Originally Posted by
sbm12
XN is also available to some CC holders, in addition to the lower level elites.
Whoops, right. Sorry about that.
Originally Posted by
sbm12
RN would only really be useful in limited circumstances. If you're waitlisted anyways then the elite priority would put you ahead of non-elites on the same flight so there isn't quite as much need for it.
You're mostly right in terms of end result, but I think RN>R could have substantial impact because it enables advance confirmation. There's a big difference between booking a flight because it has R (RN) space available, and booking a flight knowing that you'll be ahead of non-elites
if space ever opens up -- maybe 2 hours before boarding, or never. And elite-only RN space can't be confirmed in advance by GMs with miles. I agree with "there isn't quite as much need for it", but I think it could be useful in more than "limited circumstances".
That said, I'm not sure how much R space gets snapped up by GM/Silver/Gold using miles anyway. If the answer is "not much", then RN is more or less pointless.