My last year as a 1K was 2013 and it was so bad that I could not even clear GPUs on domestic flights. I burned 2 on a domestic flight that cleared into R at booking then had to throw away the other 2 because I could not even clear them on CPU eligible domestic flights through a waitlist. Out of the 6 GPUs I had, I was only able to use 2 for an international flight, and that was booked straight into R class that was open at booking. So, for OP, don't waste your time on this rigged game of hoping they will let you upgrade later. Find a flight with R space, and book into that. Paying for W then upgrading into R is a good value. Paying for W then sitting in Y then throwing away unused GPUs is awful.