A funny thing happened this morning and before I book my 10 remaining flights this year I need some clarification. Flew DXB-IAD-LGA-IAH. At least this was supposed to be our return itinerary. 3 people flew - I am United Gold, friend United Silver and her daughter no status. DXB-IAD went smoothly. Even made it through customs in time. IAD-LGA was where problems started. Boarded plane taxied to runway then were informed no landings at LGA. So we sat for approx 45 minutes then returned to gate. We quickly realized there was no way to make our connection so once off plane tried to rebook. After 14 hours in air, we were still polite until it became apparent there was an issue with getting another flight booked. My friend had paid for economy plus for herself and her daughter. Even after being shown a receipt on United's website for the upgrade purchase, customer service advised that they could not book them in Economy plus because they could have gotten those seats by Economy being full. Not sure what this had to do with receipt. They then gave me my boarding pass in 35B. I advised them that I was Gold and would like a seat in Economy +. I was advised that I was on the upgrade list??? What?? I then requested an aisle seat and was told I was on upgrade list??? My friend had a middle seat in economy but her daughter with no status had an aisle seat. We then took boarding passes and headed for a supervisor. This is where my question is. We all got aisle seats on the flights we found, but I looked at the upgrade list and I was number 12 ( no I was not surprised), but my friend (United Silver). Was number 2. I asked the supervisor what was going on and the answer shocked me. She replied " the silver must have purchased a different fare class. Anytime a silver purchases a higher fare class than Gold, they will be higher on upgrade list than Gold." What??? So if I pay more regardless of status I will move up list?
It's a mixture of the two things, I know it's been explained on here at least a couple of times. Seth (WA) had a nice post on his blog that explained it at one time (I think, could have been someone else) or he did a good job laying it out somewhere on the board here. I do know that a Silver buying a Y or B fare will be higher on the list than a Gold buying a S fare. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think it has to do with fare "buckets" So it goes Full fare or discount full fare economy (Y,B) 1K - Silver Standard Economy (M,E,U,H,Q,V,W) 1K - Silver Discount Economy (S,T,L,K,G,U) 1K-Silver And you're further prioritized within the buckets themselves. I've given up trying to figure out UA's updrade policy and prefer to find other Premier's on my flight and we play a modified version of BINGO.
This is from the website: The following is the order of priority, within five days, on flights that are eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades: Premier members on eligible Y- and B-class fares, as well as Premier 1K members on M-class fares: Instant upgrades that weren't confirmed in advance, sorted by fare class, then Premier status All travelers on waitlisted Global Premier Upgrades, Regional Premier Upgrades, and MileagePlus Upgrade Awards: Sorted by Premier status of the redeeming account, then fare class and time of request All remaining Premier members using Complimentary Premier Upgrades**: Sorted by Premier status, then fare class and award travel*** Priority within 24 hours New waitlist requests for MileagePlus Upgrade Awards, Regional Premier Upgrades, and Global Premier Upgrades can be made until 24 hours prior to departure. At 24 hours from departure, waitlists will expire and automatic processing of upgrades, per the priority listed above, will continue. As customers check in, they will be placed on an airport upgrade standby list. This standby list will clear after check-in is closed, and is based on Premier status and fare class. Learn more about the upgrade standby list. So unless your friend paid a Y or B fare, something was askew.
See, I've read that same thing online as well but have seen many instances where lower elites get upgrades within the same fare class. They still have many glitches to work out.
The agent was confused and thus wrong. A Gold on a K fare should be ahead of a Silver on a K fare. The only time a Silver would be ahead of a Gold in pecking order would be if the former purchased a full fare economy ticket (Y/B). The Silver would still be ahead of 1K under the same conditions, except for a 1K on M fare, where the 1K status would trump a Silver on Y/B...
You may have purchased K originally but the rebooking ma have been in Y or B, causing that discrepancy. As for the E+ denial, that's just agents making bad decisions. I've experienced a decent amount of that at both IAD and EWR the past few days, while the phone agents have been quite helpful.
I don't believe this is correct. The M fare upgrades into PN in advance only for 1K/GS but, as I understand the rules, the list priority is all Y fares by status then B by status and then the 1K M would be next.
To add insult to injury, I just got home but luggage didn't. 2 out of the 3 of us got theirs but mine is MIA
Hi, first time Premier (Silver) here, how do I get my name on the CPU list? Is it automatic, or do I request it on my phone app or tell the gate agent? I don't expect to get upgraded (unless I'm in Y/B), but it would be nice to see my name on the list
I have only one instance where I can verify above. I purchased M fare when F was already full and ended up #2 on wait list as 1K. I asked the GA and she said #1 was Y. I didn't bother to ask status, just assumed Y trumped M in that specific situation.
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