Originally Posted by
Baze
And it seems to me that my upgrade success is inversely proportional to the fare I pay. The higher the fare the less likely I will get an upgrade. MVP Gold. I usually buy my tickets 5-9 days before I go. I have pretty good success at getting upgrades on my K, T, R fares but am 0% on my H, B and Y fares. On a Y fare this coming Tuesday SEA-IAH and no upgrade yet with them selling at least 2 F seats still. On my last H fare DFW-SEA 4 people were upgraded at the gate and I was #5 . And I've been stuck in more middle seats on the more expensive fares. At least they have been Premium Class or Exit row.
There could be a correlation in the fare you pay and how full the flight is. If it's an unpopular flight and it's wide open, you get a cheapie, and F is empty too, you get the upgrade. If the flight has a higher fare, it's likely fuller, has more elites, making it more competitive for upgrade.
If I'm on a higher fare, I try to use a GGU to confirm it if the flight is of any reasonable distance.