Originally Posted by sharik

Hello everyone,

I am still a novice and learning the ropes so please bear with me.

Upgrade given: Y – J

Fare Type: Flex

Upgrade location: Gate

Route: DXB-JED

Tier Status: Blue

Notes:
This was my first time ever flying emirates, my route was Toronto to Jeddah and despite striking out at the Toronto airport, I hit the jackpot during boarding at DXB when the magic beep went off when they scanned my boarding pass and I was upgraded. They did offer me $1000 to upgrade the YYZ-DXB leg at the check-in gate but being a student, I don't have that kind of walking money. They also sent me an email for $300 to upgrade the DXB-JED leg but thankfully I got an op-up for that anyway.

First Class treatment at YYZ
I was travelling alone and since my dad is a platinum member, I downloaded his skywards card on my apple wallet and asked at YYZ if I could use it to skip the queues and use the first class lines for boarding, check-in, priority baggage tags, and use the premium plaza lounge at YYZ. To my delight the manager said I can do that since I am family. It was a great first-time experience and after a lot of research on this site I am now on the quest to get an op-up on my next flight from North America.

Current Events

I read that having gold status highly increases your chances to get an op-up, so I asked my dad to nominate me as his gold partner. I am planning my next trip right before Christmas when all the schools start their holidays.

Fellow members, I need your advice on whether to book my flight from JFK or YYZ. Which of these airports will maximise my chances of hearing that magic beep on the counter? I am going to be booking flex ticket and I can assume that the YYZ flights will be heavily booked being the only destination in Canada and operating only 5 Times a week as opposed to JFKs 21 weekly flights. I have also read that JFK is status heavy airport but I’m not sure how that plays out during Christmas when demand is high. Also, if anyone knows, what is Toronto like in terms of status passengers. I did read a couple posts of silver members getting op-upd and I would love to hear your thoughts and make an informed decision to bet against the odds (as ironical as it may sound). Thanks a lot!