US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - CP rules

hey, i'm almost embarrassed to ask because everyone seems to know these rules well except me....

i'll be CP soon (thanks to the challenge). i know you get "automatic" domestic upgrades, but are upgrades automatic to the caribbean? i'm almost certain they're not automatic to europe, but i don't know which fare classes are upgradable, and under what terms you can upgrade them? and does it change depending on what you're using to upgrade (mileage vs. transatlantic upgrades) your ticket?

some clarification would really help me out. thanks much.

--he who slacks

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by OverpaidSlacker:
hey, i'm almost embarrassed to ask because everyone seems to know these rules well except me....

i'll be CP soon (thanks to the challenge). i know you get "automatic" domestic upgrades, but are upgrades automatic to the caribbean? i'm almost certain they're not automatic to europe, but i don't know which fare classes are upgradable, and under what terms you can upgrade them? and does it change depending on what you're using to upgrade (mileage vs. transatlantic upgrades) your ticket?

some clarification would really help me out. thanks much.

--he who slacks</font>
Welcome to CP. I completed the challenge too, but they sent me a gold packet. Oh well, it will likely get sorted out. As to your questions, the free upgrades are domestic only. Im not sure about Caribbean but I doubt it. I would also recommend that you specifically ask to be put on the list for your flights. They sometimes miss putting CPs on automatically.

CP's get unlimited e-upgrades. The rules say:

Each E-Upgrade is valid for up to 500 miles of travel on a US Airways flight within the U.S., Bermuda, Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Have a nice trip.

[This message has been edited by JHark (edited 02-27-2003).]

thanks, you two.

i'm specifically curious about the rules for transatlantic fares/upgrades. any help there?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by OverpaidSlacker:
thanks, you two.

i'm specifically curious about the rules for transatlantic fares/upgrades. any help there?</font>

CP's do not get automatic transatlantic upgrades. you can use miles (like anyone else) - I think all *published* fares are valid for upgrade anytime in advance, based on available upgrade inventory. you can also use the DMUPSYS02 upgrade certs (or the equivalent cert that is coming in the '03 packages). this cert is only valid on certain fares (listed on the back of the cert). notably, it is not valid with the cheap "V" fares, but ususally the next fare up the line (in terms of cost) is the "Q" fare which seems to run $100 - $150 more than the "V" fare. the advantage to CP's in this case is that you can confirm the upgrade (based on availability) 7 days in advance (as opposed to golds/silvers at 3/1 days). also, if there is no availability, sometimes the CP CSR's will have inventory open up a seat for you. in any case, if you are waitlisted for the upgrade, CP's are at the top of the list to receive upgrades at the gate.

You can't upgrade V fares to Europe with points or certs.

http://www.usairways.com/dividendmiles/redeemingmiles/howtoredeem/upgrades.htm