Upgrades on NW remain a catch as catch-can situatuion. Remember that these come for the same bucket as the "free" business class tickets. As of last week, I could have gotten a free BC ticket or Upgrade to accompany my wife who is on a NW mileage run as we speaK, JFK-TPE-JFK. I also checked today , and there are BC seats avialable, JFK-BKK april 6/12, I believe. The key is to check back frequently at the World Perks Award site, as these open up unpredictably.