Originally Posted by ijgordon

I believe the process is semi-automated. When the waitlist clears, it goes into a queue to be processed by an agent who finalizes the upgrade, which involves charging the credit card the upgrade service fee. This doesn't happen immediately. I'm guessing it's prioritized by how soon the flight is, and will depend on how busy they are. So if you happen to pull up your reservation between the waitlist clearing and the reservation being "cleaned up", you'll see the message to call. But if you wait it out, it should happen on its own. Usually. But always a good idea to periodically check the reservation online.