Originally Posted by
grand_canyon
Thanks for the advice. I could also use some Hilton Points but the conversion looks rather crummy. So the expertflyer just tells you what's available so I'll at least know if I could upgrade to business? I take it it'll be luck of the draw since I'll have to wait 24 hours before the flight whereas elite can do it 72 hours before flight departure? Anyone have any experience on doing this 20% chance, 50% chance of getting? A flight at a certain time gives me a better chance?
NO, you won't have to wait until 24 hours before the flight. The cut-off times you mentioned are for "sticker" or 500-mile upgrades. Those are used on domestic and some international (for example, US to Canada) flights.
You would be using miles + copay to upgrade an economy fare on a transatlantic flight. If, for example, you searched ExpertFlyer RIGHT NOW, and saw C-class availability on the flight you wanted to take at whatever point in the future (say, for example, 6 months from now), you could go to AA.com, book the flight, call AA, ask to use miles + copay to upgrade, and you'd be done. The whole point of using expertflyer to find C availability is to avoid being put on a wait list.
-z