US Airways Dividend Miles - Preferred Upgrades when booked with miles

I know the rule for Preferreds is if you buy a reward ticket on US Airways using miles in coach, you aren't eligible for complimentary upgrades.

However, if the first class cabin has available seats (or in this case is completely empty), is there any way to get the complimentary upgrade? Is this just a YMMV type thing when asking a Gate Agent? Anyone have any tips on how to be persuasive enough to get this to go through and who would be best to inquire with about this?

Appreciate the advice in advance!

I know the rule for Preferreds is if you buy a reward ticket on US Airways using miles in coach, you aren't eligible for complimentary upgrades.

However, if the first class cabin has available seats (or in this case is completely empty), is there any way to get the complimentary upgrade? Is this just a YMMV type thing when asking a Gate Agent? Anyone have any tips on how to be persuasive enough to get this to go through and who would be best to inquire with about this?

Appreciate the advice in advance!

Not entirely true.

If you earn the Special Dividends for Plat, you can upgrade award tickets.

Otherwise, I believe you should be able to do a GoUpgrade if it's available. Won't earn miles for the ticket, but should still be able to sit in F.

I know the rule for Preferreds is if you buy a reward ticket on US Airways using miles in coach, you aren't eligible for complimentary upgrades.

However, if the first class cabin has available seats (or in this case is completely empty), is there any way to get the complimentary upgrade? Is this just a YMMV type thing when asking a Gate Agent? Anyone have any tips on how to be persuasive enough to get this to go through and who would be best to inquire with about this?

Appreciate the advice in advance!

If you're Platinum (with 85k PQM's) or Chairman's Preferred you can get comp upgrades on award tickets as a special dividend. GoUpgrades may also be a possibility.

Only a Silver here, so no possibility of those Platinum upgrades unfortunately.

GoUpgrade looks like your best bet then.

Just got upgraded on an award ticket (and a move up) ex PIT a week ago. Had to ask the gate agent, however, I got the last seat (in front of a few silvers).

That was nice of the gate agent, but perhaps not fair to the next one on the list who was more deserving of the upgrade.....

I just reserved the following award travel a month ago and was told I would not receive complementary upgrades for award travel:

RIC-CLT-PHX-SJC / SAN-CLT-RIC

About two weeks later, both myself and my non-preferred wife were upgraded to F on ALL flights.

zing!

That was nice of the gate agent, but perhaps not fair to the next one on the list who was more deserving of the upgrade.....

If he's a CP, he earned the Special Dividend that would allow him to upgrade the award flight.

Sure, it would suck for the Silvers, but it's the rules and he's earned it as a CP as he's flown a lot more rev tickets than the Silvers. He'd trump everyone but a CP on a rev ticket.

I'm silver with US and 3 for 3 on being upgraded on award tickets. It's all about how you approach the GA ;)

If he's a CP, he earned the Special Dividend that would allow him to upgrade the award flight.

Sure, it would suck for the Silvers, but it's the rules and he's earned it as a CP as he's flown a lot more rev tickets than the Silvers. He'd trump everyone but a CP on a rev ticket.

Is this the case? The complimentary upgrades on award tickets are supposed to process at something like 24 hours before departure (or at the gate, I'm not sure which), after all other preferreds have been upgraded. However, I'm not sure how the airport standby list works in this situation.

He'd trump everyone but a CP on a rev ticket.

I'm not sure that's true... I was under the impression comp upgrades on award tickets are prioritized after upgrades from all revenue tickets (Chairman's > Platinum > Gold > Silver > CP's on Award Tickets > Platinums on Award Tickets > Go Upgrades).

I'm not sure that's true... I was under the impression comp upgrades on award tickets are prioritized after upgrades from all revenue tickets (Chairman's > Platinum > Gold > Silver > CP's on Award Tickets > Platinums on Award Tickets > Go Upgrades).

That is incorrect. CPs on awards would still start processing at the 7 day window and platinums at the 4 day window. Says so right on the special dividends page of the website.

So now that the thread is heading in this direction ....

Has anyone figured out how long this particular Special Dividend benefit (i.e., upgrades on award tickets) lasts?

Special Dividends started last year. Some of us were grousing late in the year that we were only hitting 85K then and wondering whether this benefit would turn into a pumpkin on 31 December 2011 or 29 February 2012. But as I read between the lines here, it sounds as though it may be persisting ... ? That is, that if you earned it in 2011, you have all 2012 to re-qualify, as with a Preferred status ... ?

So now that the thread is heading in this direction ....

Has anyone figured out how long this particular Special Dividend benefit (i.e., upgrades on award tickets) lasts?

Special Dividends started last year. Some of us were grousing late in the year that we were only hitting 85K then and wondering whether this benefit would turn into a pumpkin on 31 December 2011 or 29 February 2012. But as I read between the lines here, it sounds as though it may be persisting ... ? That is, that if you earned it in 2011, you have all 2012 to re-qualify, as with a Preferred status ... ?

If you earned the benefit in 2011, its only good til Feb 29, 2012. Says so in the terms and conditions of the benefit.

If you earned the benefit in 2011, its only good til Feb 29, 2012. Says so in the terms and conditions of the benefit.

That is -- unfortunately -- what I thought, too. Which means that right now, in, say, July 2012, the fact that someone is Platinum (maybe over 85K PQMs in 2011) or Chairman's (almost certainly over 85K PQMs in 2011 [unless a "buy up"]) does not mean that they would necessarily be able to upgrade on an award ticket. It's a matter of whether they (we) have hit 85K yet this year (2012) ... I'm surmising, therefore, that there are a non-trivial number of us for whom this Special Dividend is only a 2-3 month a year benefit ....