United Beating American 3 to 1 in the Upgrade Bowl

Avoid tears. Use your miles and/or Chase points to save 40% to 62% from all over the U.S.

While going about our usual research here at FCF, something quite unusual surfaced. Over the last six months, FCF’s alerts on United Airlines had three times as many upgrade opportunities as American Airlines to Europe. Three times.

Questions: Just what does American have to hide? Why does United look so smug?

WHY Does American WANT to Hide?

As we reported here last month, American Airlines mileage award availability recently has been scarce to most long-haul destinations.

Just over a year ago, 14 routes to South America had good availability. Some had months with four to six seats in a single day. Now we’re only seeing seven routes with any upgrade availability.

It’s an American Airlines drought. We had some options for you last month, and we’re happy to say, we’ve dug up even more now with United. Here are a few of the highlights…

Not One, But Two Happy Endings

First Stop: Frankfurt (Save 52%) 

For whatever reason, let’s say you’re traveling from Washington, DC, to Frankfurt, often an expensive Business Class route, even when booked way in advance. The lowest United upgradeable economy fare is currently $762, while Business Class is $3,859. So, even with the $1,100 co-pay, you can save $1,997 (52%) off the published fare by using miles. See upgrade award availability survey below.

United.com screenshot showing upgrade math and space:

Second in Line: London (Save 57%) 

New York/Newark to London is one of United’s popular routes, currently starting at $989 round-trip for travel in October, while Business Class is $4,881. Even with the $1,100 co-pay you can save $2,792 (57%) off the published fare by using miles to upgrade from economy. See upgrade award availability survey below. 

United.com screenshot showing upgrade math and space:

Don’t Forget U.S. Connecting Cities — Save 40%

From the U.S., that means you should consider buying an economy through-fare ticket, meaning a fare that includes the entire itinerary on one ticket. If upgrade space is available on the domestic segments, grab it, of course, as the cost is the same.

On the Orlando-Amsterdam route, the lowest upgradeable through-fare ticket (connecting via Newark or Washington, DC) costs $688 in economy, as opposed to $2,985 in Business Class. Even with the $1,100 co-pay to upgrade the long-haul segment (flight to Amsterdam), you still save $1,197 (40%) off the published fare by using miles to upgrade from economy. 

What About Europe’s Connecting Cities? Save 62%

European connections can also be easy if you stick with United’s partners and book the entire trip on one ticket, and just upgrade the United transatlantic segments. Book the routing in coach based on the availability of Business Class upgrades.

Say you want to fly from Washington, DC, to Athens. On United, that could mean making a connection in Munich and then flying onward on partner airline Lufthansa.

The lowest upgradeable economy through-fare is $914 round-trip for travel in February versus $5,316 in Business Class. So, you upgrade the bridge legs of the trip, Washington, DC-Munich-Washington, DC. We’ve made this easy with our cheat sheet below, which reveals the best months for upgrade availability.

Even with the $1,100 co-pay (plus 40,000 miles), you can save 62% ($3,302) off the published fare by using miles. Note that the connecting leg (Munich-Athens) will be in economy on partner airline Lufthansa, as the screenshot below shows. Also note that the upgrade availability will show as “Mixed Upgrade” and you need to click on “Details” to see that the upgrade is available on the Washington, DC, to Munich flight, and that the Lufthansa flight from Munich to Athens is not eligible for the upgrade. That’s also the reason why United has the “Mixed Upgrade” message in red.

UNITED PARTNERS for Onward Travel in Europe

Lufthansa: Example flights to other destinations in Europe from Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich include: Athens, London, Cyprus, Moscow, Prague, and countless others.

SWISS: Example flights from Zurich include: Amsterdam, Bucharest, Dublin, Malta, Oslo, and countless others.

Brussels Airlines: Example flights from Brussels include: Lyon, Milan, Nice, Stockholm, Venice, and many others.

What to Do When an Upgrade is Only Available One Way?

United lets you combine economy and Business Class fares, so you can upgrade the flight segment that has upgrade space and book the other leg in Business Class. On Chicago-Frankfurt, the combined coach-Business Class fare is $2,145, while round-trip Business Class is $3,659 for travel in October. So, even with the $550 one-way co-pay to upgrade from coach to Business Class, you can still save $964 (26%) by using miles one way. Call United at (800) 421-4655 to make these kinds of bookings. 

How to Book Mileage Upgrades on United

1. Get a sense of availability date-clusters online (perhaps using our survey chart below).
2. Select the “Buy Economy and upgrade” option to search for upgrade space to Business Class from economy in the “Fare preferences” section, after you click on “Upgrade type.” See below:

When your search results comes back, it will not only show fares and flight schedules, it will also show what flights offer an upgrade, and what the cost is.

Click on “Details” to find out if the upgrade space is available.

Get What’s Coming: How Anyone Can Score UA Miles

Don’t have enough (or any) United miles? No problem. Just buy United miles if it makes sense when they go on sale (recent opportunity here), or transfer Marriott or Chase points to United. And don’t let a juicy upgrade opportunity pass you by.