A discussion on another thread got me thinking that others here may have had similar experiences.

Last year, I flew on a paid RT coach ticket from JFK to Rio de Janiero (through Sao Paulo) on Varig. Of the four segments, I was upgraded to Business class twice for free as a *A Gold, including the 9-hour JFK-Sao Paulo segment. I had never flown Varig before, so this was a pure *A Gold hook-up. I also got good bulkhead coach seats on the other two segments.

Here's how I got the 9-hour segment upgrade. I asked the TA if she could put me in Biz Class, but she said to ask the GA. The GA said to ask the FA. I very nicely spoke to two FA's, and since there were empty seats in Biz, they let me sit there and served me food, etc.

The other Biz Class upgrade was on one of the shorter segments, and the TA upgraded me on the spot when I asked. It was that simple.

OK, gang. Now it's your turn. Please share with us any similar free-upgrade experiences on *A flights. In particular, it would be great to find out which airlines are most/least likely to reward a *A Gold with a free upgrade. Any strategies to score these upgrades would be great to know, too.