Originally Posted by
FormerAmtrakTraveler
For 2Ps/1Ps, I think it's best to use the e500s as much as possible. Before I adopted this approach, those things were expiring all the time because they don't always clear for the big flights I save them for. (Though this year as 2P, I'm 3/3 using them for transcon bos<=>sfo/lax. Way better than expiring! Need to start the "upgrades getting easier" thread.)
Yes, use them before expiring, of course. But SFO-LAX? That all depends on how many e-500s one has. If you're like me and you get maybe 8 to 12 a year (earn a lot of EQMs on non-UA metal), and I can already get an exit row in E+ for short flights in advance, I try to save at least half or more of the e-500s for transcons at off-peak times where there is a pretty good chance of upgrading, e.g., JFK-SFO early morning departures on weekends I've great success upgrading.