Originally Posted by
bedelman
Thinking about an overnight SFO-JFK, buying coach and very much wanting to upgrade to business class for sleep. . . . Still, last-minute business travel. Guidance and experience welcomed.
Originally Posted by
HLCinCOU
If it were me, I'd probably do a miles+copay to skip the line.
Well, I'd definitely set an alert for C availability on ExpertFlyer, and if any pops up, I would call in to do the mileage + copay.
But I have my doubts that any will pop up given that there's only J availability. I have been watching things pretty closely the past year and AA seems to do a remarkably good job of predicting when it will and won't sell seats at the higher prices... not perfect, but far and away the majority of times I say "there's no way they'll fill the cabin without and D and I inventory" it ends up filling up with upgrades only at the gate... and in situations with ample I (and any significant quantity of C) inventory in advance, the gate upgrade is easier.
So... I'd keep an eye on things. I suppose you could go ahead and waitlist the milage & copay upgrade, but I'd still set the ExpertFlyer alert. I wouldn't expect to see more than C1 if C comes up at all. I also wouldn't expect the cost to come down (presumably if you're looking at J0 it's already >$1900). Unlike LAX there's only 1 redeye from SFO so I imagine it'll end up filling up closer in.
Maybe someone else can chime in re: likelihood of your clearing a battlefield upgrade. I'm a ~$23k EXP but I've lost patience gambling on anything as long as a transcon so I don't know whether you'd be in the handful to clear but my hunch is no.