Specifically at the time the upgrade is first requested and is put on "the list"... I know that they say that the earlier you request an upgrade the better, but does the status of the passenger get notated at that point, when initially put on the list?

My situation: I want to request an upgrade on an LAX-IAD flight (June) using e-500's. Right now I am 2P. However, on a transcon flight Tuesday (LAX-MCO, 5/6), I will cross the 1P threshold (YaY!). Does status only matter inside the clearance window? Or would it be better if I wait until my status clears to request the upgrade to begin with... that is, I will be a 1P at the point of request. Or does it not really matter that early.



p.s. --Any hints on how long it will take my status to reflect? I need to reserve some exit rows!

check the FAQ, there is some good info in there.

But as a 2P or 1P, using miles or e500's, you'll be on the PB waitlist. (And if using e500's you'll be "pending" until your window). 1K's go on the PA waitlist; if you use an SWU or a CR-1, you'll also be on the PA list.

About the best you can do is get on the list ASAP... if well in advance of the flight, use miles (or similar) as if they open up NC/NF space you'll be able to take advantage of it. Otherwise things will have to wait until your window opens. Tougher then.

Evidence suggests that e500s go on PA for all elite members. Miles from 1P or lower are apparently the only upgrades that go on PB, as far as I can tell.

That said, I have no idea about if you put in a Pending request as a 2P, whether the system will recognize that you are a 1P and confirm/waitlist the request at the 1P window. Personally, if the request will be Pending anyway, I would wait until after you turn 1P, just in case. The time at which you go Pending doesn't really matter, since the request isn't even officially considered until the window opens.

I'm confused. PB is not supposed to be touched until PA is empty. But e500's can't clear until the window. Does that mean one PA awaiting his window blocks the entire PB list?

No, when e-500s are pending, the request isn't on the PA list... it's not on any list. e-500 upgrades go on PA only within the window; outside of the window, they are in the ether. So, technically, the answer to your question is no because nobody can be on PA while awaiting the window... if using e-500s, one can only be on PA within the window.

If nobody is on PA and someone is on PB, and someone else is "pending" with e-500s, then if a slot opens up, the PB will get it. However, once the window hits and the e-500 upgrade is no longer pending but rather is waitlisted, then the next slot would go to PA (the e-500 request). In other words, an e-500 request made within the window can trump a PB mileage request made months ago, if it clears before DM. (On DM, which one clears first depends on the status of the requesters.)

Wow, ok this upgrade list stuff is really confusing. I'm still trying to figure it out!

Yeah, I am thinking the same thing... I'll probably just wait until next week (hopefully when my status changes). It doesn't look like putting in a request now has any real effect anyway.

Thanks for all the input... it's very interesting to see how the process works.

I am not sure what PA and PB are--my ignorance. However, every time I speak with the 1K desk on upgrades and the agent actually is responsive, (s)he says something like: Your chances are excellent because you are the only 1k on the list or There are already a lot of 1ks on the list but I can't tell you where you rank. At the RCC, I have been told, "You are on the upgrade list, but there are 1Ks who have already flown more miles this year than you have."

The message I get is that: (1) status matters most; (2) price paid ranks second; and (3) miles accrued is the tie breaker. Time on the wait list is irrelevant. On a recent flight, my ticket was purchased close to the last minute (government) and it looked as if I was in coach. But I got to the airport and was told that I was number 1 on the waitlist (with 2 C seats available!)--and it cleared at the gate. I know from sources at UA that the list was rather long.

At the gate, status is king. Fare paid is a tiebreaker, and time added to the Departure Management (DM) list is the third criterion, not number of miles accrued. Time on the waitlist is irrelevant on DM (although time on DM list isn't).

However, before DM (i.e. earlier than 4-6 hours before departure), time on the waitlist is paramount. That is the one and only criterion, with the exception of the PA vs. PB lists (PB is mileage upgrade requests from 1P or lower; PA is everything else, and clears first), and the very minor exception for the fact that sponsors clear upgrades before their sponsorees regardless of time on the waitlist. Prior to the gate, the waitlists are cleared FIFO, so get on them as soon as you can, to increase your chances. Miles accrued and fare paid have nothing to do with it, nor does status (except for determining whether you go on PA or PB with a mileage upgrade).

If this were true, then as I said, here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...&postcount=186

...a 1P using miles should cancel their mileage upgrade at the window and apply with e-500s. That doesn't make much sense.

I think it's more likely that, as mahasamatman implies, the PA and PB lists are merged into PA at some point, most likely after the 1K e-500 window.

Personally, I'd cancel the mileage upgrade request and go with e-500s anyway, since they are a much better deal. That said... since when does UA make sense?

Based on experience, from when I went from 1P to 1K, my upgrade request made as a 1P did not clear at the 1K window. Calling to re-enter the MP number did not change this. All they could do was cancel the upgrade request and put in a new one.

The fair (or rather the circus) is back at the Security Theater...

Oh nos! I can't believe I did that. In my defense, I'd been up for 38 hours.

But doesn't that put you at the bottom of the list?

In other words if you put in a request with miles say three weeks out and let's say you're 3rd on the list. If you're a 1K and at 105 hours out you've not been confirmed you call and cancel the request and reply with e500's, don't you drop out of position 3 to the back of the line?

Yes, but if you're a 1P you were on the PB list with miles. Better to be on the bottom of the PA list than on the top of the PB list.

For a 1K, the value judgment is more difficult because of the loss of position. For a 1P (which was the subject of the response in the previous post), it's a no-brainer.

Ah good point. Sorry, even though I read the whole thread, I didn't *read* the whole thread. :-p