Originally Posted by
onlyquestions
I'd like to offer a contrarian point of view -- you're better off waiting until after the rule change. Here is my rationale:
If you buy the H fare, but do NOT get upgraded, then you would have needlessly spent money on the H fare. With the copay scheme, you only pay if the upgrade goes through -- and the sum of the co-pay + base fare probably would be the same as the H fare...or at least close, I think. I am, of course, assuming that the new scheme will be similar to Continental's scheme or American's scheme.
At the moment the difference between H and W (the lowest .bomb will give me) for this segment is about $300. The new upgrade policy FAQ (
http://faq.ua2go.com/al/12/1/article...nb&r=0.3170464) suggests that an upgrade from W to C will cost $450. I have not had trouble expensing an H class ticket in the past, but it's not likely I can put a co-pay on my grant. So I spend $300 more than a W ticket to gamble under the old rules (my wife's ticket can't be expensed), or $900 more if I go with the new rules.
Thus as long as my chance of upgrading is greater than 1 in 3, I save money on average under the old rules.