UCBeau

My mother and I have to fly for Helsinki for a funeral, the funeral is March 1. We'll be leaving Feb. 26, that is pretty much set in stone. Now she is going to stay for 3 weeks, till the 19th. I plan to stay for 5-6 days, returning on March 3/4. Can we do this and still be on my PNR with my MP #? She doesn't have an MP account.

Now, the second part is that I want to book M/H class to FRA or some other gateway, then have UA tack on a segment to HEL. I can't do this on .bomb so I guess I have to call up the 1P line and ask them. Can they put the itineraries on hold so I can purchase online? Can I then call them back up and have them apply the miles to the M/H fares to upgrade us to C? I am NOT 1K so I do not have any SWU's to use.

Obviously I will check upgrade space on the route before booking, and it's more important that she get space in C than I, she's got an artificial knee and even E+ wouldn't be that good for her. Is this scenario feasible or do I need to book separate tickets for both of us?

Thanks.

mahasamatman

No. Two tickets on the same PNR must have the same itineraries.

No. You cannot avoid the telephone ticketing fee this way.

You can call them, or you can just apply the upgrade online.

UCBeau

Thanks for the quick answers ^

UCBeau

Another question: I'm using seatcounter (yes I know it's somewhat sketchy at times) to try and find upgrade availability (I class) but I was wondering if UA releases all it's upgrade seats at once or does it do so gradually?

mahasamatman

Upgrade seats open up whenever Inventory Management decides they want to. That can be at any (or no) time before the flight departs.

UCBeau

When I call 1P can I ask them to confirm availability and if it's available to confirm the upgrade?

mahasamatman

Yes.

lucky9876coins

Yep, they should be able to do it while you're on the phone with them.

UCBeau

Alright thank you guys.

Pat89339

Beau, first of all my condolences to you and your mom.

Have you checked out CC to see if someone is offering 3P status? With the dates a few weeks off, it should be enough time for status to appear for her.

Occasionally MP runs a membership drive where you get miles for referring people purchasing tickets. I didn't see anything on .bomb or on the 1k site for that promotion currently, but maybe you should check with the MP Service Center to see if you can get some extra miles for referring her.

Alternatively, since she's not a MP member, have you looked into award travel for her in C? I take it she's not concerned about earning miles (perish the thought but some people are that way). Then you wouldn't have to worry about where she is sitting.


Pat

UCBeau

Thanks Pat,
I hadn't thought of 3P for her, I actually just gifted my 3P to someone else. My thoughts were that I might as well book a ticket for her using my MP # (if that's possible) so that her miles would go into my account. I don't currently have enough miles for an award ticket and availability looks like it's non-existent for SAN-HEL-SAN, at least on UA. I'm not sure how to book on *A , but I don't have enough miles for that either. If I can get her confirmed C via M/H fare and miles, she'd be pretty much guaranteed a C seat right?

noah

You won't get credit for her flying; the name on the ticket and the MP number must match.You should at the very least open a MP account for her.

If you book a M/H fare and can confirm her upgrade into C, she would be all set.

UCBeau

Hmm I had wondered about that, thanks for confirming it. I just signed her up for an MP account and I guess I have to start looking for 3P nominations.

Pat89339

For future reference to book on *A you need to call.

Yes, you can get her a confirmed C via M/H fare and miles if the seat is available at time of booking, but UA doesnt' fly into HEL does it? If you are mixing carriers, you would need upgrades for both I believe, in which case you may not have enough miles.

UCBeau

UA doesn't fly into HEL, but LH flies into HEL and she's ok with that short of a flight in their E.

Basically our itineraries need to look like this:

UA:
SAN-FRA/ZRH/ETC on M/H fares in C with miles (60k required total)
FRA/ZRH/ETC-HEL on LH in whatever fare is the cheapest

and the return the same way.

Now can she book the ticket on her own MP # and have me sponser her upgrade even though it's using miles?