Apologies if this is not the correct thread, but I searched “upgrade waitlist”+”closed” and here I am.

Last week I purchased an H ticket MAD – IAH – MAD, departing in late September. I booked via the Platinum Elite Priority Line in the US because I wanted to make sure I got on the wait list for BF I have been CO Platinum for the past four years.

Because I live in Spain and pay via a credit card issued there, the representative told me I would have to do the operation in two stages:

1. book and buy the ticket, and then when my purchase cleared
2. call back and get on the BF waitlist

Done, and within an hour I received the e-mail confirming my purchase. When I rang back (again, Elite Priority line) I was told that the waitlist for my flight was closed. The representative couldn’t tell me if it had ever been open, or if it would open in the future. I had figured that, booking five months out, I had a good chance of getting on the waitlist and even getting the upgrade eventually.

Being flexible, I asked her to check the waitlist for the flight (MAD – EWR) for the day before I am scheduled to travel. She told me that she could not do this unless I purchased a ticket for that flight.

So: Catch 22 – buy a ticket first, then see if the upgrade waitlist is open (or even exists).

In this case, I took a chance, changed my date, and then found that the waitlist was in fact open for the new departure date.

Has anyone encountered this and if so, found a way around it?