Do SWU's and CR1's trump UDU now?

I am approaching the 1K window for my next flight. I have requested upgrades for myself and husband. In the past I have withdrawn the upgrade currency just before the window. Do CR1's and SWU's trump UDU now? If not when will the change take place?

Not yet...that's part of the change to a single system in a couple months.

Just wanted to point out, if on CO metal, SWU [GPU] and CR1s [RPUs] will trump EUA.

Thanks for posting this thread. I had this exact same question today!

But does not copay miles with cash trumph all three?

The announcement sounds like they are putting all "paid" upgrades together. What I think it is going to be is, an 1K on W fare using a SWU will still trump an 1K on K fare using miles+copay. But if the 1K using miles+copay is on a higher fare than the 1K using a SWU, then the 1K using miles+copay will receive higher priority.

The change here for MileagePlus is that paid upgrades are going to be ahead of complimentary upgrades. In the past, a non-elite member using miles+copay were behind all elites waiting for a complimentary upgrade once inside the upgrade window, but now that non-elite member will be ahead of all elites who are NOT using a "paid" form of upgrade [miles, RPU, GPU, etc].

I got the feeling from what I read that any additional $ (either buyups, miles/$, TOD's) will take priority UG's. After that it will be fare+instruments (SWU's, CR1's), followed last (for domestic) UDU's by fare and then status. But without transparency it will be interesting what the reports will be like.

No. Status still plays into it, even with the paid upgrades.

Buy-ups in advance of the day of departure are generally the full fare difference so you're buying into a C/F seat. No real surprise that those will have priority, just like they did last year. After that the "paid" upgrades in terms of miles/certs are prioritized by status. Today the next tie-breaker is date of request; I have no idea if that is changing. So a Silver on an M fare requesting an upgrade using miles 6 months out is still behind a 1K using a SWU on a W fare requested a week out from departure, assuming both have still not cleared at that point.

Call me cynical, but have a feeling the M fare with cash behind it will win out. But I really hope you are correct and our newUA will play by these rules. But I think we know that if both are still waitlisted T-24, TOD's are first come first served. I really hope this changes too, but not holding my breath
As I said, if we had transparency, we would know for sure. And I'm not complaining, I just want to know for sure the rules of the game so I have a chance to win

In this case it is beyond cynical and actively stating that you believe the company is lying and will not follow the published hierarchy. That's pretty bold IMO.

OK, then call me bold, just don't call me late for dinner

I can't "like" this, but I do agree.

From UAInsider's post when the 2012 MileagePlus program was announced.

Bolding mine.

UA Insider also emphasized in the other board that TOD upgrades will only occur if there are more unsold F seats than elites on the waitlist. The only time an elite can get screwed over in this scenario is if there are 3 F seats left and 1 elite left on the waitlist. They release 2 F seats for TOD upgrades, purposefully holding one F seat back for the elite. After selling 2 TODs, all of sudden someone shows up at the ticket counter 45 minutes before the flight and buys a full fare F seat taking up the last F seat. Very rare, but yes it can happen.

The rest is pretty straightforward and I am very confident that all "paid" upgrades will have the same priority sorted by status and fare class. One form won't have a priority over the other.

So the question remains, should sunseeker withdraw the upgrade currency just before the window? I have the same situation tomorrow.

If you have always done something in the past and have been happy with the results then you should not change your behavior yet as the policies have not changed since you last made the decision to follow that plan.

I did. Seat map shows 0 seats in Y and 22 in F. Window was 1:15 PM today. I have been checking often, and it does not appear that anyone has been upgraded. I have just been hoping to get us out of middle E+ seats on an old configuration 777.

The problem for me is that in the past my upgrade instruments cleared before the UDU window.

If it is on UA metal then pull the RPU before the window since it is not going to help you at all.

Thanks. A CSR told me a few months ago that if I did that, I would lose my position on the waitlist.

Well, the impact is minimal unless F space is tight. You will only lose priority to someone with the same status in the same fare bucket as you. It is not like you will drop all the way down to the bottom of the 1K upgrade list as the CSR implied.

I believe [correct me if I am wrong] on UA metal the upgrade list is prioritized this way:

Inside Upgrade Window:

1. Status
2. Fare Paid
3. Time Added to Upgrade Waitlist

Inside OLCI Window:

1. Status
2. Fare Paid
3. Check-in Time

But I think after the window it clears by status then fare bucket anyway. I don't get the impression that anything clears by first in , first out now, do you?

I have a dilemma -- I've searched around on here and FT, and google -- but I'm still confused.

I have a CO flight on Saturday (LAX-IAH-BOS).
I am Platinum on CO (1K on UA) but using my MP # -- seems like the upgrade priority is the same, so didn't switch the #s around. Plus, I'm doing UA on the way back, and I'd rather get priority on 1 6hr flight than 2 3hr flights.

Question -- if I elect to do a mileage upgrade now (20k miles) on the CO flight, will that get me a better chance of upgrading than waiting for EUA?

Sorry if it's been answered before, maybe my brain isn't working right this morning.

It is not.

Yes.

AFAIK, it depends if there is R bucket availability at the time you book the mileage upgrade.

Hm. Ok. I guess I still don't want to change the MP# to preserve my place on the waitlist on the return.