Stupid E500 question
 

Ok, so I read the E500 master thread...and have to say im still a little confused.

I am flying PIT-ORD-EWR next week. IF I read this right....I can get this u/g for ONE E500???? I would do that...not really worth 3 to me though!

So...do I wait until I hit T-72, check seatcounter, and if available, apply? That way I will be assured to get the ONE E500 pulled? This really seems way too good to be true!!!

Well, it is an unusual routing. Seems that upgrade is based upon the distance between PIT and EWR, and the ORD connection is not taken into account.

Enjoy your upgrade(s).

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If they both clear at the same time it should be one e500

[deleted to eliminate confusion]

apologies

Ok, now I am more confused. (BTW, unusual routing, but I REFUSE to step on US...and IAD times didnt work out due to sold out flight). Back to my confusion.

According to the E500 thread, it doesnt say anything about same flight numbers. I am on PIT-ORD #483, ORD-EWR #646.

So...the question remains. IF all u/gs clear before checkin...I should get ONE E500 pulled...correct???

Negatron. For E500s, it's the origin-to-destination mileage that counts, as long as legal connections are made and the O-D upgrade can be cleared at once. If the segments are cleared individually, then it's point-to-point-to-point mileage.

In this case, the question would be is if PIT-ORD-EWR is a legal routing (isn't that known as backtracking?).

If its a legal routing, then only 1 E500 would be pulled.

If its not a legal routing, then 3 E500's would be pulled.

It comes up under "one way flight" search of PIT-EWR. No "forced routing".

Request the upgrade using 500s as early as possible, but some caveats to keep in mind. If you choose later to decline the upgrade because only one segment has cleared, there has to be Y availability to put you back into Coach. If coach is sold out, you have to take the upgrade or possibly bumped because they can't accomodate you.

The upgrade will trigger automatically at your respective window based on available inventory. UA is holding a lot of inventory for day of travel release. If that happens, you want to and don't want to check in until the last minute :D ... you'd want to check in early to get on the upgrade list, but once you check in, you need to have made your decision on the upgrade and asked UA to remove the request previously (or at the ticket counter).

Actually, no. Backtracking/"legal routing" has nothing to do with 500-mile upgrades.

If both segments clear in advance, then one e500 will be pulled at checkin.
If one or both segments do not clear until the gate, then 1+2=3 e500s will be pulled.

It's not your fault that you're confused. There's a fair amount of misinformation in the replies to your question.

Here's the answer. Disregard everything else.
If your upgrades both clear before you check in for the flight, then only 1 e500 will be pulled.
But if they both clear at the gate, or one clears in advance and one clears at the gate, then you will be charged 3 e500s (one for PIT-ORD, one for ORD-LGA).

Flight numbers are irrelevant. Legal routing is irrelevant. Connection time is also irrelevant, as long as you're making a connection (and not, for example, flying back to your origin).

If you do a search on the UA forum, you'll find that most of the posts confirm what I've written above. Or you can just trust me on this. ;) I've upgraded IAD-LAX-PHL on one e500 before, based on the point-to-point distance from IAD to PHL.

Im trusting!!! I have done the search, and have read the comments, just thought it is WAY too good to be TRUE!!! Im a believer.


I have EWR-ORD-IND cleared for 2 E's...and HOPING the PIT-ORD-EWR clears for ONE!!! :D

Thanks for the information CollegeFlyer. ^ Learn something new every day!

It should be especially useful for you as a 1K!
It's a confusing issue because e500s work in confusing (but wonderful!) ways. I learned it all from FT.

[Note to UA lurkers or anyone else seeking to quote my post: permission to edit, omit, or replace with an ellipsis (...) the words "but wonderful" from my sentence is DENIED. I don't want anyone taking my words out of context and claiming that members find 500-mile upgrades "confusing" as an excuse to strip away even more benefits from the Mileage Plus program.]

you can request the upgrade whenever, but it won't clear until the 72 hour mark for a 1p. I think you are higher on the waitlist if you request earlier, so that might help.

but, it is good to keep in mind that you run the risk of clearing one and not clearing the other if you put in the request now...however you can undo an upgrade as long as the flight isn't 100% full in coach.