Originally Posted by
lavalyn
Buying UA Z-fares when they show up? Z is sometimes cheaper than B, and saves you the miles to boot too. Of course, 50-day advance purchase and tight availability count against me, but upgrades to J are capacity controlled too. And there's no risk of losing an upgrade due to equipment change; Z is paid business class.
Sample: SEA-FRA on UA
ZSPECE: $3202.00
BEE: $3675.00
Honestly, if you want consistent (near 100%) upgrades, you buy the class you want, or have some checking of inventory before you begin booking. The SWU/miles from discount economy route is not bad. Expensive on the miles, but miles are comparatively cheap to dollars.
Sorry..isn't this the thread called "Best FF program for International upgrades?" Not "which airline has the cheapest C?"
The OP asked about regular upgrades. I work for a company that doesn't allow C. So I pay B/Y and go from there. On top of that..I don't get 3 months notice to plan my trips.
So if you have all year to plan your trips, then yep..my approach sucks. If you buy relatively last minute, and C and Y are a 2-3K difference. My approach might work.
Last I checked there was no single type of flier, so there is no single best approach.