Are bid upgrades entitled to meal/snack?
 

So this was kind of strange and frustrating.

I bid the minimum ($140) about a week ago for AC244 yesterday (YVR to YEG). It got approved 48 hours out.

The flight was J5 at least a full week prior (when I submitted my bid). It was J1 24 hours out, and one person was upgraded at the gate.

They had, maybe, snacks for 7/14 of us (It was an A320-200).

Am I crazy in thinking this is totally unacceptable? The SD was nice. Nothing against her (I've flown with her at least twice before). She got underloaded. But I feel like if I'm upgraded a full 2 days out I shouldn't be getting nothing but almonds on a 90 minute flight (made worse by sitting an extra hour waiting for de-icing). When I'm upgraded at the gate, at least I know there's a legitimate chance of this occurring. There was also no differentiation as far as rev tickets, eups, bids, etc. The front seats got the snacks until they were gone. I could have put myself in Row 1 but chose not to (my mistake, I guess).

I assume there's no actual recourse here, but wanted to know if this is normal.

So AFAIK they now have a list of "upgrades". But I don't think it differentiates based on type of upgrade, or when the upgrade occurred. So even if she hadn't gone front to back, I don't think it would have helped.

If it was J1 24 hours out, and there were people waitlisted for J, they "would have" catered it full. Which suggests this was just a catering mishap.

You mentioned it was J5 when you submitted your bid, so there were more than 7 people who were confirmed ahead of you, and we have no idea how many of the other 4 people may have bought a ticket. Unfortunately, in that situation, I just don't think you'd "deserve" one of the seven snacks.

But yeah, I'd write in. I'm sure you'll get somewhere between $50-$200 depending on how the agent feels and how much you actually paid for the upgrade.

I feel in this case they should at least have handed out snacks / meals based on status but they never seem to do this anymore on short routes.

I would write in but I don't think I would expect much. But saying that I flew YOW - YYZ and they forgot to load any alcohol (?). The FA started to tell me they don't serve drinks on this flight :)

Anyway I ended up with a $100 eCoupon so I am OK with that. You may get the same.

Should an upgrade with status have priority over paid J with no status for a shortage? Under the old system, upgrades pre-gate were treated the same as paid J, but if they were short meals and you were upgraded at the gate, it didn't matter if you were SE.

Also grumble grumble for my $50 eCoupon for no meal on SFO-YYZ as SE in paid J.

Does anyone happen to know at what point (X hours before departure) each flight's catering numbers are set?

Preliminary numbers were sent at 18 last I heard, but at hubs it could be adjusted closer to departure.

Good news! Wrote in and got a 15% off coupon just now, which was kind of shocking. Well worth missing out on some smoked salmon :)

Just for a couple of recent data points:
Bid upgrade for a flight that was J4 at T-52 but dropped to J1 at T-45. My bid was rejected at T-36.
Bid upgrade for a flight that was J0 was not surprisingly rejected at T-36.

Do bid-upgrades earn 3x AP points when an AP premium CC is used?

The wording is "Earn 3 points for every $1 of eligible purchases made directly with Air Canada" so I would assume yes. I wanted to see if anyone else could confirm.

They come through as ac.com and got the AC multiplier on my CIBC VIP card.

Help with AC bid vs. eUpgrade
 

Hello, can someone please help me check upgrade availability for business class?

My partner and I are booked on a flight Montreal to Tokyo on AC5 for Jan 7, booked with reward points for premium economy. I have the option of putting in an AC bid or try to use eUpgrade credits. I’m 25K status and currently have 25 credits- the eUp is asking for 34 credits (so I can put in 25 credits and add $400).

The AC bid minimum is $850 and max is $1800.

What will be considered first, AC bid or upgrade bid?

how do I increase my upgrade chances?

many thanks!

Since the flight is currently J6 C5 D5 Z5 P3 R0, odds are that your e-upgrade request won't factor in until the gate. As a 25K, I would not get your hopes up for a J seat.

So, the bid upgrade would likely be evaluated first, at (in theory) 72ish hours before the flight. With regards to your odds and/or increasing your chances, the upgrade bid process is a bit mysterious, as enumerated in the wiki for this thread.

And there is a possibility that you could be offered an LMU (last minute upgrade) on check-in too.

With this being your first post welcome to FlyerTalk!

As Bohemian said above, I would not get your hopes up as a 25k to get eUped into J. If you want to sit in J, then putting in a bid amount for the seat will be considered over any eUp requests. You are in PY so you will be ahead of everyone in regular Y but someone with higher status might be in your cabin so hard to tell where you will be on the list. Best of luck and have a good trip!

No, it's asking for 34 credits plus $400. You can't do an eUpgrade.

Thank you both for the advice and warm welcome!

Does J mean full price business class tickets?

In this case, do you think I should do both- place an AC bid AND an eupgrade request? I’m a little confused as to which will clear first. It says on the website that 25k status for international flights clears 3 days before flight, while AC bid results come out T-48 hours before the flight.