New kid on the block here. No status. I'm arranging a trip YOW-SJC. I have to use my corporate travel agency and they are giving me fares in the E fare bucket and the W fare bucket. I want to use some of my miles (30,000) to upgrade to First. Are E fares upgradable using miles? Can I book the upgrade when I book my flight or does the 24 hour upgrade window apply?


Mark

Yes, you can upgrade that with miles.

If there is upgrade space available upon your request, you will be confirmed into F class. Otherwise, you will be placed on your waitlist, on which you may clear at any time through time of departure. If you do not clear ahead of time, you will then go on the Departure Management (DM) list when you check in. At that time, whether or not you will clear at the gate depends on how many F seats are left, and whether others are ahead of you due to higher status, etc.

E isn't upgradeable with miles, but since your trip is within Region 1, W would be acceptable.
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1150,00.html

Even in E?

Thanks. I'd seen that web page but it confused me - the E fare (about $750) is much much higher in $ than the W fare (about $150) yet the W fare is upgradable while E isn't. Is there something odd about E?

Good point - I'm not sure why E isn't upgradeable - has anyone had an experience where they upgraded with E class? I'm suspicious because U and E are newer booking classes that used to be used with Ted only, but not anymore. I wonder if the webpage is just outdated or if the policy itself is outdated.

Upgrades with miles can be confirmed IMMEDIATELY assuming there is availability in the "NF" fare bucket. This is also known as the "X" fare bucket.

When you are choosing flights, you'll want to ensure that they have availability in the "X" fare bucket, so that you can confirm your upgrade immediately.

To check for availability in the "X" fare bucket use the www.seatcounter.com tool.

Enter in the flight origins and destinations and the date. Then in the "preferred airline boxes" put "UA" two of the three boxes. This will search for the UA upgrade and free ticket fare buckets.

You'll need to check each segment individually to ensure availability in the "X" fare bucket to secure the upgrade.

If there is no availability in the "X" fare bucket, you'll be put on the waitlist.

IMHO it is way worth it to research the flights to find flights with "X" availability so that you can immediately confirm the upgrade (so you can get a seat assignment).

I have upgraded a E class (and I am not refering to the weekly e-fares). It was the most expensive domestic ticket I ever bought. IIRC it is last minute non-changeable, non-refundable (at least that was my specific situation).

E fare is upgradable from my experience and it should be as it is a fare between B and M IIRC. I had E class fare from SFO <-> YYZ and was upgraded using CR1 on the outbound.

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like just outdated information that hopefully will be noticed by someone.