Sometimes I do! I bought full J tickets for vacation next year - there was no I or C left. AC sure makes it a tough deal to consider paying for business class though. Lately I find myself going to Asia with United instead of AC because I can get the tickets cheaper!! Not to mention availability is much better.

Why do I respond? Well my point is that I buy J when I want to be guaranteed J with no hassles, and when the $:comfort ratio is good enough for the given flight. Beyond that, I know what to expect with AC, and free u/g without a cert is not something to expect. With a cert, I expect to be ahead of free-upgrades. That's part of what I signed up for. If they don't offer it anymore, let me know so I can go elsewhere. United seems to be willing to fly me everywhere for less $ anyway, and I can surely make UGS with my recent travel habits.

When it comes to free upgrades, I think it's great that some non-status passengers get it on occasion. It's something people really appreciate. Then again, it wouldn't hurt to bump status passengers into the remaining J seats after all certs and special cases are done, but that's another story.