Originally Posted by
Mouser2000
That is really a shame. I was lead to believe by AC staff that i could sponsor my wife and daughter (who have no status) and they would benefit from my SE status for upgrades.
Andrew states this is incorrect; so what is the big deal about the "new" sponsoring feature if my non-status guest pax will end up being last in line for upgrades anyways?
Wrongfully lead to believe that i had been granted an SE perk that actually had value to me...
If there is R space open when you request the upgrade, then your non-status nominees can claim it as if they were SE themselves. Seems like the issue is on the waitlist only, when the R space is all gone. So I think this is still a significant benefit... it's just a matter of how to balance off the benefit of upgrading your non-status companions against the drawback of SE's and E's being bumped to the back by non-status pax getting upgrades.
Clearly we need an authoritative, comprehensive FAQ to deal with this. I'm inclined to start on it but it's complicated and I just don't have the knowledge to complete it myself. There are too many complicating factors (what are the many possible tie-breakers between 2 SE's vying for 1 last seat, etc.) As you point out, the value of the nomination benefit hangs on how the upgrades are prioritized.