Originally Posted by appleguru

Somewhere in between. When people here say "FCM", they generally mean they got an offer for FC that was lower than the fare difference. Normally this is offered as an upsell on the website (though as a DM I've never seen one). But sometimes when you call in and ask they'll give you a very good rate.

These rates are generally tailored to you specifically, so what you get offered may be better or worse than anyone else. Anecdotelly, those with lower/no status seem to get better FCM offers.