PV_Premier

thanks for clarifying what exactly was happening. i'm fortunate to usually be upgraded at T72 or at the worst T48, so this is something i will have to keep an eye on if things ever drag out longer than that. i usually try to remember to check on my upgrades shortly after each window, if i'm not upgraded i always double check that U isn't open, but not having to babysit is always a good thing.

bofc

I wondered what was going on. Being Gold 75K I had never NOT been upgraded....until last week. And to make it more absurd, I was shown as #2 on the waiting list for my flight --- then hours later I was somehow dropped to #4 on the waiting list. How can a Gold 75K be dropped down on the waiting list once I check in?

I think it's broken - and "you're right" to the comment about the CSRs all sounding shocked when you call to discuss your upgrade status.

slopeboy40

As a 75K I rarely get upgraded. I have also experienced the drop down the waitlist and assume that "fare class" (ie price paid) trumps date of purchase so that another 75k'r bought a full fare ticket after I had checked in and jumped me in the queue. At lease I hope that's what's happening.

RedmondFlyer

I've yet to be upgraded this year (0/6) as a 75k and the highest I've been on the waitlist I think is 3. If your looking at the alaska airlines app that shows the waitlist I think that your only added to that list once you've checked in. So those with higher priority get slotted above you once they've checked in. I've got to believe there are significantly more 75ks this year and hence my dismal upgrade rate.

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

...now that AS is accepting status matches to 75K

lg20

That is correct, you don't show on the waitlist until you check in. So, if you check in at exactly T-24, you should be #1, but will reach your real spot once everyone else has checked in.

whimike

Holy cow... What is going on? As a 75k in years past I have pretty much never missed an upgrade. Reports of being rarely upgraded and being 0 for 6 is pretty sobering news...

PDXPremier

Yikes...I agree...that's pretty sad...."something's rotten in Denmark"...

dayone

More purchased F on longer routes and more top tier elites due to DL and AA status matches.

flytoeat

That may be part of it but it certainly does not explain why MVPs or partner elites are being offered upgrades at checkin while bypassing 75Ks on the waitlist.

PDXPremier

And don't forget the paid upgrades being offered to anyone as long as they check-in and grab the U space before an elite....I guess I shouldn't complain, at least if we "win the race to check-in", elites still get the fee waived...

Orwaid

Hi -

So is it the collected wisdom on this thread that AS elites have to check in at T-24 on the nose to maximize our chances of getting upgraded?

Having to do that constantly at WN (to avoid getting a C boarding pass) was one reason i stopped flying with them.

OK, the ability to redeem for TPAC F/J was another ....

PDXPremier

Yes, with the caveat being that when U space is available at the upgrade window, the automatic upgrade processor seems to mostly be working....if U space opens up AFTER you're well past the upgrade window, then you need to monitor U space every 5 minutes (not kidding) and when you see it open up....
1. If it's not within 24 hours, call customer service and beg them to process the upgrade (to Alaska's credit, they are usually really good about this even though you'll have to hear the "that's strange--this isn't suppose to happen" speech again).

2. After 24 hours, hurry up and do online check-in as fast as you possibly can because the U space is now "fair game" to anyone checking-in before you (even non-elites, although they will have to pay the upgrade fee).

Portland1k

Yep, saw this early this morning on 222 to SFO from PDX. 27 people on the waitlist for first. At a few minutes before boarding, the gate agent asks if anyone would like to purchase an upgrade as there were 2 open slots. I walked up to the agent and politely asked if any of the 27 people on the waitlist, including 75k's and Gold's (my situation) had been upgraded to those seats and her reply was "when they open up paid upgrades at 30 minutes before boarding, anyone can purchase an upgrade." I asked her how long this had been going on and she said for as long as she could remember.

Flying to SFO wasn't a big deal to get upgraded on so I dropped the conversation but I could see a lot of people asking the same question once I left. Needless to say this doesn't sit well with top flyers and as such, I'm one to vote for changing this or at least taking it out of control of the gate agent so it automatically processes up to that 30 minute window.

czpdx

Wow - sounds like something's seriously wrong. Any time upgrades are offered for sale, any upgrade-eligible person should be able to get that seat for free (and obviously automatically, not by asking). As an MVP, I've been in situations where they are selling upgrades and I'm not upgraded already because I've got a companion, but by going to the counter I can get mine for free and only pay for the companion.