Originally Posted by NonRevKid

Today I got my "personalized" congratulatory eMail from Maya for hitting the 4 million mile milestone. One hour later, I am sitting in coach on AA 181 after being 19th on the list of upgrades.
Paid $674 -- V Fare roundtrip
3 of the 19 people on the list paid higher fares than me. 9 people got upgrades day of travel. All of them EXPs.
To boil it down, people who are way less vested than me and paid less, got the upgrade. This is because upgrades are based on status, Y fares, and then when you put your name on the list. In essence, they are rewarding people for paying lower fares with upgrades.
Who thinks that this is a smart business practice?