FlyinHawaiian

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ue-united.html

exerda

My guess if they're only selling 4 more C seats is "no." That may mean they have less than 4 seats left and are willing to slightly oversell. It also means that if there are as few as 4 GS or 1Ks ahead of you for the upgrade, or 1Ps on a higher fare, then you won't clear. Don't forget the fact UA may offer a cash upgrade to even GMs on K which would clear ahead of your miles + money upgrade.

Good luck!

WineCountryUA

No, fare classes are accumulative
The above means they are willing to sell up to 3 business seats (but only one at a D fare) and up to 5 FC seats (at either F or A fares)

maybe

additionally UA is willing to oversell C if F space exists, so the C3 may not mean there are 3 open seats in C -- for your example they may be only 1 open C but UA will over sell C by 2 and opup some paying C customer.

LarkSFO

J is full fare Business Class... I do not know if J is a superset including C and D, or if the total available business seats is J + C + D....

Seth has done a great job here:

http://milepoint.com/forums/wiki/uni...ileage-earning

And there is this thread too:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...uckets-ua.html

J - Full Fare Business
C - Full Fare Business
D - Full Fare Business
P - Discount Business
Z - Deep Discount Business

exerda

Unfortunately, it doesn't mean it's not being offered; we've had several reports here of for example 1Ks waitlisted for the u/g with a SWU and not getting any offer for UFC, yet GMs on the same itinerary are offered the UFC.

If you were offered UFC and took it, yes, you'd get your miles back.



No, fare buckets don't sum. It means UA is willing to sell 3 full C seats and one discounted (D) C seat; it's possible if they sold a full C ticket, the D inventory would disappear even though no one bought the D ticket.

It could even mean there's really only 1 C seat left, but they're willing to oversell by a couple (as they can always upgrade someone to F to accommodate them, given the F5/A5 availability). Or they could have exactly 3 seats left in C. It's almost certain, though, that they have no more than 3 C seats left.

exerda

Congratulations! ^

bmrsjohn

Not looking good. No NC0 and only 7 open seats on seat map

UAatSFO

This was my first year at 1k and I failed to use some of my SWUs because it took me a while to work out I needed specific fare codes. I hope to do better next year (1k again) and am looking for advice.

My first big trip is SFO to SYD. The base fare (S) is currently $1,500. If I say I want to use an SWU, the fare goes up to $2,400. In my view, $1,000 is a lot to pay for the mere possibility of an upgrade. Am I missing something? More particularly, am I right in thinking that I might be able, if I called an agent, to buy a lower-priced ticket at a code that does not currently allow for the possibility of an upgrade but might do so before the time I travel?

If anyone has any more general advice on how to use SWUs without paying a lot more to get a suitable fare code, I'd be grateful. My most common route is SFO-LHR followed by SFO-FRA.

ChrisFlyer66

--What you described is the dilemma we all face. You will almost always pay a lot more for the ticket if it is upgradeable. The best advice I can give is to use expertflyer or KVS tool to find flights with available upgrades, and purchase an upgradeable fare on those flights and apply the SWU right away. Otherwise it is a gamble, and nothing can be more frustrating than paying more for an upgradeable fare then sitting in coach because the upgrade didn't clear.

mahasamatman

Welcome to FT, UAatSFO!

If it does not currently allow an upgrade, it never will, and UA eliminated free upfares years ago. To upfare now, you need to pay the fare difference plus a penalty fee.

craz

1stly welcome to Ft

had you asked this question a yr or more ago I wuld have answered it completely different. But you didnt and that UA is really the old CO when it comes to these things among others. No way would I spend anything more then the lowest fare basis, sure that would mean not being able to use the SWUs but Id be pretty darn if I ended up paying $1000 more to sit in the exact same Y seat I could have with that $1k still in my pocket

UA (CO) has changed the clearing process mainly to day of and if you look at a number of threads youd see alot of FTers ended up with their SWUs not clearing this past yr.

If (hardly doubt it will be the case) your SWU can be Confirmed at time of purchase thats something else. But no way will I play COs game and roll the dice and hope that someway my SWU clears, maybe if it was an extra $100 but no way at an extra $1000

Now if youre the type of person who would have no 2nd thoughts about putting a $1k chip down on a single # on a Roulette board, then maybe COs game is right up your alley, but its not up mine nor would I ever put even a $100 chip on a single #. since to a large extent today that is what you are doing, you are gambling and hoping everything falls your way with the SWU clearing and the % has gone down in '11 over previous yrs when it comes to this

zigzagg900

If you know which dates you want to fly, you can pretend to book a standard award. This way all flights will pop up. Select the flight you want, click flight info and all fare buckets will show up including upgrades and awards. If you see NC1 or NC2 for example then that flight has upgrades available. Be sure your profile is in expert mode.

mahasamatman

They got rid of that distinction months ago. There is no more procedural difference between booking a Standard award and a Saver award.

mmack

It also helps, esp on a SFO-SYD flight, to fly off peak and book early. (There is a thread on this subject). I look up flights about six months in advance to be sure my UG will clear at booking.

SFOTurtle

How much is NZ Premium Economy on this route? For $2400, I think you would be able to get premium economy on NZ on the 744 and be guaranteed of a very nice, if not C, travel experience. I would not even think of paying that price for a coach fare on UA and the privilege of being on a waitlist that probably won't clear or if it does, won't be until the day of travel.