help with upgrades
 

hey all

i recently gained premier associate status with ua and had some questions about upgrades. I know about selecting e+ but wanted to know what the process was for getting First Class. do I have to put in a request before the flight or to talk to the GA?

the one time i tried this she told me i couldn't upgrade even though there were about 7 empty seats.

thoughts, suggestions are much appreciated

You have to have some sort of instrument to support the upgrade. Miles, e-500 certificates, etc... It isn't like US or Delta, with unlimited upgrades based on status. UA requires you to "buy" the upgrade with something.

UA doesn't offer complementary domestic upgrade like other airlines.
You need to support your upgrade with a certificate (or certificates).

As a 3P, you can upgrade domestic flights using e500 upgrades. You earn four e500s for every 10K BIS miles you fly on UA or UX metal - each is good for 500 miles. For example, you'd need 4 e500s to upgrade a flight between 1550-2050 miles (UA gives a 50 mile cushion). You should be able to request upgrades on-line - sometimes they clear, sometimes they don't.

If you're flying on Y or B fares domestically, as an elite member you can be put on the complimentary upgrade list - these upgrades clear in a process similar to the e500s.

Except he's a 3P and cannot earn any e500's...he has to buy them or use miles to upgrade.

Or pay for it with cash, of course.

upgrades
 

much appreciated for the infor

might as well try and get that status on delta to get those automatic upgrades.

just figured flying out of ord that ua was the way to go

You need to start reading. I suggest you go through the FAQ about UA sticky at the top of this forum (link below). Everything about upgrading will be explained to you. No free upgrades; I never managed to clear an upgrade when I was a 3P! So many elites will be ahead of you in line, and as stated, you must have the upgrade instrument to support it. The number of empty F seats is meaningless.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...lines-faq.html

Flying out of ORD, I'd stick with either AA or UA depending on your main destination.
If you fly 100K miles or more, AA EXP also gets unlimited comp. domestic upgrade, so that might be an option.

If you fly any elite heavy routes and don't have at least gold or plat you are going to lose out on those upgrades because they are upgraded whether they want it or not. Whereas on UA the elites have to pick and choose which flights they want to upgrade so you might have a better chance getting upgraded. Just a thought. I would definitely do AA over DL if you don't like UA out of ORD. Tried to get a friend out of there on award miles once on DL and there were no direct flights to LAX had to connect.

I did many times, including the coveted p.s. routes. But then again, I read FT thoroughly! :)

Ditto ... even as a lowly GM

I guess it just depends on the routing. Try the redeye from SFO-IAD. It never happened.

Oops! ;)