So what does this mean, we have to call 4 days before dep and be placed on the waitlist? I am in the same boat as the OP, my ret from HAV is Jan 3 and AE now wants 135000(I booked when it was 60K and of course now it keeps changing daily or so).

Recent? Whats recent? Two years ago? Its been this way for as long as I can remember....

We have longer memories whey the FF program was somthing good.:eek:

correct me if I'm wrong: D award can only standby at the airport, they cannot call in X days in advance to upgrade...

so if you are willing to pay the money for U class, then you can get upgraded instantly if I>0... whereas the person who buys award cannot take the seat from the I bucket...

Seems that the changes were first noticed two years ago. It was understood prior to that time that unconfirmed D was immediately after paid J and C. Based on this thread it appears that unconfirmed D is after paid J and C and is based on the status of person being upgraded - if a basic member wife/ husband is unconfirmed then in theory they would be at the bottom of the list.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=546685&page=3

See post #106 re upgrade order - not official though

No matter whether the policy has been changed 2 years ago or not. This current policy is great!^

I don't think AP reward tickets should take precedence over SEs and Es using cert to upgrade. When a pax booked an AP ticket and if there was no D seats, s/he should know that D seats are limited in qty and will only be given when available. And available means someone who booked the D seats cancels and frees up the D seats.

Going by your logic, the following should also be true:

When a pax booked an UG-able ticket and if there was no I seats, s/he should know that I seats are limited in qty and will only be given when available. And available means someone who were confimed I seats cancels and frees up the I seats.

So then this becomes just your personal views.

Yes, exactly. Then towards the flight time, the available biz class seats will be distributed to all, according to status, fare, etc.

And this is my personal view too. And I'm glad this is what AC is doing.

As it should be.
remember, a D ticket holder has PAID ( in points) for a J class seat.
A Cert holder ( any status) has PAID for a Y class seat.

If I am flying on a revenue ticket, and I want J class, I pay for it.
Should be same on reward - if I pay for J, I should get it.

Is the upgrade based on the status of the person who booked it or the person who is flying? I am sending Mrs. OhCanada and Little Miss OhCanada on a D ticket to MBJ and they are confirmed in J only on the outbound - do they get waitlisted based on my status (E) or theirs (none)? I assume the latter but you never know.....

That's why AP sucks in a certain way. If D class is not available on a certain leg, AP should charge less in points. Just like some other FFPs such as BA. They allow OW bookings.

However, AP's argument could be, if you want D in all segments, you should only book if all segments are available in D. If one segment is only available in W, then it's up to you to book it but you'd have to accept the fact that you might be ripped off in the end.

And this is evident in the booking of *A flights. You won't even be able to standby for biz class if you used points for D but booked in W.

This is the rule of the game. So be it. I think AC and AP should be more transparent about this rule though.

I totally agree with the comments.

Cert. holders have an option to buy Y/M/U (Lat and Lat+) fare to confirm the upgrade at time of booking if “I” space is available and do not have to play aerolotto. Even if “I” space is unavailable, they can be put on the waitlist immediately not subject to the 7/4/2 window. Generally speaking, there are more “I” spaces than “D” on most flights.

I also agree with views expressed by some posters here that “D” ticket holders have already paid for a business class seat using points while those trying to use upgrade cert. have only paid for an economy class seat. If cert. holders have bought the appropriate economy fare class, they actually have a much better chance of securing a business class seat (at economy class price) than someone trying to do it with Aeroplan points even under the “old” rules.

Therefore D class holders should trump all others who are using Certs, because the mileage needed has been deducted from the account for a J seat.

So, to sum up:

When I am confirmed in W and waitlisted in D, I should get the J seat before you because I paid my hard earned points for D and you only paid for an economy class ticket that you want to get upgraded for :rolleyes:free:rolleyes:

However, when I am a top tier member who got my hard earned status by paying for so many flights, I should get the J seat before you because all you did was schlep around buying gas with your Aerogold Visa.

Mindful that Aeroplan higher tier qualification is principally based on frequency and distance flown. In certain situations, a person who does not fly but accumulates points from participation in other Aeroplan programmes than flying may be just as good a revenue contributor as some higher tier members. There were numerous previous threads discussing how cheap to achieve SE status.

AC/AE should make differentiations between those buying Lat and Lat+ and those buying Tourist/Leisure/Tango+. It’s always my view that only those buying Lat and Lat+ should receive 100% Status Miles. This is the case in many other airlines, including some *A partners.