Originally Posted by dtwjim
so if the F bucket has seats i should be able to look at my seats on nwa.com and see that i was upgraded (along with getting my choice of notification)
if its marked F0 and P[1-9] then i should hope for something at the gate.
Not quite.
The R (upgrade) bucket is a subset of F. Many of my recent flights have been F4 R0 up to the day of departure. This happens often on sold-out flights: NW is trying to sell discounted F instead of full-fare Y to last minute fliers.
I believe notification tends to happen at least 4 hours after the EUA runs. I always seem to notice my seat assignment change well before I get the ug email.