Dear Forum,

I noticed that my bid upgrades are strangely successful. For my Lufthansa long haul flights whenever I run out of my United 1k plus points I start using the bid upgrades and it seems that if there is a seat available I will get it. I bid for upgrades usually from economy to business as I am not interested in premium economy. I usually bid the lowest amount plus 100 or 150 Euros and they almost always clear. If they don't clear there usually aren't any open seats in business.

I have an old Senator status that I will lose End of February. Does/did Senator status increase my chances on the bid upgrades and by how much? I.e. will bid upgrades get more difficult once I lost the Senator status?