True or False: United Is “#1 in Award Seat Availability”?

The routes you fly have a strong impact on award availability. Backbone routes have high demand for sold seats, so it makes sense for carriers to release fewer low-level award seats on them. I live in a non-hub city and can regularly find award seats that my hub-living sister cannot, even to the same destination and through the same connecting cities!

I would be interested in learning how much of the award availability numbers is based on elite vs non-elite status. United has guaranteed award availability for their high-level elites: as long as there are unsold seats, they can be taken as awards but only if you are a high-level elite (and often at premium redemption rates).

Bull Honkey!
United is almost the new Delta sky peso
One of the he most misleading programs around
Southwest blows them out of the water as does American and Alaska.The flight times for free flights always suck if you can get them at all
They say first class seats are available on line for reward from LA to New York
then you click only to find it coach most of the entire way except the last hour on the connecting flight.
They have brought all the stinginess plus over from Contiental.I hate them and won’t spend a nickle to fly them.
Redemption at Untied Airlines is a joke
The worlds biggest Ponzi Scheme
I once loved this carrier in the 90s through 2003.I gave up on them and I’ve never looked back.Good riddance!

I have redeemed numerous FF flights on United, including a business class trip to Australia, on saver awards. I have tried several times to redeem a “saver” award on Delta, no can do. Thumbs up for United, thumbs down for Delta!

My experience of flying with UA since 1981 is that sometimes one can obtain upgraded seats. However, in the last 8 or so years this is NOT the case. Case in point: getting upgrades from Orange County (SNA) – ORD – MUC and return to Orange County in November — nothing open for upgrades even tho business/first was totally open. I tried from June 2012 on. No can do! So, is it true? Depends on the “luck of the draw.”

It must partly depend upon where you want to go. Paris in the springtime would be tough. Leipzig in December’s easy. I have had excellent success with getting free seats, even buying four tickets for an August trip for German friends to fly to American and back to Germany, in the high tourist season, for 60,000 miles each. For me, United has delivered its promise for frequent flyer seats and I will continue to fly United.

I have had good success with United, unless I want to go say, Hawaii, then I haven’t been able to book any airline for the least miles. This year in January found best award seats on American to Ecuador. Next January, United has seats. For my husband and I to go for a total of $120 r/t! Can’t vacation in States for that!

I have long since cashed in or transferred my miles on all U.S. carriers. I book everything on Asian carriers now. U.S. carriers mpale in comparison in terms of redemption and everything else.

If you can manage advance planning time and flexible travel dates, United is most accomodating when using miles for domestic flights. As for international flights, I gave up on using miles for domestic carriers many years ago.

In mid-April I wanted to book Detroit-Nanjing or Shanghai – outbound May 1, return late August. I am Gold on Delta. They wanted 120,000+ miles. I am not elite on United. They wanted 65,000 miles. Even though I live in a Delta hub, I’m seriously considering switching to United.

I was desperately searching for 2 business class seats from Miami to Amsterdam on a specific day. It seemed impossible through Delta and American. Then I called United and used only 50,000 miles per ticket and got an excellent connection on their partner Luftansa. When I decided to move the reservations a day earlier, that was also available. In the US it’s not so easy to get a seat.

I have not tried since the merge to use mileage for an award, however, I will say that United since its merge with Continental has become one of the worst airlines flying. I am a more than million miler with United and their customer service is the most appalling in the industry. Myself, the staff and thousands of former flying passengers with Continental want it back, unfortunately, that is not going to happen.

When Gordon Bethune was at the helm of Continental, it was the best airline in the sky. I wrote to him twice, twice I received a personal wonderful reply. I have written four times to Smisek and he is far to big to answer a passengers mail, even if that passenger is one of their most frequent flyers. Hello Frank Lorenzo the second. I get e-mails, and e-mails only from customer service representatives who have no authority whatsoever to do anything but apologize. Words are cheap United, I am now working with Delta to join them as United in my mind has sent me their last “email”.

I have the miles to fly business international from newark to london, barcelona to newark. I have been trying to get a r/t nonstop for July 2013, using 100,000 pperson. United business class has not sold one business class seat with all of their non-stops, and yet, does not have availability Their partner airlines, air canada, TAP, Lufthansa and Brussel air offer flights, but are not non-stop. I go on United site 3 times a day to see if they have opened their seats to no avail.

I can only agree with the comments regarding the downward slide of United/Continental’s service. Award travel non-availability is further complicated by the fact that sometimes you don’t accumulate miles when you fly United. Case in point – just flew from FRA to DFW booking over United website – it was a share-flight operated by Lufthansa for the international legs. Paid United via their website and with their credit card – received NO MILES, not even 1 to 1 as Lufthansa, United’s share partner refused to give miles for a K class ticket. United’s comment??? Nothing they can do, didn’t I see that Lufthansa gives no miles for K class? LOL! K class is not even MENTIONED on the site, still waiting for response from United Mileage Plus department – going on 3 weeks now. Who actually reads thru all that booking code garbage every time they book a flight? Subsequent flight booked with American/British Air – have been a long time loyal United customer,but no more. Going back to American and may try the Asian airlines as another poster mentioned.

Ha Ha Ha what a joke!! I haven’t been able to get an awards seat to Costa Rica in a very long time! I try a starting two months ahead up to a week before I want to go and nothing. What a bunch of B S.

Hi everyone,

Just a note as a lot of people commented about international availability, and one person (Connie) mentioned she’s been trying to find availability for July, 2013.

I was in the same boat this year – I spent the end of last year, and beginning of this year, constantly looking for saver availability for a non-stop to Europe in July.

The seats opened up completely in MARCH – only 4 months out. I had been watching since a year in advance. So just a heads up – I know the common thinking is to book 9-12 months out, but United doesn’t release full saver seat availability until around 4 months out. 8 seats opened up, on every flight, at that time. And then for every day that followed, 8 more seats opened up each day. (ie On March 15th, 8 seats were open on every flight July 15th and earlier, on March 16th, July 16th opened up, etc etc). Hope this helps some folks.

Bulls***

Success with either upgrades or using miles is not easy. I have flown over 3.8 million miles with United and have been succcessful less than half the time using miles and often requiring the higher amount of miles. Upgrades are better provided you fly off-season but from Y to C, it usually happens at the gate despite many seats available. For those flying for business, it is very difficult as United reduces the number of flights in the winter or has arrangements with companies that provides upgrades automatically. It is a real challenge and I do not agree with the claim.

I’ve had nothing but problems trying to book award seats on United.com. Most of the time there are no Saver award seats available, even when searching way in advance. I have tried to book seats round-trip and couldn’t get the seats but when I searched one-way separately, lo and behold there are the seats. They are either available for booking or not, round-trip vs. one-way shouldn’t matter. I called an agent and they said they couldn’t even find the seats the website was saying were available. Interestingly though, on a few occasions I have waited until the day of travel and “presto” there is the Saver award. Flew my two sons from Oklahoma to Oregon First Class for the same miles as the Standard award at the last minute. I must say, United is BY FAR better than Delta…much more reasonable mileage levels and less fees.

I was able to secure 2 “F” class seats using miles PDX – SIN RT over the New Year holiday through Mileage Plus. I booked them in July and even got one direction on SQ “F” class and both for the reduced mileage rate. I have been very pleased with UA post merger! Have a lot more options from PDX now.

I agree completely! I was a United/Continental member years ago then switched to Delta. I was able to good an award international flight with ease on United but not on Delta. In fact, I checked several flights and everyone was available but none were available on Delta.

Given this, I am very tempted to switch to Delta. Delta Diamond elite pretty much useless.

On United, there are award seats and then there are the seats you pay extra for. Then there are the seats you pay United extra for and don’t get. On July 10 I bought two tickets from IAD-SFO and SFO-IAD, paying in part $144 for two Economy Plus Premium seats on the SFO to IAD return, which was confirmed by United.
On the flight itself, rather than having two Economy Plus Premium aisle seats on the same row, we were given two non-Premium seats separated by two rows, each in the middle of the row, seats 30E and 32B. Both my wife and I are Premium members.
To date, I have not received an apology nor any compensation for this terrible treatment.
Should I expect to continue to be so badly treated? Should I continue to go out of my way to fly United?

The thing is, even if you are able to book award seats, you never know whether you will actually get what you booked when you go to the airport. We have flown UAL for years, but of late, their flights are late, our bookings are lost or they couldn’t care less what happens if we are in Europe on a code-sharing airline. It’s always a gamble even if you get seats.

UA has a miserable policy re using miles for upgrades from coach to business/first (Ha! First! You’ve got to be kidding! What coolaide has someone been drinking to call it “Business/first?” ). I have tried unsuccessfully to obtain 2 seats for upgrades from coach to business on UA. No seats sold, but none available for upgrading! Now that’s how UA works: keep everything closed until the very end and if, per chance there is an unsold business class seat, then UA will open for upgrades. Typical bait and switch. And I’m 1K again! Miserable airline. Problem is what’s better?

I have Southwest points, American Airlines points & United points.  Of the three, Southwest is the Best!  I can get a flight anytime I want with Southwest.  United is the hardest of the three to get a flight that I want when I want it.  They have very few Saver Awards to the destinations I want to go to, so I have stopped trying to accumulate United points.

I have booked four overseas Y class tickets with United for March, May, July and September 2013.  I asked for upgrades using miles and/or global upgrades.  I am on a waiting list for each of the flights, even though no seats are booked but mine for all but one of the 14 legs of my trip.  I am a 1K member. So, my experience with United thus far for 2013 is 0 for 14!

For overseas travel, United is the best for finding Business Class reward seats.  The worst in my opinion are British Airways and Delta.  And, yes, frequent flyer award availability is very important to me for overseas travel as I do not want to fly economy on long-haul flights and cannot afford business class fares.

While United may have award seats it has been my experience that they are seldom available when you want to fly. It has also been my experience that once booked you are not guaranteed a seat until you are actually seated. A recent award seat booking flight was changed to a flight almost 10 hours later meaning another day travel. United is notorious for bumping award seat holders for revenue customers or reassigning seats. A personal experience of paying for seat upgrades and being denied the seat, along with all of the other changes in the way United treats frequent fliers, has led me after almost 900,000 lifetime miles to no longer fly United, AKA the unfriendly skies.

I was disappointed in Southwest’s award seat availability. We tried to use “old” award miles for a particular itinerary and were told, and ticketed, that old miles were not eligible for the “any seat available, any time, on any flight” that they advertise.  They would not book us on non stop flights, and chose only the most circuituous routes.  It was a real pain, and even booking six months out, our possible six hour trip was extended into a ten hour trip.  We no longer are big fans, and fly SWA only when absolutely necessary. 
 We have found American to be the most cooperative, friendly and helpful airline for booking award travel. 
United, which my spouse is a million miler on, has downgraded his lifetime premier status to somewhere between a frequent flyer and a premier status.  Somewhat advance boarding is allowed….like third tier, and upgrades are very few and very far between.  (They used to meet us at the door with signs when he was actively travelling for business). They do not go out of their way to book convenient award travel, and usually charge us the very highest amount of miles, even if we book a  year ahead.  We do have the nice perk of having spoused also being given the same status, for what it is worth to us, since we always travel together for vacation travel. 
 Our choice is definitely American, which includes Alaska in their milage point award program.  I hope they stay in business.

I have also had a hard time using miles to upgrade on united flights. Im a premier platinum membr and supposed to have more availability to theese seats. When they rate he availability, i believe its for award travel and not upgrades. My prediction is, they will offer less availability for award travel because they were nominated #1 in this one survey. They get overly confident and stop trying.

UA is getting worse and worse.  On a recent attempted flight from Washington DC to Fargo, ND — apparently a very popular route — the only saver seats involved two connections for an all day trip or an overnight in Chicago.  Yes, really.

My Experience with United awards (and both United and Continental before the merger) has always been very good. We generally are pretty flexible in booking award tickets, especially for premium cabin international awards, but we generally get something that works for us that we’re very happy with. I’ve not had as much success with Delta, which usually only has the higher level awards available, or American, which tends to not be able to get me anything that works.