I was still confused about your comment about the sponsored listing, so I just read about that. You’ll see almost all of it is from purchases, not sold items. Anyone can click on the feedback I’ve received on eBay. Mathew – While I have had an eBay account for some time, buying random things, this last November was the first time that I ever tried to sell anything. Have you never made a mistake that looks ridiculous in hindsight? And MileagePlus didn’t even give him a chance to make his case after all those years of flying? There are so many things wrong with this I don’t even know where to start. It sounds like he would have taken his listings down right away. I can’t believe you didn’t just shoot him a quick message asking about this and telling him it was against policy. He’s not a big fish with these sales so he totally got screwed. You really hung this guy out to dry and now he lost his entire account, all his status, all his miles, which took a long time to earn. The whole point of writing this blog post was to inform people of this because they DON’T KNOW. They are transferable, so it’s not a stretch to think that selling them might be okay, especially after seeing all the other listings widely available. I have not read all the fine print with MileagePlus, and I did not know these types of upgrades could not be sold. Reading Chef J’s responses, honestly I could see doing the same thing. If he is lucky, he’ll keep is 1k status and United account this way - otherwise he would likely eventually have been caught and been banned by Mileageplus, Ben Schlappig-style. Nevertheless, it is probably for the best, since the seller saw it and took the listing down. It would have been better to leave his name out of it in this article and write a generic article warning potential customers. But to outright sell upgrades, it’s pretty obvious that’s not allowed. Everyone does that eventually if they’re 1k long enough. And of course I’ve upgraded friends before when I knew I couldn’t use expiring upgrades. I’ve traded upgrades before, which is a gray area - got 1 global upgrade from a friend once in return for owing them a favor (which later turned out to be some marriott points they needed). And yes, doing the whole trick that you’re just selling the “advice” and giving the points for free proves that he knew it was wrong. Anyone who has been a 1k for 10 years would know this. There is exactly zero chance that somebody would sell upgrades on ebay not knowing it was wrong. But while we can shed crocodile tears for his loss after blatantly violating program rules, just remember that there are generally no innocent parties in these types of transactions and that if you choose to buy upgrades in this matter, you set yourself up for tremendous disappointment and financial cost.įinally, note that MileagePlus members are free to gift upgrades to others…but it must be a gift. Poor Chef J is setting himself up to be spliced and diced by the bean counters at MileagePlus. It’s so blatant and it has obviously gone on for years, since the guy refers to these as “GPUs” in one part of his listing (United switched from Global Premier Upgrades to PlusPoints in 2019). At the very least, it will take away your upgrades.Īnd it shocks me this guy has not been caught. The seller even includes his own website on the eBay listing and invites you to text him with questions.Ĭhef J, you look like a nice guy, but you’re making a huge mistake…Īnd so are you, reader, if you even think about buying upgrades from him or any other seller on eBay or Craigslist.Ĭhef J warns you, “When dealing with United, if they ask, you can say that you are getting an upgrade from a friend.”īut if United determines that a Premier member is selling miles or upgrades, it will not only cancel the account of the seller, it might very well close yours too and void your open ticket(s). Not that ignorance is a defense when it comes to United Airlines shutting down accounts for bartering or selling upgrades, but when sellers play this “advice” game it means they know that it is against MileagePlus program rules to sell upgrades.īut this particular listing takes it a step even further. I’ve seen listings like this for years: its always the same: a 1K or Global Services members selling “advice” on upgrades then giving you the upgrade for “free.” He’s even willing to cut his “consulting fee” in half for domestic flights, where half the number of PlusPoints are required in order to upgrade a flight. I search for travel-related items on eBay from time to time and a few days ago a sponsored listing popped up in my feed: $440 for 40 Plus Points. The Lunacy Of Selling (And Buying) United Airlines Upgrades On eBay One chef may be about to learn this the hard way. It’s one of the quickest ways to ensure your MileagePlus account will be shut down and your status and miles forfeited. A word of wisdom: don’t sell your United Airlines PlusPoints (upgrades).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |