theblazingwombat

What is the best time to check in if you're waitlisted for an upgrade- should I make the extra effort to get there 2 hrs before a domestic flight, or will this not matter one whit?

I'm flying UA tomorrow on E+. While I'm wait-listed for an upgrade, it hasn't cleared yet and I've passed the 24 hour threshold. It's a long flight (to LIH) so it matters this time

AFJon

Check is ASAP, but monitor your e-mail. I'm willing to bet you'll get a better idea at the gate where you are in the upgrade que.

UALurkerORD

There are lot of threads that discuss this so a little bit of searching should give you the exact answers, but here's my advice... check-in online within 4 hours of your flight. That is the time that the waitlist goes under airport control (DM - Departure Management). At that time all UG will be cleared at the gate. The last tie-breaker in clearing upgrades is time added to the waitlist, however to get to that point you'd have to be put up against someone with your same status and fare class... an unlikely event for most situations.

There's no need to get the airport early, as the waitlist (if it still exists) will likely be cleared in the moments just prior to boarding. I suggest waiting until DM because there is a chance for your upgrade to clear under the normal waitlist due to various reasons. If you check-in and the subsequently your UG clears, it becomes a hassle (although not impossible) to get your correct seat assignment. Again, there's a lot of threads that discuss this issue.

Good luck, and enjoy Hawaii!

santarosaflyer

Check in on-line 24 hours in advance. This determines your departure management check-in time.

90minfromJFK-CDG

Agreed. If your UG clears after you OLCI and before it goes to the DM, offload yourself and re-checkin to get the upgraded seat.

UALurkerORD

I guess I should elaborate if you follow AFJon's advice and check in ASAP... you'll be monitoring your e-mail to see if the UG cleared as I described above. If this happens, you'll have to get unboarded from the flight in order to get your boarding pass. I'm not sure if you can do this though OLCI... i've only done it with CSR at RCC or the GA. Sometimes the GA gives you the cold shoulder if you ask about UG before they are ready to clear others on the list or the board may still show you as on the waitlist, so I usually lead in with "Hi I received an e-mail saying my UG cleared after I checked in".

I tend to think that check-in time on the DM list is overrated as far as UG clearance goes... but I may be the lone dissenter here. I can't argue that it doesn't matter, just that I doubt it will likely come down to that.

theblazingwombat

Thanks. Good tip about "offloading" myself and redoing the OLCI if it clears. Hawaii here I come.

goalie

i thought offloading had to be done by an agent at the airport as reservations and/or web support can't do it?

AFJon

I don't disagree with your points. As a 1P (since UDU) if I'm still waitlisted @ 24 hours out one of two things happens I get called to the podium and given a new seat (3/5 upgrades) or hear first class has checked in full (2/5 denied at the gate).

BookerNYC

I've never had a lick of luck getting a phone agent or web support to offload me such that I can use OLCI to check in again after my upgrade clears. I've had to wait for an airport agent to do it -- by which time it always seems like only the worst seats in FC are left (think Row 1 on the 757).

Having learned the hard way, I never check in more than 4 hours beforehand if my upgrade is still waitlisted. Count me as one who thinks the "time checked in as tiebreaker" thing may be overrated..

UALurkerORD

Yes, I suppose my viewpoint is a little skewed as a 1K. Even before UDU, my main hurdle wasn't getting the upgrade, rather dealing with agents who dont know the offload process should that upgrade clear after OLCI. But I can see as 1P how you'd need to take advantage of every opportunity to get closer to the top of the list.

I'm definitely going to test this theory next time I have a need to. I recently discovered that you can change seats in OLCI after you print a boarding pass (a bit late to the party on that one). Also, you can click "Cancel check-in" after you go through the process. That might be what some people are referring to with offloading from OLCI.

lskohn

But you are 1K and OP is only 1P...if I were OP, I'd check in at 24 hours to get the check-in time advantage over other 1Ps.

COSPILOT

I disagree, check in time does matter, and I can give an example. I checked in for a trip at about the 18 hr mark, a fellow Flyertalk member didn't check in until the airport. At the gate I was #2 on the waitlist, he was #4. Both of us on the same fare, in fact we were both on the same PNR until we split it a week or so ago. Both of us are 1K's. FWIW, my upgrade cleared minutes before boarding. Not that I cared, it was only COS-DEN, but I think it supports the theory that check in time is important when everything else is the same.

1P

Agree if you mean 1 CD, but 1AB with the cut-out are fine by me. I'd much rather sit there than have someone reclining back into my lap.

santarosaflyer

Last week, I did OLCI for SFO-LAX. I was still waitlisted for upgrade. As I was checking my bag at the aiport, I received a prompt at the machine that my upgrade had cleared and to see the agent.