The only way I have been getting rid of my instruments during the last 2 years is to give them away to friends, family, colleagues... otherwise, they would expire. I have a lot of DEN-EWR, DEN-SFO .... very tough routes to upgrade in any way on, whether it be instant upgrade fares or RPU/GPU. The only luck I have had is to get a good deal to buy up to F.

The only instrument upgrade that has cleared for me this year was AUS-DEN ... the only reason I would even waste one on a route like this is because my better half had an award ticket booked up there.

Considering I fly mostly on Monday and Friday, with some Sunday travel too... and on high business travel routes... I am out of luck for inventory in R, especially in the last minute booking scenarios.