Originally Posted by
ijgordon
I'm a little confused -- are you suggesting that DODUs/LFBUs come out of whatever A/C inventory is published in the system? Because that, IME, almost never seems to comport with your previous statements about having enough set aside for elites awaiting sticker upgrades. I'd be quite surprised if general availability of A inventory factored in elites waiting for sticker upgrades.
Now, if the DODUs are offered as a subset of A/C that makes more sense, but I'm not sure why that would necessarily lead one to conclude that's a reason why they clear before elite upgrades.
Of course, another reason could be practicality -- they just can't process all the DODU's at the very last minute, since that's usually when they seem to clear the last bunch of elite upgrades. So they have to offer some starting as early as 24 hours.
A and C availability doesn't factor in to elite sticker upgrades, but at any given time there is a greater likelihood of having A or C available (and thus possibly enough A or C to offer DODUs) versus X or R (which would confirm the elite).
Originally Posted by
ArrVea
Are Elites who have NOT requested a sticker/500mile upgraded for a flight offered a LFBU upgrade at check in? Wonder if someone in the same scenario as OP could have removed the sticker upgrade request and asked for LFBU option.
Just wondering how to move forward for upgrade requests. Is it better to not even ask for the sticker upgrades and roll the dice at check in.
By design, DODUs are not and cannot be offered to elites on sticker-upgradeable routes. The only way for an elite to get offered one would be to remove their frequent flier number from the reservation.