Originally Posted by
PDXNRTLHR
AFAIK, OpUps are not a published benefit for medallions. Yes, they're nice, and you'd think they'd want to go by medallion level, but to say that they "steal" the upgrades from higher level medallions is a bit much. Domestic complimentary upgrades are a completely different story, but one shouldn't get angry when someone else with lower status gets a nice treat (which is exactly what am Op-up is) due to an oversold situation.
OPUPs would apply on segments where there aren't free elite upgrades. In that case, upgrades are being done for DL's convenience rather than as a published elite benefit. AFAIK it's still DL policy to follow a suggested priority order based on elite status, etc. But other factors, such as special meal orders or people traveling together, also play a role.
On domestic segments, being oversold in coach shouldn't give the GA carte blanche to ignore the upgrade list and just give people FC seats based on arbitrary whim.