Originally Posted by
Irubi
So, looks like I will go down the payment route if they let me and if there are any seats left.
For a PHL-LAS flight, I think if there's a seat left and they sell it to you, once you get to LAS bet all you can...it is your lucky day.
For seats to be left at boarding, it would mean that all US elites have been upgraded...including Silvers.
Another option for you is to do a trial preferred. I think the fee is $200, and you'd get Silver status. I think you can do Gold for $400, but if you pay the Silver rate, and fly enough for Gold, you'd get Gold anyway. If you're checking a bag, and you manage to get F (pretty slim as a Silver), it would be money well spent on a Silver trial.
There's a thread somewhere about trial preferred, with all of the details.