Woman Buys First-Class Ticket On United Airlines. Then She Gets Downgraded: ‘They Told Me That I’m Gonna Have To Submit A Claim’

A woman bought a first class ticket on United Airlines for the very first time in her life. This is an exciting experience for any traveler. So naturally, she was pumped.

Then she got onto the airplane and got told she needed to deplane. After some time, she ended up on another plane—with her first class status revoked.

TikToker Brylee Armstrong (@bryleearmstrong_) decided to cash in points and get a first class ticket for a trip to see her boyfriend. Her plane left early in the morning so she could make it to New York from Salt Lake City, Utah in time to spend the day with him. Instead she sat in the airport terminal for hours enduring United making multiple plans to get her there that didn’t work out. Her entire vacation day was ultimately wasted, and she had to take the initiative later to get a refund for her first class ticket. 

Armstrong says in her video with over 2.2 million views that the most disappointing part wasn’t even that she missed out on her chance to fly first class—it was that she was missing out on spending time with her long-distance partner. To her, the experience—especially considering the fact that she spent points to upgrade—definitely didn’t feel like a “first class trip.” 

Travel Plans Start Off Strong Then Fall Off a Cliff

Armstrong was to fly from Salt Lake City to Denver, then New York. From the beginning, she did not receive the “red carpet treatment.”

For one, she immediately ran into issues with security. CLEAR was not open and the airport experience itself didn’t feel comparatively different from economy.

She boarded her first flight from Salt Lake City to Denver in group one with no problems. That flight didn’t necessarily feel like it was worth the points to upgrade, but she hoped the true, first class experience would come on the flight from Denver to New York. 

Then she got to Denver. That’s when the problems really started. Multiple maintenance issues delayed her flight. For a while, there was no clear timeline. 

After boarding, they deplaned and were told they’d need to rebook on their own. This meant Armstrong was stuck for hours in the Denver terminal waiting for an alternative flight. United also purportedly told her that she would have to issue a “claim” to get her points or money back from her first class flight.

“They told me that I’m gonna have to submit a claim to get a refund. They won’t just refund me to sit in economy,” Armstrong said.

She ended up flying economy to New York multiple hours after her original booking. While she eventually made it to see her partner later in the day, she still felt frustrated with the treatment and service she received. She says the perks she was supposed to receive in first class didn’t materialize; instead, her experience was worse than simply flying economy. 

United Response Polarizes The Crowd

After Armstrong’s story went viral, United Airlines responded in the comments. 

“Bestie, this one hurts to watch,” the airline wrote from its verified account. “We know this experience def wasn’t Mirrorball-worthy, and we’re SO sorry we let you down. Feel free to DM if there’s anything more we can do to help.”

While some consider a brand responding and offering assistance a classy and considerate move, others felt that the airline’s comment was overly casual.

“‘Bestie’? that’s so unprofessional,” one commenter said. Others defended United and suggested its tone was suited for social media generally and Armstrong’s demographic specifically.

Not everyone agreed, however. “[It’s] so condescending. And they just help because they are being called out,” said one viewer. 

A few viewers recommended that if Armstrong was going to fly first class again, she should try a different airline. Some have found United’s first class experience underwhelming, suggesting the only benefit is more comfortable seating.

Delta Air Lines was specifically mentioned, as more than one suggested the flying experience is better with Delta. The airline offers perks like faster TSA lines that frequent flyers generally favor.

“Girllll we gotta get you on Delta,” one viewer said. 

We’ve reached out to Armstrong and United via email for more information. We’ll let you know if either party responds.

@bryleearmstrong_ I think this was my sign to just stick with economy…👍🏼🫠 #travel #vlog #comewithme #fail #firstclass ♬ original sound – Brylee Armstrong