How to upgrade your United flight with Miles
Even with United status, you probably see the upgrade list is 20+ people long, especially if you are traveling to/from a hub airport. To increase your chances of getting upgraded, you can sweeten the odds with some miles, or sometimes even guarantee an upgrade.
How to:
Navigate to your “my trips”
Click on the trip, and then click “upgrade cabin”
3. This takes you to two options - “with cash” & “with miles”
With Cash:
The cash price with usually be too expensive, but you can get on the waitlist above any folks with status using miles
It all depends on what you consider a “good deal/value”, but anything under $150 cash for an instant upgrade for a domestic flight is good.
Upgrading to International Polaris is a different story. If you can find anything under $500 for a long-haul flight, smash the accept button. Having a bed at 35,000 feet is a cheat code.
With Miles:
The domestic standard cost is 20k miles, which isn’t the best use of miles, but thats up to you.
Upgrading a transcontinental flight is where you should be looking to spend your miles
The standard cost from economy to Polaris is 25,000 miles + $250
A cheat code is buying a premium plus seat (which in itself is like a normal business class seat) and then upgrading for 10,000 miles to Polaris
Not only is it net/net cheaper, but you also massively increase your odds of getting upgraded ahead of anyone who is trying from the economy cabin
Takeaways and Tips:
Save your miles for Polaris redemptions/upgrade requests
If you do not get upgraded, any miles and cash is refunded
If you have status, upgrading with miles puts you ahead of those with higher status
You can see where you are on the waitlist way before your flight by changing your iPhone date to the day of your flight and going to flight status on united.com (not the app)