Originally Posted by
olouie
SFO is full of 1Ks and a GS members. If you are gold/silver its basically winning the lottery to get upgraded. Even at Platinum/1K its luck of the draw.
Since DL/AA do not have SFO hub its easier to get upgrades overall, but routing may not be as good.
I am on track to hit 1K again this year, but will likely match to Delta or AA then move most of my flights over after March. The new mileage program is one thing, but also having to suffer the constant service cuts is a whole another thing. At least with DL or AA I have better in-flight experiences.
I just flew my last flight as an NYC-based DL FO (silver). I was upgraded on 8 of 10 upgradeable flights. I will now be DL gold.
NYC is definitely a DL hub and I always flew on the least expensive fare available (although some trips were expensive because booked at the last minute.
Obviously, NYC and SFO are two different markets with different market dynamics, but the last time I was a CO elite (gold) I went 0 for 25 on upgrades.
I think at least some of this has to do with each airline's approach to upgrades.