Originally Posted by
Merlin666
1) I am flexible with my travel dates and was looking for YWG-STR on several dates between May and 08 and Feb 09 but could not find any that displayed the eligibility symbol when I used the SWU code. I also tried to simplify by just looking for YYZ-FRA but also no success. Does this mean all upgradeable seats to Germany are gone?
It could be, but there are also reports of lack of functionality with the AC.com upgrade arrow functionality right now.
You could try:
http://publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/
and look for
I fare availability in the meantime, or provide your dates and someone could look for you.
2) Also, while I am willing to pay for a M fare to get the upgrade I would not want to use this fare in itself. When I called AC the agent said that only Y would be fully refundable - so what are the refund options for M fares?
The M fare published between YWG and STR is fully refundable. The actual Y fare is astronomical!
Note that the M fare is pretty expensive. For $500 more you can get a Z fare (discounted business class) and forget the upgrade certs altogether.
3)How far ahead can one use the upgrade certificate to get a reservation?
You can request an upgrade for flights as far in advance as you can book them. If you end up not having the cert at the gate, you won't actually get the upgrade, but that is separate from the actual request itself.
Your questions were a mix of "how to upgrade" and "how can I upgrade this particular trip". Please start a new thread for questions about your particular trip, so this thread doesn't become too unwieldy.