ContinentalFan

I tend to buy H fares for overseas travel since there's always the remote possibility of upgrading to BF. I understood from a response made by CO Insider six or so months ago that the 24 hour window for wait-listing has disappeared. Here's an excerpt from a message I got today:

Unfortunately, we cannot confirm your request for an upgrade on Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty). In accordance with our policy, courtesy waitlists for OnePass mileage upgrades expire 24 hours before itinerary departure, and are not eligible to be confirmed at the airport.

Can you explain what this 24 hour wait period is? I thought it had disappeared.

The other frustrating thing about this waitlist issue is that I cannot check-in online. Even though I am apparently no longer waitlisted, I can't check-in online, so can't get on the upgrade list--another irritation.

I thought your explanation--and welcome news--last year was clear. It appears to me that nothing has changed--well, actually now I am getting an e-mail message about being booted from the waitlist; that didn't happen last year!

UA Insider

Hi ContinentalFan, I’m sorry for any confusion I may have caused. The issue I addressed 6 months ago was the issue of the closed waitlist – which we did do away with. The 24-hour waitlist expiration policy for mileage upgrades, on the other hand, is still very much in tact. To clarify the difference between the two, the waitlist closure policy was something that impacted your ability to even get on a waitlist, whereas the waitlist expiration policy effectively enforces our policy that prohibits standing by for mileage upgrades within 24 hours of departure. There are some very strong reasons why we still have this policy. In my opinion, this thread (last paragraph of post #18) and this thread (especially posts made by channa and J. Edward) offer the best explanation of why.

The waitlist expiration email you received, which was for your Los Angeles (LAX) to New York/Newark (EWR) flight, is a relatively new service that we started late last year. Although our waitlist expiration policy didn’t change, we’re at least now trying to manage expectations at the first possible moment so that there aren’t any surprises at the airport. This new notification process will also automatically set up your miles to be redeposited if indeed a redeposit is warranted.

The reason you weren’t able to check-in for this itinerary probably had to do with the fact that you were still waitlisted for your flight out of EWR. Unfortunately, check-in can’t occur for any flight that still has a waitlist attached to it. So, at which point you upgrade clears or waitlist expires for your flight out of EWR, you’ll be able to check-in online or at a kiosk.

grahampros

It's reasons like this I switched my business to AA. Far less drama on the international upgrades with AA.

I do understand the "revenue integrity" issues involved, more than most, but CO is well behind the pack in this regard.

I usually travel J/F for international on business and use the upgrades for pleasure travel. Far better luck on AA. A few close calls, but always managed an airport upgrade.

grahampros

It's reasons like this I switched my business to AA. Far less drama on the international upgrades with AA.

I do understand the "revenue integrity" issues involved, more than most, but CO is well behind the pack in this regard.

I usually travel J/F for international on business and use the upgrades for pleasure travel. Far better luck on AA. A few close calls, but always managed an airport upgrade.

ralfp

So does this mean that if I have a r/t, say: IAH-LGW-IAH, where I'm waitlisted for the LGW-IAH segment, I won't be able to OLCI for the IAH-LGW segment (meaning I won't get a good seat, as I'm only silver)?

UA Insider

You'd be okay ralfp. As long as the specific flights you're checking in for don't have any waitlists attached you shouldn't have an issue.

ralfp

Thanks. That's quite a relief.

ContinentalFan

Scott, you were clear; I was dumb. I forgot that the thread was about the waitlist, not the expiration issue.

By the way, I suspect that gaming the system is the reason for the rule. It's a tempting thing to do!


Thanks. I wondered why I got that message.


I assume that the waitlist for all flights would expire the day before I fly. Even trying to check in that morning doesn't work. It might be a passport issue. I'll try again in a week and see what happens.

By the way, to add to confusion, I did have a mileage upgrade clear in January within the 24-hour window. The upgrade didn't show when I looked online before I left LA in the morning; I checked in at LAX and had a coach seat; however, at the gate at EWR, I got a BF seat (the miles were dutifully deducted). Is the only waitlist that expires the domestic leg or is the international supposed to expire too--and I just lucked out?

ContinentalFan

AA's approach is a lot cleaner! I like it. IMHO, their business product isn't as good as Continental's; however, I am eager to see the new B767 business configuration when it's rolled out this year.

J.Edward

You're not the only one who's done something similar

...this policy drove me to the cruel mistress that is UA.

It's a shame there's not some compromise that could be reached in regards to this issue (IIRC there's even been a few threads throwing some ideas out there) about ways to make a win-win for both parties. Anyways, you're spot on about your comment re: CO's BF > AA (old) J and I'd echo it's the same with UA (that is CO's BF > UA's old C). But after all, AA's old J and UA's C still beats the pants off CO's Y; and when one's booking into coach, s/he's looking for the easiest upgrade...not the necessarily the best product.

ContinentalFan

That's where I stand now: business on any legacy carrier is better than coach on CO. In just over a week, I hit Platinum, so I am done with CO for the year: I'll be flying AA. However, this year, I want to join a third program after I get EXP on AA. I'm tempted by Delta since the carrier has elite-for-life and SWU's. They'll only give me Gold, but that's not a big deal. If I hit Platinum and like it, I'd consider switching over everything to Delta.

bocastephen

I just want to make sure I understand the whole mileage upgrade/waitlist policy correctly for domestic flights. Currently, I am waitlisted for the first segment (the other cleared) which is A2D2Z2R2 at this time - so it looks like it will go to the wire.

Is it correct to assume that if my waitlist does not clear before the 24hr cutoff, even being a totally domestic itinerary, I will lose my waitlist status as well as any PR1 priority I would have had at the airport - given the PR1 priority would have put me ahead of everyone else standing by for courtesy upgrades. So after I check-in, while I revert to Platinum-only courtesy upgrade priority based on my ticketed fare class, or do I need to check with the counter to have my waitlist priority changed back to PR1...or will I not even get put on the Elite Upgrade waitlist at all?

UA Insider

Hi bocastephen, if you don't clear 24 hours before the flight is scheduled to depart, your waitlist will expire. If the flight is eligible for a complimentary Elite upgrade, you'll be added to the airport standby list at your respective Elite priority at check-in. The PR1 airport standby classification only applies to customers who've purchased or redeemed miles for a First Class ticket. It's not applicable, however, to upgrades purchased with miles. Best of luck to you.

bocastephen

Thank you for the confirmation. I guess I should have found this thread before doing the upgrade with a segment I couldn't confirm at booking - for some reason, I thought the 24hr rule only applied to BusinessFirst.

CAL PHL FLYER

Basically CO is saying if you want an International First Class seat..Buy it..because your Not going to get upgraded..they allready have the most generous domestic upgrade policy and we allready understand this..im gratefull for the generous domestic upgrade policy and i think thier BusinessFirst Class is a whole different product and its well known their are No Elite upgrades comped to BusinessFirst..thats the rules of the game..you are aware of that when you start palying the game..sorry..no sympathy..@:-)