USAir Silver - Not Eligible for Upgrades on United Flight?
 

I was flying on a United Flight from DEN to SAN last week using my DM number (close to getting gold for next year). There were several empty first class seats on the flight. What is the upgrade protocol for Star Alliance preferred members flying on a sister airline?

Thanks

There isn't one - UA does not upgrade elites from their own Mileage Plus program without a supporting instrument, and they do not upgrade *A elites nor give them access to Economy Plus seating. This isn't much different than how US treats UA passengers - no upgrades, no reserving exit rows, etc. Not to say that occasionally UA elites don't get upgrades on US and vice versa but it isn't common nor is it standard protocol.

All you get are the *S or *G benefits: priority boarding, waitlisting, check-in, international lounge access for *G, and I think that's about it. You will get your 25% silver mileage bonus and 500 mile minimum flying UA as a US *S, so that's something.

I'm 1K on UA and don't even get that on USAIR! :(

You get to use the priority check-in and you get Zone 1 boarding, don't you?

Star Alliance details what Silver and Gold status mean and reciprocal upgrades are not part of that.

I'm *A gold with my 1P status with United. There have been many United flight with empty F seats where I sat in economy plus. There have been many flights on US where gate upgrades were for sale and I was stuck in coach.

Enjoy any upgrades you get b/c when the economy goes back up it could return to Silvers not getting upgraded much (*depending on city pairs and flight schedules)

The UA/US *A reciprocity is non-existent for elites on domestic flights except for zone 1 boarding. US allegedly allows UA elites to get preferred seat assignments in Y. IME, UA will seemingly go out of their way to put you in the back of the bus, middle seat and then try to wrangle another $60 out of you for a preferred seat, (economy plus). Admittedly, US does not have this product so a direct comparison is not possible.

Similarly, IME US is fairly liberal in allowing UA RCC members to use the US Club - not so on UA, you must have the RCC add-on and must be flying on UA metal and even then they seem to cringe as they let you in.

The only option for upgrade that I know of is to purchase UA paper upgrade certificates, (you can at least get a slight elite level discount on these) and then try to use them at the gate, (if the GA even knows what they are). This will only work if their are no UA elites left to upgrade - again a revenue source alternative for an improved UA seat that would otherwise go empty.

A bit off-topic, I know, but doesn't US require RCC members to be flying US that day to use the US club? Also, the RCC add-on is a requirement of US, not of UA (UA provides -- i.e., pays for -- US club access to all RCC members, though they charge more for a base membership than US does).

as a us gold, i seem to be offered the economy plus purchase option most times (which i believe they don't always offer as a purchase option??) and have even gotten op ups - if you can even call it that for the minimal difference between econ and econ+ - a fair amount of times. maybe this bump from econ to econ+ is just random, but i'd like to think they offer it to *gold after united higher status members, but before general mp or
the average joe customer?