Originally Posted by
Barbella7
It's especially annoying on flights to and from Hawaii.
I have actually had gate agents, on two separate occasions (once in HNL, once in ATL), process mileage upgrades at the gate for Hawaii flights.
Not saying every gate agent would do this, but the ones in HNL seemed accustomed to doing it since there are no complimentary upgrades and the only way you will sit up front as an upgrade is with miles (or an SWU).
The occasion in ATL was pre-merger, so that request might be met with a hard "no" these days, but technically it is something a gate agent can do.