Originally Posted by
PDXPremier
I agree though...I think there are far more unused upgrade certs than there use to be since many (like myself) can't justify paying a lot of $$ to upgrade a flight that I will more than likely get anyway at the lower fare when my upgrade window opens
i find them the most useful for (a) highly competitive routes (b) flights where i have absolutely no tolerance for the prospect of coach or (c) work trips where i don't have the flexibility of booking a cheap fare on advanced notice. these are often purchased when my waitlist position prioritized by time of purchase might be questionable and thus not worth the risk.
i did use them this week for a CA->HI flight in 2015, but only because i had access to a bunch of 2014 expiring codes and nothing else to use them on. interestingly F was half full already (>5 months in advance, verified by inventory loads and seat map) on one of the two flights i booked, so perhaps that was a good cert use anyways.