Originally Posted by
lin821
OP is asking for award tix. Theoretically speaking and to my best knowledge, award tix is not upgradable.
How is "buy up" different from upgrade, in terms of award tix?
If "buy up" is another animal, what will be the chance to get it for an award tix to such a popular destination (Hawaii)? We certainly don't want to raise OP's hope up too high, do we?
I don't know the rules about buy-up and award tickets, but don't elite and E+ Access passengers get E+ on award tickets? If so, it would be consistent to offer buy-up on award tickets as well.
As for availability, I was able to buy-up on flights to Hawaii a number of times before I made 2P. On a 777 Friday flight back from Hawaii just before Christmas (a week and a half ago), E+ was only about half full. The outbound (on a Sunday) was considerably fuller, however.