rkkwan

I know this has been discussed before, but I was never very clear on this. And the Search isn't running properly. So, I hope some of the gurus can explain this to me:

- My mom (Gold Elite) is flying IAH-EWR-HKG next week. She's on a mid-ranged "B" fare. I called right after she booked the fare a month ago to use mileage upgrade (25K + $350 each direction), and was put on waitlist.

- Looking at her co.com itinerary, they immediately cleared her on the IAH-EWR flight (CO52, 762) and assigned her a seat up there; so she's lost her original Y-seat assignments. For EWR-HKG (CO99, 772), the original seat assignment is still there, and an additional BF waitlist segment is listed.

- Mileage have been deducted (25K each way), but credit card wasn't charged.

I believe all the above are properly done.

Now, here's the situation:

- Looking at the BF seat chart for CO99, only 2 of the 44 seats shown are still open. (4 seats in the last row were blocked and not shown). Appears to me that chance of upgrade clearly very low, a few days before the Canton Fair is to start.

- I understand that the miles will be redeposited automatically, so I am not worried about that.

- What I really need to know is how this will affect her EUA chance for the CO52 IAH-EWR. I believe the international upgrade waitlist is closed at 24 hours; and if she wasn't cleared still at that time, would that put her at a disadvantage for getting the normal EUA? Should I pull her from the waitlist by the 3-day mark?

(I'm not worried about her seat assignments in Y for CO52, as it's a short flight, and good seats are often opened at OLCI after some upgrades are cleared).

All advice and comments appreciated.