I am flying to London next week with my wife on United. I'm using miles for the tickets but was wondering if there is any chance of us getting upgraded on an international flight. I am a premier exec with United and frequently do get the upgrades domestically. Any thoughts or experiences on this matter?
I wouldn't count on it. UA doesn't do complimentary upgrades on international flights. Once in a blue moon they might have to bump up people for operational reasons, but they'll try to bump up the 1Ks/GS folks first. Have a good trip!
I was once upgraded on an international flight on United when I was oddly enough gold on USAirways. I thought it was a joke when they called my name. You would think that now being gold on United would help the cause a bit. I fly almost every other week with them that it would be nice to have the luxury for this trip.
In my experience the fare bucket has a lot to do with your chances of getting upgraded on international tickets. The few times I have been traveling in Y I have always been upgraded to biz, and I am only a premier silver.
An OpUp is possible if coach is oversold. Otherwise you should expect to redeem the extra 20K points/person/direction to get into the forward cabin.
The OP is traveling on award tickets, not using an upgradeable fare. The only way to guarantee an upgrade if available or even have a decent chance would be to try to have the tickets reissued as business class award tickets if the right inventory category is currently available.
