Originally Posted by
earthyguppy
A few months ago, I enjoyed a really weird (but fortunate!) complimentary upgrade. I was flying TAP Portugal from BCN to EWR as a United Silver (and hence *A Silver) on an Economy ticket. When I went to board though, they had upgraded me to business class for free. I was really surprised by this; AFAIK, *A has no official CPU benefits, and I figure even if there's unpublished benefits, they are really unlikely to trickle down to a *A Silver. For context, this was my first time traveling via TAP.
Serendipity conspired to get you into business-class. Maybe you were the highest-ranking un-boarded single-traveller with no special meal ordered.
Last-minute, at the gate upgrades can be led by urgency and whim rather than calculation and algorithm: maybe it was your debonair charm and good looks that swung it.
Whatever the reason, be grateful!