Weve seen a few threads (some of which I couldn't find) about this issue recently and I thought I would create one thread to consolidate our thoughts.
My experience occurred for my EWR-MAD (Madrid) round trip Y class (among the top priority for upgrades) flights during the past 2 weeks. I requested a miles upgrade (15,000, no co-pay) each way a month ahead of time. The miles were deducted from my account and for weeks prior to the flights my reservations page indicated waitlisted for BusinessFirst for both directions.
For the outbound evening flight I checked in on-line in the morning, got a receipt, not a boarding pass, went to the mobile site (where one can see the upgrade list in priority order for those who have checked in) and did not see my name (actually first 3 letters of last name and first initial) on the upgrade list. I called UA, asked about the receipt and the upgrade list, got the usual we know nothing, cant do anything, get to the airport really early and try to get your name back on the list, have a nice day. I got to the airport 2 hrs early, checked in at a kiosk, spoke with the gate agent who got on the phone and after about a 10-15 minute conversation got me back on the list. Checked the mobile site; 3 available BusinessFirst seats, 7 or 8 on the upgrade list, Im #2. I was upgraded 15 minutes prior to the start of boarding.
For the return morning flight, I checked in on-line the day before, got and printed the boarding pass, went to the mobile site and saw 2 names on the upgrade list, neither of which was mine. Called UA and after 15 minutes on hold I was told I was back on the list. Mobile site then indicated 3 names on the list and mine was #1. Naturally BusinessFirst checked-in full so I flew home in Economy Plus. (It wasnt too terrible as I had changed seats at check-in to a row with an empty middle seat and lucked out and the seat remained empty for the flight. Economy Plus with an empty middle seat wasnt too terrible.) Interesting that the 15,000 miles were re-deposited within 36 hours whereas the flight credit took 3 days.
There have been several similar reports here of people being dropped from an International Upgrade list after check-in, regardless of the chosen upgrade instrument. Most report that phone agents say cant do anything. Some consider an extra trip to the airport a day early to try and fix it. And of course, UA wont offer a clue as to why this occurs.
Considering that the collective wisdom here is much greater than UAs, wondering if anyone knows why this occurs (other than a computer glitch?) and if there is a simple way to anticipate it and fix it once it does occur.
My experience occurred for my EWR-MAD (Madrid) round trip Y class (among the top priority for upgrades) flights during the past 2 weeks. I requested a miles upgrade (15,000, no co-pay) each way a month ahead of time. The miles were deducted from my account and for weeks prior to the flights my reservations page indicated waitlisted for BusinessFirst for both directions.
For the outbound evening flight I checked in on-line in the morning, got a receipt, not a boarding pass, went to the mobile site (where one can see the upgrade list in priority order for those who have checked in) and did not see my name (actually first 3 letters of last name and first initial) on the upgrade list. I called UA, asked about the receipt and the upgrade list, got the usual we know nothing, cant do anything, get to the airport really early and try to get your name back on the list, have a nice day. I got to the airport 2 hrs early, checked in at a kiosk, spoke with the gate agent who got on the phone and after about a 10-15 minute conversation got me back on the list. Checked the mobile site; 3 available BusinessFirst seats, 7 or 8 on the upgrade list, Im #2. I was upgraded 15 minutes prior to the start of boarding.
For the return morning flight, I checked in on-line the day before, got and printed the boarding pass, went to the mobile site and saw 2 names on the upgrade list, neither of which was mine. Called UA and after 15 minutes on hold I was told I was back on the list. Mobile site then indicated 3 names on the list and mine was #1. Naturally BusinessFirst checked-in full so I flew home in Economy Plus. (It wasnt too terrible as I had changed seats at check-in to a row with an empty middle seat and lucked out and the seat remained empty for the flight. Economy Plus with an empty middle seat wasnt too terrible.) Interesting that the 15,000 miles were re-deposited within 36 hours whereas the flight credit took 3 days.
There have been several similar reports here of people being dropped from an International Upgrade list after check-in, regardless of the chosen upgrade instrument. Most report that phone agents say cant do anything. Some consider an extra trip to the airport a day early to try and fix it. And of course, UA wont offer a clue as to why this occurs.
Considering that the collective wisdom here is much greater than UAs, wondering if anyone knows why this occurs (other than a computer glitch?) and if there is a simple way to anticipate it and fix it once it does occur.