FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - [Consolidated] Chance of upgrade clearing on my flight {Archive}
Old May 24, 2024 | 5:58 pm
  #337  
jsloan
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Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
Hello, new to the forum and learning a ton.
Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
Bought an instant upgrade to PP at $399 yesterday (5/24) which automatically cancelled the original MUA request. Didn’t see an option online to request MUA again, so called the agent, MUA was requested for Polaris, 30K plus $450 this time.
This isn’t necessarily supposed to work. You may get stuck in PP with no ability to upgrade. The only way that you might have left money on the table is that your original request might have cleared.

My questions are:

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
1. Did I leave money on the table? Should I have waited after purchasing PP given ample availability and time?
No; after you purchased PP, you didn’t have a discounted option.

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
2. Is “PP + MUA + Gold” generally a sure bet for an upgrade to Polaris?
No. There are two ways to get a sure Polaris seat: (a) look for PZ inventory on the flight in question, which is increasingly difficult to find; (b) pay cash.

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
OR “PP + Gold” a good enough bet if your risk tolerance is higher.
You have essentially no chance of an upgrade to Polaris without applying MUA. There are no complimentary upgrades on long-haul routes unless the cabin is oversold and they run out of waitlisted upgrades in that cabin. So as I take it your question was “should I have just waited for a complimentary upgrade,” it’s not a possibility.

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
3. Who has the priority between “Econ + 1K” and “PP + Gold”? If “Econ + 1K” has higher priority, how about between “Econ + 1K” and “PP + MUA + Gold”?
PP + Gold would have priority, but don’t read too much into that, as operational upgrades are rare and you’d still be behind Platinum, 1K, and Global Services members who are in Premium Plus.

Originally Posted by ayurvedagram
4. Is the MUA $ also dynamic?
No.

Briefly — the highest priority is anyone using a Global Serivces upgrade instrument (MUA or PlusPoints), first in the Premium Plus cabin and then in Economy, ranked by status of the traveler. Then, it’s anyone using a non-Global Services instrument ticketed into Premium Plus, ordered by status, and then anyone ticketed into economy, ordered by status.

So, as a Gold member ticketed into Premium Plus, you were behind:
  1. Anyone using an instrument from a Global Services account, in any cabin.
  2. Any 1K or Platinum booked into Premium Plus and using a non-GS instrument (such as their own PlusPoints)
  3. Any Gold booked into Premium Plus on a higher fare class than you, and using a non-GS instrument (such as somebody else’s PlusPoints or an MUA request).
Hope this helps.
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