Originally Posted by
Segments
I respectfully disagree that I will see a higher success rate. And that is the point the US elite are trying to make. As a US Gold, I get a 75% upgrade success mainly because I fly non-Elite heavy routes and don't fly the consultant commuter rush hour. To get that on AAdvantage plan I'd be buying 4 stickers for each 700 mile trip. ($120 if I understand correctly).
For someone who travels weekly that is a big downgrade. Although you may not see US F as a "real" First class, it is a h*ll of a lot better than the MCE I'd be relegated to.
Agreed. It's part of the current US value proposition that elites have a reasonable chance of getting an upgrade for $0 without any shenanigans. AA MCE instead of US F is a downgrade of our experience. (And really, are we making the argument that it's the hot meal that's worth $60 per flight? If F is just MCE with extra service, then just go to the intra-European business class model already - then at least you can resize the cabin as necessary.) Fair enough, I'm CP and in any case probably my experience won't change, but that doesn't mean I want to throw lower-level US elites under the bus.
One last comment - I've never quite bought the "higher chance of clearing an upgrade that you really want" argument; presumably the upgrades that you "really want" are the upgrades that everyone else "really wants." Perhaps there's some improvement in availability on 2-3 hr flights, but will your upgrade chances significantly really improve on PHL-SFO with stickers? I doubt it. (Yes, there will be fewer upgrades on CLT-DCA, whoopee.)