So AI quietly dumped optiontown in late 2019 and partnered for the upgrade bid system operated by plusgrade in early 2020.

This month I used it for the first time and am pleasantly surprised it works like for SK and LH:

- minimum bid for my domestic segment cleared at about 36-48h before departure
- the booking class was stickered to Z and an EMD was attached to the reservation
- miles credited as Z for me in LH M&M
- baggage allowance stayed the same, so the 25KG that came with my web ticket (normal is 20KG for Y) was only bumped to 45 KG due to my *G status
- the plusgrade portal only allows visa and mc credit cards, so couldn't use my indian debit card (rupay)

Fingers crossed the system survives the merger with UK.