I don't think RAward exists. I think there's RLat and R. Nasr's comments about clearing off the waitlist without R opening don't represent something new, as that has been possible in the past. It just seems the algorithm is now more sophisticated, and perhaps there's a higher likelihood of it happening.

If RLat is available, a Latitude ticket will be upgraded. If R is available, and it's within the window, a Flex or Standard ticket will be upgraded. (Barring systems problems). The algorithm will determine whether not to upgrade when the applicable R=0, but I don't think it's going to run until after a ticket is purchased and an upgrade is requested. I also expect that system is looking at both cash and award tickets.

That may mean that a ticket gets upgraded even when both R and RLat = 0. So in that case, RAward would > RLat. Which is why I don't think you can call it RAward and slot it in to the equation; it's a different beast.

I think he's referring to the dynamic pricing of tickets. Two people could book the same itinerary on a Latitude award, but one of them might pay 2x, 3x, or more than the other person.

But I'll defer to [MENTION=692809]YOWgary[/MENTION] somewhat as he may have better context.

I think you're reading too much in to something that is more likely a simple website glitch. This would not be the first time the website had been wrong about upgrade availability, and likely won't be the last. There's a reason why we have a thread nearly 6,000 posts long about problems with the AC and Aeroplan websites