Waitlist expired for SWU supported UG?
I am thoroughly confused on how upgrades work now. I have been on a waiting list for the domestic portion of an international itinerary upgraded with an SWU (thankfully the over-water portion cleared at booking).
Today, at T-24 I received an email stating that the "waitlist has expired" and that I will be added to the "upgrade standby list" when I check in for my flight. After OLCI, I dutifully checked the upgrade list on the mobile app and my name is nowhere there. The 1K agent indicated that there are two lists and that my name should be on a second (invisible) one, with no way for me or her to check.
Questions:
(1) Is the agent right? Are there 2 lists and no way to find out about your position other than at the gate? How are these lists merged/prioritized?
(2) Does the system now lose its memory? If your instrument supported upgrade does not clear before T-24, then you go to a different list prioritized by when you check-in and *not* by when you requested the upgrade (assuming equal status and fare)? This seems a step backwards!
I very much preferred the PMUA systems where at list I could see the "pending" and "waitlist" and find the position in the upgrade list via the old app.
Thanks in advance for any clarification.