Originally Posted by
SEA737
I don't think it should be this way, simply because assuming the upgrader is working perfectly, my upgrade would have cleared before others can see it for sale. Additionally, people on this forum have said that Alaska has confirmed this shouldn't happen (although admittedly I don't have any official source myself, so I can't use that yet -- and I would appreciate a link if anyone has it somewhere).
Lastly, there's the basic premise of honoring loyalty. If Alaska demands trust (loyalty in order to receive future benefits), it should honor the benefits when they are due. Selling upgrades for $50 before upgrading elites wouldn't be a way of showing they value loyalty. However, I think this was just a glitch, and in that case I think Alaska should just compensate for that (show they care to make sure they don't lose trust) and then hopefully fix the issue.
I have had the same happen to me multiple times out of SEA. And the gate agents swear they are allowed to sell the upgrades before processing the list. I write Alaska listen or tweet them and they have said it should not happen, should process list first then sell what is left over, but it continues to happen. And it is usually the SkyWest or Horizon planes it happened to me. The one that bugs me the most is when I'm on a full fare Y or B, which is an instant upgrade fare if U is available, then they sell the upgrade before processing the list. So I have most likely paid more for my ticket than the person who paid $50 paid for theirs including the $50. I have pretty much just resigned myself to the fact that the process is broken and AS shows no desire to fix it.