Upgrade Help
 

Hello all:

If I am going to get a Y fare and attempt to upgrade with miles to business on an international flight, how should I used seatcounter to my advantage? What am I really looking for? I would assume the more open C seats, the better; but what about a flight that is filling up fast...is there any advantage to that flight? (possible op-up, etc.). Any tips would be useful...thanks!

Thanks. I am a new 2P becoming a 1P after my next flight.

Set Expert Mode on your .bomb profile and do a Standard Award search. Look for NC/NF availability.

EDIT: Welcome to FT!

Thanks!
 

I use expert mode, but never have search for awards this way. Thanks!!

To be even more certain, just call UAL before you book and ask about NC availability on the flights you are interested in booking. There have been a few cases where phantom upgrade space showed up on the website while UAL reps couldn't actually see (or honor) the apparent availability. If you're thinking that hard about buying a Y fare, best to make sure before you purchase (or at least make sure within 24 hours after booking, and if upgrade space isn't available, cancel your ticket).

Have you looked into the availability of Z fares on the route? Might not be that much more expensive than full Y and you wouldn't need to use any miles.

Hmmm
 

Most all the flight options say 0 for NC (this is the upgrade to business, right?). Is this because they have not released the seats yet or is this an actual number of seats they will have to upgrade with miles (15K for Y fare).

Thanks.

It usually means that seats haven't been released yet. You can request the upgrade and you'll be waitlisted.

Yes, NC is upgrade to business. NY is upgrade to First.

IIRC, NF is upgrade to First, NY is saver award for 1K

I thought NF is upgrade to first ?

Keep in mind you can often get a Z fare for less than a Y fare. But Z usually comes with heavy restrictions.

What's route are you flying? I would probably purchase a Z over purchasing Y and risking not getting the upgrade....of course that depends on the route.


Halothane

Sorry, yes, NF is the upgrade to first. Brain fart...

"a few" → "many". There are also many cases where the web site shows NC0/NF0 and the upgrade clears upon booking.

How/where do you set expert mode in .bomb? Thanks

My Profile | My travel preferences | Display preferences | Availability format

Similar situation here:

Flying LHR-DEN tomorrow on a B fare and requested miles upgrade (15k) and have been on the waitlist since the day I booked.

Y looks to be completely full but there's more than 20 open C seats (confirmed with dummy bookings). Not sure why IM isn't releasing seats. I doubt there's going to be that many full fare business flyers less than 24 hrs to flighttime.

Since I'm a 1P on a B fare I should be towards the top of the list, correct?