no longer applies so I suspect that URU is not too far behind. SWU is already established so I do not see much movement there...

TechnoPagan

Actually they are RU's (Regional Upgrades), unlimited denotes how many you can earn (not capitalized, and the link to "Regional Upgrades" and other references. CR1 is more a a FT thing (Confirmed Region 1).



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notquiteaff

I think it's misleading to use (invent) the term "URU" in the same context as UDU as they are two very different things. I also already have USWUs and UMU (Unlimited Mileage Upgrades), yet I have never heard anyone talk about those using these acronyms. And for good reason.

COSPILOT

I bet if you asked UA unlimited wouldn't be used in the specific title, rather they would simply say regional upgrade. The potential to earn unlimited regional upgrades doesn't define the title. Nevertheless, many terms are FT specific, and if used with many UA staff, you would get a "what?" in response, fastair being a noted exception. Splitting hairs though, I really don't care what they call them, all I know is that I will only earn 4 in 2012, instead of my normal 8 based on 100k of travel. I'm not happy, like many others.

Of course in 2012 I will be using the 12 CR1's/URU's that I earn in 2011, plus my remaining SWU's. 2013 will be the year of pain, not as many CR1's in the bank...

UA1K4EVER

I have no beef with any of this. Calling it CR1 is just fine by me, except that how it is earned, who can earn it and how often it can be earned have little resemblance to CR1...

Try this: Go to your gate agent or check in counter and say I would like to upgrade using one SWU or CR1 or UDU and check out the reaction. In most cases it would be a blank, and then for those who have been confronted with these terms before there is a smile and then ..."Aha, you would like to upgrade using your confirmed regional or you systemwide, etc..."

The terms used to designed upgrades in popular lingo simply do not mean much to most UA representatives...

iluv2fly

Guess what? Nobody is inventing new terms here. Use the standard terms we have been using.

Now can we go back to our regularily scheduled topic?

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

boolean64

Unless you are out of CR-1s and have to do a p.s. trip in the first half of the year (i.e. before you fly 75,000 miles in 2012)

bucktown5

All in favor, say I!! Have you sent this suggestion onto to UAL?

fastair

I'd hardly call the highest level (based on frequency) of frequent flyer "The average Joe". To obtain the top tier in the pecking order, they are asking that (or 100k miles,) while "the average Joe" will most likely never even achieve the gold status. Let's not try to muddy the waters by universalizing the highest tier to every man. It is the highest tier for a reason, and has qualifications that the masses would never even consider, as well as benefits they will never see. "Just to make 1k"? really, it is a trivial thing, that "just" implies a trivial outcome? If it is so trivial that "just" fits, then why is it so important to you?

Also I would bet that the average 1K flies on average, greater than 2 segments on each round trip. That is the minimum number of segments possible on a round trip. Not likely that it is average (in fact, given 1 person takes 1 extra segment, it is not only unlikely, but impossible.)

Spell out the gripes in realistic terms, not hyperbole. You don't convince intelligent people with such outlandish statements that can be refuted so easily.

UA1K4EVER

Fortunately, that will not happen under any realistic scenario. I currently have 5 CR1s, one due to expire in Q1, 2 in Q3 and 2 in Q4 of 2011. Meanwhile, I already have requalified for 1K with 6 SWUs coming my way. I still have 2 SWUs that will be expiring in Feb 2011, so I will burn those on a p.s. flight as I happen to have a business trip to SFO from JFK in Feb. The CR1 that is due to expire in Q1 will be lost. I have 2 TPACS planned by May 2011 and 2 TATL by October, which will get me to 75k EQM. Meanwhile, I would have earned CR1s the old fashioned way (2/Q/10k EQM) and then 2 more for reaching 75K EQM. With a TPAC in Nov 2011, I should requalify for 1K and get two more CR1s of which I have I lost count by now. So, going into 2012 I will have quite a few CR1s in my inventory already....2013 and beyond is when the 4 CR1 guarantee for reaching 1K will kick in. That is you qualify for 1K in Q4 and will have 4 CR1 and 6 SWUs the following year until your reach 1K again in Q4, and the cycle repeats....