Originally Posted by
Eric Westby
And the upgrades on award flights are consistent enough that you feel comfortable booking Y awards, safe in the knowledge that you'll be upgraded? That's impressive, and a bigger perk than I'd considered previously.
I guess the difference between you and me is that I'm a Silver and have never seen a CPU in my life.
Yes, this was both a surprise and revelation. Before this Explorer benefit started, my wife and I would just book our Hawaii Saver award tickets (40k miles RT), and be satisfied with our seats in Coach, especially with the 2-3-2 configuration (767) or 2-5-2 configuration (777).
Ever since the new, Explorer benefit started, we have been upgraded at the 1k window. Despite my best efforts to dampen expectations, my wife now expects to be upgraded all the time.
What would be the $ figure you would pay to be upgraded on a Hawaii flight (on an award ticket)? For me, and I presume most, it would exceed the cost of the Explorer card.
In terms of "Changes you will like", I have to say the opportunity for upgrades on award tickets with the Explorer card gets a big Thumbs Up. Add the ability to add another one way award trip to the same itinerary, makes this a tremendous benefit.