United’s New Domestic First Class Upgrade Scheme Changes Game for Elites and Loyalty-Free Agents

Bottom line: Pay cash for the EasyUp fare, forget miles and playing elite upgrade roulette—it’s a new upgrade mindset for many United loyalists.

For the last few years Delta has been offering some of the lowest domestic First Class fares, and last July it introduced a flat-fee upgrade surcharge based on flight distance.

Now, without fanfare, United has come out with its own fares with a flat-fee upgrade. You can spot them by the letters “UPDI” in the fare basis code. Most every economy fare we looked at, except N and G fares, offered the upgrade option. The cost is based on flight miles, demand, and at times, whether a flight is non-stop or not. Surcharges start as low as $50 one-way for up to 300 miles and go up to about $299 for 2,000 miles.