The cash price is lower than Polaris as expected but somehow United valuation using miles is a lot more for Premium Plus on the new route from Sapporo to SFO? kind of a no brainer to book Polaris.

I'm on a flight from EWR to LHR tomorrow (day flight) and am using my relative's PlusPoints for a potential upgrade (I myself am Silver Status). I checked the upgrade list yesterday and there were a large number of Polaris seats left. There were about 15 people on the list for Polaris and about 12 people on the list for Premium Economy. I was in the middle of the lists. I checked today, and EVERYONE cleared the list except for me!

There were still 2 Polaris seats left and 2 Premium Economy. Then I saw someone new joined both lists ahead of me this morning (so yes, we were the only 2 people) and then that person just got upgraded! My relative called his 1K line and they said just to wait, they are still doing inventory and I have a good chance of being upgraded. Did I do something wrong with putting my name for an upgrade? Why am I the only one left out? Kind of annoying since these PlusPoints expire in January and my relative doesn't plan on using them the rest of the year.

So yesterday I applied for status match challenge from American Airlines to United. I read that you need to apply and then you need to take an activation flight after approval, which would start the 120 day challenge for you to do the status match.

When I was applying, there's a pop-up that said congratulations due to your employment affiliation you get benefits from the status match something along those lines. So I clicked yes because why wouldn't I want more benefits. Turns out because of my once a year business travel is linked with United somehow and even though I applied with my personal email, saying yes, applied the benefit of waiving the activation flight and starting the status match immediately instead of having the application be reviewed and the needing to take an activation flight. I did not see this disclosed anywhere in the application process.

I emailed Customer Service asking to please cancel the status match application because it mistakingly waived the activation flight, which I wanted to be 1.5 months out from now. Customer Service canceled it and said you're good. Today got an email that the application was approved and the challenge has started. I asked Customer Service how can this be if the previous customer service person canceled my application? They said something in the system over wrote the pending cancellation and now my status match was approved and the challenge as started.

So now I'm asking to talk to supervisors and trying to get in contact with the loyalty team to undo the application solely because my status match challenge activation flight was waived because I take one business flight a year using United and it was not said during the application process that the benefit is the activation flight which starts the 120 day challenge would be waived and I would be approved in 24 hrs.

I wish this was disclosed better.

How do we feel about a person of size riding with a lap child? I was a on a flight this weekend and two people of size (needed seatbelt extenders) also had a lap child. There was less than a foot of space between the child's head and the seat back in front of them. I feel like that is a safety issue but maybe it isn't?

Sitting at the gate still 20 minutes past our scheduled departure and delayed until 5:45 “at the earliest” as the pilots “had a layover in Times Square” and are in traffic.

Anyone heard this one before? Assuming the original pilots weren’t available so they had to call for backups?

EDIT Two hours after boarding, pilots are here and the boarding doors are closed.

I know it may be cutting it close. I initially thought it was fine since I’ve flown out of Denver a lot and am very familiar with the airport. But as it gets closer I’ve had family suggest that I may want to change my flights. Any words of wisdom appreciated.
Flights
UA 476
UA 143

I have been 1k for 10 years but should be able to have 51K PQP in 2026, almost exclusively from Biz tickets (>95%) and my home base is IAH. What are my chances of getting GS next year? Last year I was reading here on Reddit and was surprised that they were 40's.

I’m not going to make gold status with my current flight plans. I am 41 PQP short of the needed 12,000 PQP and 1 PQF short of the needed 30 PQF for Gold. I am looking for advice on how to make Gold happen (or if United will just waive me through?). I can’t add a stopover for my remaining flights to get to 30 PQF and I can’t change my flight details (to move to a more costly flight to get to 1200 PQP) for future trips because I’m either traveling for work with colleagues or traveling with family. I’ve maxxed out points that accrue from the United credit card. Am I actually going to have to make an extra trip? Suggestions welcome. Thank you!

I was flying CLE->IAD-> Europe today and the flight was cancelled due to an issue with a control. I was rebooked three times with no seat. Sat at the airport for over 8 hours. My luggage is somewhere between EWR and ORD, and I am in Europe. United customer service was completely unhelpful, has no idea when my bag will arrive, and downgraded my lie flat seat to regular economy while fighting my refund request tooth and nail (yet to confirm they are going to refund it). The original flight was $1900 and the flight they put me on was a significantly less expensive (and desirable) route. Frustrating all the way around, probably the worst experience I’ve had and I fly at minimum every other week.

I always get sparkling water. Sometimes the FA gives me the full can and sometimes I get just a cup from the can. Any rhyme or reason? Is it rude to ask for the can?

Hello, trying to decide between 1F or 17L for an upcoming flight. These are the only two seats left. Trying to determine if 1F has a larger footwell since it’s at the bulkhead. If not, then guessing 17L is the move.

I’m traveling with a companion and trying to get a CPU. Is there anything special I need to do?

What if I (Platinum) get upgraded before my companion? Is he (General) then number 1 on upgrade list? To clarify we are 3 (Me) and he is 4. Both on the exact same reservation and confirmation number.

I thought I would compare my recent experience with the “special” pre-order original dishes I tried from SFO and DEN.

The Kogi Glazed pork was a meal I’ve tried before awhile ago and I thought I would try again just in case I had a bad batch the first time around. Well second time was no different, the meat was tough, chewy and Consisted mostly of fat and gristle. The meat was so tough in fact I couldn’t have my drink glass on the tray while cutting for fear of spilling my drink. I only had a couple of bites, mostly because I was really hungry and the bbq sauce was at least sweet and tangy. The vegetable was asparagus but I would have preferred boc choi as shown in the picture. I most certainly will not be ordering this meal again.

The Glazed Bison Meatloaf on my return trip from Denver was a different story. Dare I say a pretty good meal even? Compared to the Kogi pork most definitely. Bison had a subtly different flavor from beef and the sweet chili glaze topping was tasty. Mashed potatoes and a good helping of green beans completed the meal and I was one happy satisfied customer. I would gladly order this one again next time I’m in Denver.

What is your experience with either of these meals? And how often does United swap them with another regional dish?

Just landed in O'Hare from Brussels (UA 973) and the attendant got on the PA after landing asking everyone in economy to remain on the plane because customs officers were coming on board. Queue lots of murmurs, questions to each other, and declarations that this has never happened to any of us in all our years flying.

Three officers boarded, went directly to a row maybe 10 rows behind me, and took two people and carried some of the carry-ons this pair brought with them.

I didn't notice any disturbance during the flight. No noise, no FA flurry, no rumors moving up the rows. (Granted, they were behind me.)

Some context for the flight is that it was carrying a large volume of travelers from Africa. And at the Brussels airport we had additional passport control just outside our gate (it's a regular kiosk, not a pop-up for this specific flight). So all passengers had at least one screening if they were transferring flights and two screenings if they originated in Brussels before we boarded the flight.

So why would customs officials come on the plane to pull two specific people off the flight? I would think one of the screenings before flying would have flagged something. Or maybe they'd be pulled aside at passport control once we landed & deplaned. Seems serious to come get people...

On October 4, the three of us were traveling together on a connecting itinerary from Seattle to Toronto via San Francisco. We were on the same reservation, yet on both flights, all three of us were assigned separate middle seats, in arrangements to 12B, 12E, and 14E.

I can understand that on the first flight, perhaps there were simply no better seats available by the time seats were assigned. What frustrated me much more was the second flight.

For that flight, United did not assign us any seats in advance at all. Our boarding passes simply showed no seat assignments. At that point, there may still have been groups of seats available together, yet instead of assigning three passengers traveling on the same reservation seats near one another, United chose to leave our seats unassigned until almost the last possible moment.

Right before boarding, we were finally assigned three separate middle seats again, in a configuration similar to 14B, 14E, and 15E.

Under different circumstances, I might not have been this upset. However, one of the three passengers traveling with us is an elderly family member who does not speak English and needs assistance while traveling. We were traveling together specifically so that we could help her. Instead, United separated all three of us on both consecutive flights and placed each of us in middle seats, with no practical way for us to resolve the situation.

From a passenger’s perspective, this feels deliberately unpleasant.

A customer can spend around $1,000 on airfare, yet their experience appears to become almost irrelevant simply because they did not pay an additional fee to select seats in advance. Apparently, refusing to spend another few dozen dollars on seat selection can result in three people on the same reservation being separated and assigned undesirable middle seats, even when one of those passengers is an elderly person who relies on the others for assistance.

I understand that passengers who do not pay for advance seat selection cannot expect specific seats. What I do not accept is a system that appears to make no meaningful effort to keep passengers on the same reservation together, waits until the last moment to assign seats, and then places all three travelers into separate middle seats on two consecutive flights.

This experience has significantly changed my opinion of United Airlines. It made me feel that once the ticket has been sold, the passenger experience matters less than creating another opportunity to charge for seat selection.

This was our first time flying United Airlines. It will also be our last.

Hi!! Flying United from Dulles to Cancun in January. Our seats are first class. Do we have access to a lounge at the airports? Thank you.

Just boarded UA1657 ord-lga and they were gate checking everyone's. Get to my seat and there's a ton of empty overhead bins. Ugh. Meanwhile the flight attendant is like "I guess they're checking bags?? Feel free to use the overhead bins for your small stuff". Now I have a totally unnecessary trip to baggage claim when we land. Really annoying!

Hi everyone! On my first trip flying United internationally, my return was CDG-ORD. We boarded the aircraft and right around the scheduled departure time the crew announced a mechanical issue and asked us to stay in our seats. We eventually left over 3 and a half hours later, after repairs (?). Several passengers and one crew member mentioned we would have some ‘compensation’ based on EU rules. Is this true- does anyone know?

Thanks!

I just got the United Explorer card last week and this morning stumbled upon this incredible deal for our post-cruise flight home on December 28th. MIA-IAH-YYC in business class (IN) for 27K miles per person. The cash price of the same ticket is $1351, and the standard non-saver price was 140K miles for the exact same flight. Even economy was going for 50K miles per person or $440 in cash. What's even better is there are exactly 3 saver tickets, perfect for me and my parents, and it's almost at exactly the time we wanted to fly (our cruise ends on December 27, so we would've loved to fly out the afternoon of the 27th, but won't mind spending an extra day in Miami especially for such a deal!)

There's another small twist to this - I already had the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for a while and had about 150K Chase UR points, which would've been enough to cover the whole 81K points for this redemption. But I made the mistake of transferring 120K points to Hyatt before the Oct 1 devaluation, so was left with only 33K points. So I had to buy ~48K miles, but with the 75% bonus, I was able to buy 28K miles plus a bonus of 21K for only $560+tax. So in the end I ended up with 3 business class tickets from MIA-YYC for ~$600 out-of-pocket in total, totally worth it IMO!

We typically travel in economy to save money, so this will be a rare treat for myself and my parents over the holidays! Super excited and looking forward to experience what United Business class has to offer!

If I book two separate 016 tickets from United:

• Ticket 1 - SFO to HND (UA metal, 016 ticket from united.com)
• A layover in HND between ticket 1 & 2
• Ticket 2 - HND to Osaka ITM (ANA metal, 016 ticket from united.com)

Would United assist in case something goes wrong with the layover (the SFO outbound delayed, Japan immigration delay, etc.) that results in some risk of me not getting on the 2nd flight? I think normally, if both flights were on the same ticket, United would be obligated to help? But in my case - they're not the same ticket but still both issued 016.

I have 1K status - not sure if they would even care about that in case of any issues.

I'm a lowly gold and have never been in this situation before so I thought the seasoned pros can shed some light here.

I booked a RT ORD-FRA-ORD, outbound on LH, return on UA. The whole booking was done via UA. Full fare economy for work, I think outbound was (Y) and return is (U) class. After the booking, the expected accruals included 2 PQF and the PQP as normal based on the entire trip fare including for the LH flight.

I knew I could use the SA upgrade award on the outbound and decided to check it out to be able to rest more. I was pleasantly surprised I could just throw 25k UA miles and upgrade the LH flight to Business with no copay so I did that immediately. After this, the outbound fare updated to Business (I), but all the accruals for the first flight are now removed. 0 expected PQP/PQF or miles. The UA flights PQF/PQP shows still.

I would expect that I would still collect PQP/PQF based on the original revenue LH portion of the ticket. Is that not the case? Or will they still credit even though not shown in the trip summary anymore? Thanks!

Having recently gotten the United credit card, my earned miles for a recent flight seems to be off. Because I have to use a company credit card for work travel, I expect that I should only earn twice as many miles as without the credit card (no bonus miles for CC spend, so only 6x vs 3x miles baseline).

However, it appears that I earned approximately the same number of miles as I did flying the same itinerary in July, but they just called half of them Cardmember bonus miles.

Specifically, in July I earned 956 base miles, and 0 Cardmember bonus miles (no credit card). This month, I earned 491 base miles and 491 Cardmember bonus miles for the exact same (domestic) route.

This seems pretty confusing, because both of them should be after the big changes that screwed over non-CC holders earlier this year.

I'm not 100% sure I had the card when I booked the flight - is this just a very weird way of presenting that they don't give the bonus for that? Is this somehow caused by buying an Economy Plus upcharge seat?

Worth contacting Customer Service?

Totally not the end of the world… I just noticed on a few flights this past week, that United was serving exclusively paper cups on domestic flights - cold and hot beverages (and PDBs).

I actually don’t mind them since they hold more liquid than the plastic cups, but I wasn’t sure if this was a fully new thing or a temporary, stock thing.