Is there any way to get waitlisted for an upgrade using cash only for an international flight? Using miles + copay got us through, but just wondering if we could have done better next time.
Business class was sold out on Friday, 3/18 from LHR -> SFO. My husband's company approved business class ticket purchases, but work never found an open seat for him, so he had an economy ticket. At 6 hours before departure, I saw one first class seat still available for purchase, so I called to put my husband on the waitlist for business class using 20,000 miles + ~$300 USD copay from economy, with zero status. I saw on my phone there were about 13 people on the waitlist for business class and thought he had no chance.
He was lucky - I suppose the people on the waitlist were using upgrade instruments instead, and the agents at the check-in counter were able to upgrade him using miles + copay. When he asked if he could pay instead of using the miles, they said they could only cancel the economy ticket and purchase a business class seat, which was then, at less than 2 hours before departure... 7000 pounds!
Did we do the best we could? The phone agent could only quote me the miles + copay option to get onto the waitlist (when that option was grayed out online). 20,000 miles isn't that much, but it's not reimbursable.