But then, I'm just a lowly GM.

In January, I posted that I'd had one upgrade out of 12 segments. I'm here to report that I'm now one upgrade out of 14 segments, with a recent trip IAD-SLC-IAD.

I'm trying to judge the effect of paying a higher fare, by selecting a higher class, which does seem possible on some flights. (Still looking at discount fares, not "Y" fares.) But I think I'd be wasting my money: since Diamond and Platinum members generally get all the upgrades - and lots of postings from Platinum members indicate that they don't always get upgrades, either. Paying more money for a higher class of ticket won't do me any good when I'm in competition with DM/PM flyers. Paying a higher fare would only be effective when there were upgrades still available, and I'm in competition with other GMs for those upgrades.

Any thoughts on this? If anyone has any other opinion, I'd love to hear about it!