My return flight SFO-SYD-MEL, I checked in on line, 23 hours prior to departure.
At checkin I was offered an upgrade to business class. Bear in mind that this flight was paid for with points (80,000 saver award + $80 in fees) so it was cheap.
The upgrade was offered for SFO-SYD and cost around $700 - well I grabbed that.
Got my receipt, all was good. Looked for my seat allocation but it was blank. I got back online, and tried to seat select, but got a message saying that this was not able to be done.
I called UA, the operator actually told me that I should not have been offered the upgrade, then put me on hold....of course panic set in thinking I have blown it, should have just gone to the airport and dealt with it then.
Anyway, the operator came back on and told me again that I should not have got the seat, and said the worst that will happen is that I would be given a refund and sent to the back of the bus. She also told me that there were plenty of available seats in business, and it should be all ok.
Well, I got to the airport, checked luggage (went to the business class line) and was given my little gold boarding pass... I said no more. Went to the lounge, was given to free drink passes, and waited the next 45 minutes to board.
At the time of check in I recall seeing around 40 available business class seats.... there were still plenty available when I checked around midway through the flight as I wandered down stairs to soo how the "others" were doing.
I have no status anymore with UA other than basic member - so not sure if this was a glitch, or that maybe I was one of the first to checkin so it offered me the upgrade.
It is also worth noting on my SYD-SFO flight (which I also checked in online for 15 hours prior to the flight) and was offered an upgrade to Economy Plus for $150.. I accepted that offer as well.
So at the end of the day, for 80,000 points, $80 in fees + $850 in upgrade charges I think that was a pretty good deal.
It also makes me think a little more about the fines/fees that are charged when you try and book a flight through Qantas. Onboard food etc was all great, enough movies/audio entertainment, great staff!
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