"Upgrade Waitlisted" to "Upgrade Denied" - What Does This Mean?
May 31, 2010, 6:32 pm
#121
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Jun 1, 2010, 11:33 am
#122
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Hiding under the trees in Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K 2.5MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,306
Thanks for this. I just had my first instance of Upgrade : Denied. Half of the 12 F seats on my Wednesday DEN-SFO flight are open, and the Coach cabin looks fairly light. Hard to believe there would be that many 1K's and GSs ahead of me on the upgrade list. I'll try to be calm about my chances.
I may try to hop an earlier flight anyway.
I may try to hop an earlier flight anyway.
Jun 1, 2010, 7:03 pm
#123
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 58
My upgrade attempt (e500 because I'm a 3P) was also denied unceremoniously. Now 0 for 5 with upgrades in the last two months; I am starting to get the hint...
Jun 1, 2010, 7:21 pm
#124
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: DL DM, AS MVP 100K, Amtrak peon, Colbert Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 4,534
Thanks for this. I just had my first instance of Upgrade : Denied. Half of the 12 F seats on my Wednesday DEN-SFO flight are open, and the Coach cabin looks fairly light. Hard to believe there would be that many 1K's and GSs ahead of me on the upgrade list. I'll try to be calm about my chances.
"Denied" does not equal "Failed". Even while waitlisted and "Denied", one's upgrade can still clear anytime up until departure. If you think about it logically, no one has a crystal ball that could definitively say in advance that the C or F cabin will be completely full and upgraders will be shut out. Even if a cabin is "sold out" there are always cancellations, changes, and no-shows. You're never truly "denied" until you're buckled into your Y seat and the plane pushes back from the gate. Hope this helps.
Jun 1, 2010, 8:04 pm
#125
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,976
Two weeks ago, when I checked my itin on .crap, the outbound flight - which was upgraded 120 hours out - had "Upgrade: Denied" followed by 1A.
Jun 1, 2010, 9:00 pm
#126
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Jun 1, 2010, 9:59 pm
#127
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
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Posts: 66,859
Probably would not have been much better pre-UDU, especially if your are doung mainline aircraft ex-WAS (or other hubs).
Jun 2, 2010, 8:53 am
#128
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
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*along with other terms of endearment such as .drek, .merde, .kakah and .poop
Jun 2, 2010, 8:55 am
#129
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
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That's kind of what I'm hoping myself... I have an itin IAD-ORD-DCA; ORD-DCA cleared on a A320 just outside the 100 hour window, whereas IAD-ORD on a domestic 763 went to "waitlisted" and now "denied" despite also still being F9 A9 etc. (and the F seat map being wide open). I actually figured the 763 would be the easier of the two to clear given time of day and # of F seats. We'll see. (Yes, the 320 clearing is already in the tracking tool.)
Jun 2, 2010, 9:26 am
#130
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
FYI...I just cleared my upgrade 24 hours out after being shown as "denied" yesterday. 
Jun 2, 2010, 3:35 pm
#131
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: SF, CA USA
Programs: UA 1K MM, RCC, PreChk , Hertz 5* Gold, HH Silver, SPG Gold thx to Amex Plat
Posts: 490
Had my first "upgrade denied" occurence a couple of weeks ago for a ORD-SFO flight (on a 757). When I got to the gate, the screen showed:
Needless to say, my upgrade was truly denied.
- 39 pending upgrades
- 2 FC seats available (changed to 1 just before boarding started)
- Me: #3 on the list
Needless to say, my upgrade was truly denied.
Jun 3, 2010, 12:08 pm
#132
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SEA, OGG(I wish)
Programs: was UA 1K now Gold, cuz UA 1.3 MM; HA,DL,AS (no status in these), Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,238
A lttle variation on the theme
Booked international flight (SEA-SYD, etc) on May 29 (W fare + SWU). Initially got the upgrade pending. Then, about 100-120 hrs out, both overseas legs cleared to NC & the domestic return (LAX-SEA) cleared as an NF. This left the initial leg (SEA-SFO) in pending/waitlisted until yesterday when it changed to "Denied". I took this as a sign that something good just might happen. And so it did: this am it said Cabin: First(NF), Flight: Confirmed, Upgrade: Denied, but all references to the originally confirmed E+ seat were missing. So, clicked on Choose Seats, F cabin popped out & selected 1B. Itinerary still says "Upgrade: Denied, Seat 01B. Huh? Surely someone at UA reads these threads & isn't it about time to deal with "Denied", or are they in denial?
Jun 3, 2010, 1:01 pm
#133
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Programs: UA Premier Platinum 1MM, HH Diamond
Posts: 251
I've had this happen twice now. The first, at the beginning of May, was for a UDU ORD-SFO at 6 or 7am on a Saturday morning. When boarding began, I was #6 on the upgrade list with only one seat available. Needless to say, I didn't get the upgrade.
The second time was on Monday, on a 757 from SFO to ORD at 1:50pm. I was using an SWU as part of a trip from ICN-SFO-ORD. Before I boarded at ICN, 1st on the SFO-ORD segment showed less than half full, and the ticketing agent told me I was first on the list. When I asked at the RCC in SFO, the agent there handed me an upgraded boarding pass.
So, I have no idea what standard they use for that...
The second time was on Monday, on a 757 from SFO to ORD at 1:50pm. I was using an SWU as part of a trip from ICN-SFO-ORD. Before I boarded at ICN, 1st on the SFO-ORD segment showed less than half full, and the ticketing agent told me I was first on the list. When I asked at the RCC in SFO, the agent there handed me an upgraded boarding pass.
So, I have no idea what standard they use for that...
Jun 3, 2010, 1:17 pm
#134
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Posts: 276
My waitlisted request went to "denied" last night at about 80 hours before the flight. I called 1K this morning, and the agent opened up an upgraded seat and assigned it to me.