FlyerTalk Evangelist and Ambassador: The British Airways Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Diam, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 33,191
I suspect that they don't work for seat alert because they are free already anyway, just not available to all customers.
There have been conflicting reports in recent past - some people say available to everyone at t-72, others available to everyone at t-24, and some people have reported having seen them remain blocked throughout the check in process despite them being empty in the cabin (and I have had a case where I was in 1K and clearly 1A had been "blocked" and other people have experienced the same).
So I guess you should just try on the 3 day mark, the 1 day mark, and again as you OLCI. They sure won't be available to non-gold before that in any case.