Thanks Jackal for verifying the fares. I was starting to wonder if I was seeing things

Given that it isn't an elite heavy route and there still are multiple U seats available <72 hours out, I'm hoping I do get the upgrade.

I'll try to call or at least jot off a note to AS about this -- if this sort of fare setup is ever common, I can't imagine I will be the only one tripped up by it.