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Answers (4)

United Gold Upcoming Flight Question

United Gold Upcoming Flight Question

  1. Anonymous Guest

    Lucky

    You seem to know the inner workings of United quite well so I was wondering if you could offer me some advice. Next week I fly from London to Cancun via Dallas with United. The agent has booked me and my wife on the same flights but under different tickets. I’ve called United who have cross referenced our tickets. I have gold status with mileage plus but am wondering if she will benefit from my status (she’s a lowly silver) by not being on the same ticket? Any idea?

    The second question comes to upgrades. The flight was booked through Lufthansa, I called United to use miles or cash to upgrade and they said they couldn’t do anything because it wasn’t booked through them. This seems odd, is that right?

    Finally, United have seated us together but since we aren’t on the same ticket I’m guessing that means there’s a chance one of us might get moved or upgraded and not the other. Is that guess correct?

    Thanks in advance.

    Chris

  2. Gaurav Community Ambassador

    hi Chris, welcome. United miles can indeed be used to upgrade star alliance partner flights but there are restrictions on eligible fare classes. You can find more details at [URL]https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/mileageplus/awards/upgrade/saua.aspx[/URL].

    Your wife will not usually be eligible for any status benefits that accrue to you but explaining the situation and asking politely can go a long way in person (I’m assuming you are thinking about lounge access or something similar).

    Upgrades chances are slim, especially on international flights these days but yes, there is always a chance you could be split apart. I’d suggest checking in on your itinerary on a regular/daily basis to make sure you catch and changes with enough time to correct them. Good luck.

  3. AlexGBBAGold New Member

    UNITED will upgrade all Global Services peeps on International flight and will never upgrade the GOLD or even 1K’s. Since US-Mexico flight is also an international flight – there will be no opportunity for an upgrade i’m afraid. Different bookings though will get you and your spouse to the lounges no problem.

  4. Anonymous Guest

    Sorry for missing this thread earlier —

    You can use United miles to upgrade LH flights, but only if the ticket was issued on United stock. So that part is technically correct. If you’d purchased a United ticket through Lufthansa you’d need Lufthansa miles for the upgrade, as they basically can’t touch each other’s systems in that way.

    The information in the comment above about upgrades is incorrect. Anyone can use miles to confirm an upgrade, pending inventory availability. When using United miles or instruments to upgrade an United flight, there is the possibility of waitlisting. Waitlists clear by elite status and fare paid, so the odds aren’t good if you’re not GS or 1K.

    You can’t waitlist for Star Alliance upgrades — either space is available or it isn’t, so setting ExpertFlyer alerts and calling immediately is the best approach there. Hope that helps!

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