How much does an upgrade to business class cost on United Airlines?

I requested an upgrade on a flight from Newark to Barcelona in September. We were in Premium Plus - I paid $425 per ticket plus 20,000 miles. When I booked the tickets 4 months out, there were close to 40 seats in Polaris still available. We were numbers 6 and 7 out of 30+ on the upgrade list and we didn't get the upgrade - neither did numbers 1 and 2 (they were seated behind us in Plus). I had to inquire for the refunds and had to contact them a second time for the miles refund.

So while that didn't work for us, I hope that gives you an idea of someone with recent experience.

Happy Travels!

Not to Business but yesterday and last week. Upgraded at check-in...
Munich to Cleveland: Economy to Premium Economy $347 (one available)
Cleveland to Munich: Economy to Economy Plus $197. Other than leg room not sure this is worth it?
There were offers for Business @ $1000. Sorry can't remember the exact prices.
I had delays at Newark. My recommendation is check and check again, and go early to the airport (USA). Good luck booking and keeping your schedule during the shutdown.

I guess it depends on how you define "recently." Last year we upgraded with cash Munich-Ohare from Premium Plus to Polaris for $549 each.

My very limited experience was it was less expensive when upgrading at booking. Other factors might include how far out from the departure date you’re upgrading, time of year, and the route you’re flying.

Essentially, there isn’t one definitive answer.

Has anyone upgraded recently?
Yes. I try to upgrade my outbound flights. I will only upgrade my return flights if there is a great deal.

What route and cost did you have?
Route: I fly United from Denver to and from Munich, Frankfurt or Heathrow for my international flights.

Cost: varies significantly. I watch upgrade prices very (very) closely and upgrade when I see an "offer" that I like. I see prices that vary by as much as several thousand dollars for a one-way upgrade to Polaris. During the period of time when business travelers might be booking, upgrade prices seem to be at their peak. If there are unsold seats, prices sometimes drop as the flight day approaches.

Upgrade waitlist - I assume that United would rather sell a seat as a fully paid upgrade than the $425 or $550 that someone on the waitlist might pay.

Did you upgrade at booking, later online, or at the airport?

At booking - never, unless I get an upgrade "offer" at the tail end of the checkout process.

Later online - yes, usually

At the airport - I have never upgraded at the airport, on my flights, the premium seats were always fully allocated the day before the flight

Recent business class (Polaris) upgrade prices that I've seen (Denver to or from Munich/Frankfurt/London) have been:

$899 - 2025 upgrade offer at flight checkin (i.e., 24 hrs before the flight)
$742 - 2025 upgrade offer on a 4th of July flight from London to Denver
$799 - 2025 upgrade offer at flight checkin for a flight from Lima, Peru to Houston
$897 - 2024 day of purchase upgrade during ticket buying process (not selected during flight search)
$912 - 2024 upgrade offer 4 days after ticket purchase London to Denver
$1061 - 2023 day of purchase upgrade during ticket buying process (not selected during flight search)

Each of these upgrades had been priced at 2x, 3x and 4x at various times when I checked.

What do I mean by upgrade "offers"?
Essentially, an online price at any time other than during the initial ticket purchase, which might include:

During the checkout process

Any time after ticket purchase - look at the seat map to see what an upgrade would cost to any seat on any day; I've seen prices swing by thousands of dollars from one week (or even day) to the next.

During the checkin process for the flight - on occassion, I will get an "offer" to upgrade during the flight checkin process, though I think that these may be rare and based on my status as United Gold.

My recommendation is that you must be willing to fly the seat you have purchased because you never know if you'll see an upgrade at a price you like. And don't panic and pay thousands during the peak business pricing times.

This experience is all based on flights to and from Denver, a busy United hub.

sometimes around $300

My theory is that the least amount United will sell an upgrade for is greater than the amount that someone on the waitlist will pay. I would expect that theory to be incorrect if premium seats would otherwise fly empty. For my international flights from Denver, the waitlist for premium seats is typically $425 or $550 plus 20,000 miles.

Remember that "business class" is a marketing term rather than an actual (and accurate) description of what you're going to get. The actual seat you'll get can (and does) vary significantly based on the airline, route, aircraft type and the specific flight (date and time) you are on. To avoid disappointment and surprises, before you splash out for a fancy seat, do some research into exactly what seat you will get.

I fly United in business class often. While United specifically has (finally) achieved pretty good consistency across most of their fleet, making flying their "business class" fairly predictable (for many years they had pretty sub-standard "business class" seats on many of their planes), there's still some variation between aircraft types - some are noticeably better or worse than others. There are also some minor (and noticeable) differences between specific seats on the same plane, so try to pick a seat that's optimal (rather than one that's next to the galley or bathroom - to avoid noise and sleep disruptions).

Generally, on United, the larger the aircraft, the better (and more consistent) the business class seat is. Smaller aircraft generally won't have lay-flat seats (used on regional flights; crossing the ocean it's almost always a larger plane, but they do sneak in a narrow-body, single aisle plane on a few routes, so it's worth checking). As a general rule, if you are on a United 777 or 787, in what they label as "Polaris", your seat should be pretty good. No matter what airline you're flying, it's always a good idea to find out exactly what kind of seat you are paying for before clicking OK.

I recently upgraded on United from NYC to London for about $1,300 a few days before my flight. Using miles usually costs around 25,000–35,000 plus a co-pay. I came across this number, 1‑855‑869‑7071, and it looked helpful — I haven’t tried it myself, but it might be worth calling to see current upgrade options. You can check availability online through “My Trips” too, but sometimes speaking with someone gives clearer info. Hope this helps if you’re considering a business class upgrade!

spam and scam immediately above reported for the bidet treatment. don't believe the scammer's fraudulent phone number

This makes me wonder if the OP (first-time poster...) in this thread is also just a spammer setting up the thread for a later victim.

At least from my observation the price will change and fluctuate, and my suggestion is to go into your "manage my booking" and check regularly. The offer changes often and the offer will be specific to you. I was offered an upgrade at $425 - money, no miles - at about three month before my flight. I didn't take the offer though.