A few weeks ago I suggested that upgrades were handed out based on revenue within elite tiers, and was slapped by several people who said it was all about the OLCI time -- if you check in at 23:59 on a $200 ticket as a plat, you'll get on the list ahead of another plat checking in at an hour before the flight on a $800 ticket, and you'll get the upgrae.
However, am I the only one that noticed this in the chat the other night?
mr exec
How does your system determine who gets upgraded on paid tickets when there are multiple travelers with the same elite status?
Russ Hinckley
We do look at a number of factors. First we sort by tier, then revenue, then LT value factors, then time of ticketing. I think it works very well and is the strongest benefit of our program. thx.
Notice that time of checkin is not mentioned. Time of ticketing is, but it's the very last thing (after revenue, which is normally a clear differentiator -- very few people pay the exact same amount for their tickets)....
So what's the concensus? Is it revenue based or OLCI time based?