Originally Posted by
redtop43
I'm curious about how people use their sticker upgrades. I've never used one.
I almost never flew AA before the merger, and when I was elite it was usually on US or DL, who both have unlimited free upgrades. Since the merger I've accumulated 11 stickers. They accrue pretty slowly, even not counting for the rounding-up you get stickers for 16% of your flown miles; used to be 20%.
In a couple weeks I'm flying PHL-LAX-PDX. Y was $183, F was $565, a difference of $380. It would take 7 stickers to upgrade, which would cost $280. By buying F I get extra EQMs, and I'd have almost no chance of being upgraded anyway on the PHL-LAX leg. Admittedly this is possibly an extreme example. I think paid PHL-LAX is about $220 in Y and $1020 in F, so that would be $800 fare difference vs. $200 worth of stickers. ("Hidden City" pricing is of course in play here, but no I'm not playing that game, I'm going to PDX.)
Unless you're EXP, or Plat Pro since there has been Plat Pro, you're going to earn stickers much more slowly than you will fly. I'm saving mine because I never know when I might have a really stressful trip and want to treat myself, or maybe have a traveling companion I want to impress.
Do people buy stickers and then try to upgrade as often as possible?
For the most part, no. If you read the linked thread you will find many people have trouble using them at all. It's highly dependent on route, date, and time. Personally I have never had trouble using them but that makes me an exception on FT. Therefore, many people use the strategy of always requesting an upgrade. However, keep in mind that if you have requested an upgrade you must have the stickers in your account prior to check in or you will be taken off the upgrade list (and if you clear before check in, you must have the stickers at the time of check in).
On PHL-LAX-PDX I would be surprised if you clear PHL-LAX, although again it depends on the date and time-- Tuesday for instance would probably give you better luck than Friday. If you want to fly in F on your trip and you think it is worthwhile, I would strongly suggest just upfaring to F. As you said, you will earn extra EQM etc. If you are fine in MCE, then request the upgrade and there's a small chance you will be pleasantly surprised.
By the way one advantage of sticker upgrades is you can upgrade a single segment. So you could request the upgrade on PHL-LAX and not on LAX-PDX. That would only take 5 stickers and you might feel it is more worth it for the longer segment.