Originally Posted by
Eujeanie
Thought of another question...let's say this was not to EWR, but on a more possibly upgradeable route...does buying the refundable upgradeable fare put you ahead of those buying the non-refundable?
I also would not do this - if I'm going to pay that much extra, I might as well spring for a few hundred more and just buy the F seat outright if we really want it. But I was curious.
The prioritization for upgrades is as follows:
1. Status within instantly upgradeable fare classes (MVPG on an H fare gets the upgrade before MVP on a Y fare when U goes from 0 to >0)
2. For non-instant UP classes, it is by status then time of purchase (MVPG on an R fare gets the upgrade before MVP on any non-instant UP fare when U goes from 0 to >0...provided the change in U is inside T72 -- the MVPG upgrade window. MVPG on an R fare purchased 3 weeks ago also gets upgrade before another MVPG on a higher fare class purchased today.)
3. If an MVP has purchased an instant UP fare and U doesn't become available until inside of T120, the MVP will get the upgrade before any higher tier elites are upgraded on non-instant UP fares. If two MVP have purchased instant-UP fares on the same flight and U0 becomes U1, the MVP who purchased earlier will get the upgrade.
So yes, buying the instant-UP fare does have an advantage for lower tier elites particularly on competitive routes. But it's far from a sure thing. IMO the greatest advantage of instant UP fares is on short notice purchases, since you can bypass the "time of purchase" component of the waitlist to some extent.