WineCountryUA

yes realize that -- was referring to K,L,S ... (international) as another case of not allowed by rule to upgrade but successful at gate.
But we are getting OT

blueman2

I have asked to upgrade Z domestic numerous times. Never granted.

Ari

At least the rule changes January 12th.

mauiUAflyer

I've only had luck with op-ups and UFC for Z fares. Unlike others, no luck with SWUs or CR-1s (but the op-ups are nice, so it all works out in the end, I guess)

Curious to see if the $500 co-pay for upgrading Z fares next year also applies to domestic. Seems a tad high (but then so do the co-pays for HI flights, I guess).

raptor288

It looks like the co-pay is $100 and 15,000 miles.

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53079,00.html has the chart with the info for miles and fare class.

mauiUAflyer

Cool, thanks for pointing that out.

maverickNW

Edited

I did find (I think) the fare rules by trying to make another purchase on United .com and clicking into the fare rules for another ZHOL flight. One thing I was curious about was:
" C. EXCHANGE - CHANGE TO 1ST TICKETED FLIGHT /
WHOLLY UNUSED TICKET -- FULL VALUE OF A WHOLLY UNUSED TICKET MAY
BE APPLIED TOWARDS PURCHASE OF A NEW TICKET PRICED AT -CURRENT-
FARE LEVELS UPON PAYMENT OF THE CHANGE FEE CONTAINED WITHIN THIS
RULE AND ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARE //RESIDUAL IF ANY RETURNED IN THE
FORM OF A NON-REFUNDABLE VOUCHER VALID ON UNITED
AIRLINES//AGENCY ISSUE MCO --PROVIDED-- --ORIGINAL RESERVATIONS
ARE CANCELED PRIOR TO ORIGINALLY SCHEDULE FLIGHT --- AND ---
RESERVATIONS FOR NEW ITINERARY ARE MADE AND TICKETS REISSUED NO
LATER THAN 1 YEAR FROM DATE OF ISSUE ON ORIGINAL PURCHASED
TICKET. -- THE NON-REFUNDABLE CANCELLATION AMOUNT OF THE TICKET
BEING EXCHANGED REMAINS NON-REFUNDABLE AND CARRIED FORWARD IN
THE ENDORSEMENT BOX OF THE NEW TICKET. -"
Does this mean I can use the ticket value (~$3.5K) as essentially a United "credit" good for 12 months (even on multiple tickets, different routes)? Does this relate to my last question above?

raptor288

You would lose the change fee (maybe somewhere between $250-500) I think and receive residual value of the ticket in United Credit linked to your MP #. After you buy one ticket with it, they send you the rest balance in a paper voucher.

However, there are typically emergency medical provisions in the fare for family members and traveling companions who come ill. Try talking to united and seeing if they'll apply that rule based on your situation. That is usually a full refund to your card.

I'm very sorry to hear about your girlfriend, our thoughts are with her.

Ed ONeill

They have a variety of hardship guidelines. I had a similar difficult situation, and found their change/reaccomodation process to be fair and reasonable.

Absolutely call and ask about this. As you will hear often on FT, your mileage may very depending on the agent you get, so if you don't like the answer, hang up and call back.

maverickNW

Thanks all!

blueplanet

Best way to find cheap fares is to google something like "business class discounts" and then call the best most reputable ones.

The good ones can give you Z fares, consolidator fares, and even discounts on published fares.

cranford

i can understand why UA hesitates to make Z fares upgradeable in advance, with SWUs since the cashcow is the C ticket. However i think it is a very small ask, to make the Z ticket upgradeable at the gate, when F is available, as it is with LH

JSlo

I tried a couple searches for naught. Mods if there is a thread I apologize.

For any transpac frequent fliers, can anyone give me the .02 cents on Z fares v. full Y? What is the typical price range of these, does Z ever fall below full Y? Currently our company only allows discount Y, but some discussion over policy/current fare buckets pros/cons. thanks in advance for any info.

ptspellman

Z is frequently WELL below Y. I just searched SFO to MEL. >$8K in Y, <$5K in Z. I think that is pretty typical for advance purchases.

JSlo

Is there a way to search the .bomb for a specific Z fare? when you choose "business-lowest" or whatever is it already routing you Z fare?