Thanks everyone, this is helpful.

I am a Koru Club member - I don't know if that helps me any. But it's good to know that I am very unlikely to get the upgrade, so I won't pin my hopes on it.

I am only asking for the LAX-London portion to be upgraded, which is why I said 220 points.

Are upgrades easier using air points on other routes, or is it just hard to get upgraded? If it's hard to get upgraded, what do people do with their points? I'm also a United member (I'm from the US) and was regularly upgraded (using miles) on both domestic and international flights. And that was with being a regular member (not premier).

I look forward to joining the community here!