YVR SFO on the spot, when requested 2 days before as AC*P. Although these routes have plenty of seats open.

Went on line at exactly T-96hrs for AC 844 YYC-FRA Mar 17. Waitlisted with R0/J6 so we will see! Didn't request the YVR-YYC portion because it sounds like it is hard to reverse so will wait for the FRA u/g before trying that......hopefully I'll get that lovely email soon confirming!

FYI, it should be the same number of E-Credits for routing YVR-YYC-FRA so IMHO you have NOTHING to lose by requesting it now. If it doesn't clear you wouldn't lose anymore credits than what you would be using on the YYC-FRA.

Here's how I see it.........
Unfortunately YVR is 4 (yes 4) miles over the threshold for more upgrades (5004 miles to FRA), so, the upgrade from YYC-FRA is 14, the upgrade from YVR-FRA is 17 (all according to the ac.com tool). YVR-YYC on its own is 6 vs the 3 if I add it to the FRA trip. My understanding is that if you try to undo an upgrade, and the fare class isn't available you get charged the difference. I'm not willing to burn 6 on a 1 hr flight but would be willing to add 3 to the whole trip and I'm assuming if I don't get the YYC-FRA portion, I will be charged the full 6 credits (please correct me if I'm wrong.....)

That's how I would analyse it. Glad for you that you didn't learn all of this the hard way! And yes, if you don;t get YYC-FRA you pay the full amount on the YVR-YYC. 6eC for such a short flight is not worth it unless you were going to lose them anyway at the end of the year.

Yep for the sake of those 4 miles than yes you are going about it the right way and especially for a flight that is only one hour.
Good luck to you in your W/L clearing for J Class.

Hello all - first time on FT, so please forgive me if I'm asking a question that's been repeated a million times:) Flying YEG-YYZ, then connecting to AC 876 YYZ-FRA on a T+ ticket in April - I'm AC E and want to upgrade my wife (no status) and I. Haven't used these new E credits yet, and not sure if all I need to do is request the upgrade online at T-96 hrs? Or, should I call AC at that time instead? Also, other than checking AC website for J class seats available for purchase, how do I find out the remaining upgradeable seats in J before the flight? Any tips, suggestions appreciated. Cheers!

No need to call. You can request online, but it's T-96 hours as you say (not midnight like the old certs).

A free way to check seats is flightstats.com. Sign up and then "Flight Planning -> Flight Availability"

Thanks - much appreciated!

I'm very pleased to report that 2 days out I went on line and see that my status has changed to confirmed!!! So, I went ahead and confirmed the YVR-YYC portion too and of course it was only for 3 more credits! However, I didn't get an email confirming the upgrade........but I'm VERY happy!!! One other thing - I wasn't able to select my seats - I could look at the seat map but couldn't pick anything, but I called and a very helpful agent got me the seat I wanted!

I am one of the ones still trying to decide the best way to use my credits. I have consistently noticed that M & Lat fares seem to be unreasonably priced and often more expensive than buying a lowest 1st class.
i.e: YYZ-ORD in May
T+ $149, M $669, Lat $569, Low 1st $566

Why buy a M or Lat when you can buy 1st for same or less. I have encoutered many that have M fares at double 1st cost. At this point it seems to me that the best use is blowing all my points on a T+ longhaul overseas???

Curious if your u/g cleared in the end...

Interesting. I travel within Canada exclusively...and mostly between YYZ and YYC. My upgrades have been clearing less than half the time, I'm usually waitlisted at the 7 day window and then the cabin sells out. :(

You're right, it really depends on the route.

I'm currently holding 35 credits and was thinking of using them last week YYC-YVR-MEX, however, the check-in screen offered to deduct 6 credits for YYC-YVR and a further 10 credits for YVR-MEX on a T+ fare. Was I miss understanding this? 16 total or 10 total? Seemed pretty steep to me and we still have 11 months in the benefit period so I didnt want to waste them on a morning omelette with ricotta and pancakes. ;)

If you had gone through with the upgrade, the system would have automatically adjusted to 10 credits. This has been discussed a number of times.

I had the same thing happen on PHX-YYC-YYZ. System said 6 + 10 credits, then deducted 10 credits from my account when I clicked through. When YYC-YYZ upgrade did not clear, it adjusted the deduction back to 6 credits.

So go ahead! You'll be fine.