Eligible flights:
Global Premier Upgrades are available on all United-, United Express- and Copa Airlines-operated flights systemwide.
These upgrades can be used on paid, published fares for upgrades from United Economy®, United Business® or United PolarisSM business class to the next higher cabin. Fare classes Z, P, S, T, L, K and G may only be upgraded on flights to select regions. Tickets containing Basic Economy (N) fares or Economy (first bag charge/no changes allowed) fares are not eligible for Global Premier Upgrades. See the upgrade regions chart for full details on upgrade eligibility and fare restrictions.
How to request:
Once the traveler′s ticket has been issued, members can redeem Global Premier Upgrades by viewing the reservation on united.com and selecting the Upgrade Reservation link. Global Premier Upgrades may also be redeemed by calling the United Customer Contact Center.
Confirmation priority:
Global Premier Upgrades may be confirmed as early as time of ticketing or time of request. If upgrade space is not available at the time when the upgrade is requested, members are placed on a waitlist. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation. The waitlist is cleared automatically by Premier status of the traveler first, followed by fare class, Chase United MileagePlus Club cardholders, United Corporate Preferred participants, and lastly by the date and time of request. New waitlist requests for Global Premier Upgrades can be made until 24 hours prior to departure.
Upgrade confirmation on the day of departure:
If we haven't confirmed your upgrade by the time you check in for your flight, you will be added to the Upgrades list at check-in, so there's nothing that you need to do after submitting your original request. Our upgrade systems process requests until three hours before flight departure, at which point our gate agents will handle all remaining upgrade requests.
Sponsoring another member:
Premier members may request an upgrade for any other traveler using a Global Premier Upgrade, even if they are not traveling on the same reservation. In order to sponsor a Global Premier Upgrade for another traveler, the sponsoring member will need to sign in to united.com using their own account, then search for the reservation using the traveling member's confirmation number and last name. The sponsoring member can then redeem the Global Premier Upgrade by selecting the Upgrade Reservation link. Waitlist confirmation priority is based on the Premier status of the traveler. If the request includes multiple travelers, then priority is based on the highest Premier status on the reservation.