Originally Posted by
Mike Jacoubowsky
I'm glad I'm not part of the SWU lottery anymore, because it seems to create very fuzzy thinking. The difference in some of the fare classes, over, say, K or L, can be huge. Take SFO-SYD as an example. You can often get a K class ticket for $1100 or so, while an upgrade-possible fare might run $2300 (or more). That's $1200 difference. Why would someone pay more for an SWU-capable fare than a cheap fare plus 2*co-pay? The miles are almost insignificant (20k each way).
Obviously, there will be times when a high fare class is all that's available, but otherwise, what's the point? Save the SWUs for flights where you don't have a choice (but to buy a high fare) and use miles+copay for the rest. What am I missing?
If UA holds back upgrade capacity, as they are wont to do, and if there is demand for more business-class upgrades than are available on the plane, as there often is, then your K fare + copay would be prioritized below all W fare + SWU requests and might never clear. By buying higher fares you're bidding against other travelers for the C seats.