How Complimentary Upgrades Work
Dec 23, 2017, 10:34 pm
#526
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
Is the second passenger on the reservation also an MVP or higher? If not, then it doesn't matter how many U seats are available. You will not be upgraded unless you first call in and have the PNR split. And if you are on a Companion fare, then it also won't happen plus you cannot split the res.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25378677-post30.html
It can be done for MVP instant upgrade. Inside of the MVP upgrade window with U2 or more and no one above you on the upgrade list, it seems like it should also be able to be done in the same manner.
Dec 24, 2017, 6:43 am
#528
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: BLI
Programs: Alaska Million Mile Flyer, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 3,195
Traveling on companion fare, primary passenger shows #1 on gate list. Companion doesn't appear. Problem?
When I asked the gate agent why only my name showed on the first class upgrade list and not my spouse as well (we were on the same reservation, both showed waitlisted for first in the reservations, and I'm Gold), she showed me the display screen that staff sees at the gate which indicates that it's a party of two next to the one primary passenger name. The public gate display does not show that detail.
I was told it wasn't a problem, but then again, I wasn't upgraded so I can't confirm everything would work as expected. However, this appears to be new behavior for upgrade displays in the past year. It's not ideal from a clarity standpoint.
Dec 24, 2017, 6:47 am
#529
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,645
I've run into this twice in the last few months when traveling with my spouse.
When I asked the gate agent why only my name showed on the first class upgrade list and not my spouse as well (we were on the same reservation, both showed waitlisted for first in the reservations, and I'm Gold), she showed me the display screen that staff sees at the gate which indicates that it's a party of two next to the one primary passenger name. The public gate display does not show that detail.
I was told it wasn't a problem, but then again, I wasn't upgraded so I can't confirm everything would work as expected. However, this appears to be new behavior for upgrade displays in the past year. It's not ideal from a clarity standpoint.
When I asked the gate agent why only my name showed on the first class upgrade list and not my spouse as well (we were on the same reservation, both showed waitlisted for first in the reservations, and I'm Gold), she showed me the display screen that staff sees at the gate which indicates that it's a party of two next to the one primary passenger name. The public gate display does not show that detail.
I was told it wasn't a problem, but then again, I wasn't upgraded so I can't confirm everything would work as expected. However, this appears to be new behavior for upgrade displays in the past year. It's not ideal from a clarity standpoint.
Jan 10, 2018, 11:13 am
#530
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: PDX
Programs: AS (MVP), UA (silver), AA, DL, Hilton (Gold)
Posts: 231
I'm trying to get a gauge for how many elites fly the PDX-MCO route. When I look at the waitlist for a flight the week before does the waitlist show ALL elite comp upgrades? Or does it hide some of them?
Jan 10, 2018, 12:39 pm
#531
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,645
I don't think it shows upgrades that occur before check in, such as 75k/MVPG/MVP that are upgraded at their respective eligibility windows.
Jan 10, 2018, 2:08 pm
#532
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: PDX
Programs: AS (MVP), UA (silver), AA, DL, Hilton (Gold)
Posts: 231
Is there a typical amount of non-U space Alaska keeps around? at least one seat available for purchase until day of I imagine?
Last edited by pfpdx; Jan 10, 2018 at 2:09 pm Reason: typo
Jan 10, 2018, 3:40 pm
#533
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8
Hey y'all, question on upgrade order:
I'm an MVP with a flight on 1/12 (within 48hours). I was upgraded to Premium Class but ExpertFlyer is showing 8 seats available in F and a dummy booking on the AS website shows the same 8 seats as available. When I reached out to the Twitter team, they told me seats were being held for paid upgrades for other customers. I thought 75k/MVPG/MVP upgrades we're cleared first, then paid upgrades? I've only been MVP since end of year last year, so I'm still new to the process
Edit - checked for GGU availability and it shows as 1 seat left, so I'm assuming there's at least 1 space in U, but still no dice on the upgrade
I'm an MVP with a flight on 1/12 (within 48hours). I was upgraded to Premium Class but ExpertFlyer is showing 8 seats available in F and a dummy booking on the AS website shows the same 8 seats as available. When I reached out to the Twitter team, they told me seats were being held for paid upgrades for other customers. I thought 75k/MVPG/MVP upgrades we're cleared first, then paid upgrades? I've only been MVP since end of year last year, so I'm still new to the process
Edit - checked for GGU availability and it shows as 1 seat left, so I'm assuming there's at least 1 space in U, but still no dice on the upgrade
Last edited by radumbo; Jan 10, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Jan 10, 2018, 4:02 pm
#535
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: BLI
Programs: Alaska Million Mile Flyer, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 3,195
Hey y'all, question on upgrade order:
I'm an MVP with a flight on 1/12 (within 48hours). I was upgraded to Premium Class but ExpertFlyer is showing 8 seats available in F and a dummy booking on the AS website shows the same 8 seats as available. When I reached out to the Twitter team, they told me seats were being held for paid upgrades for other customers. I thought 75k/MVPG/MVP upgrades we're cleared first, then paid upgrades? I've only been MVP since end of year last year, so I'm still new to the process
Edit - checked for GGU availability and it shows as 1 seat left, so I'm assuming there's at least 1 space in U, but still no dice on the upgrade
I'm an MVP with a flight on 1/12 (within 48hours). I was upgraded to Premium Class but ExpertFlyer is showing 8 seats available in F and a dummy booking on the AS website shows the same 8 seats as available. When I reached out to the Twitter team, they told me seats were being held for paid upgrades for other customers. I thought 75k/MVPG/MVP upgrades we're cleared first, then paid upgrades? I've only been MVP since end of year last year, so I'm still new to the process
Edit - checked for GGU availability and it shows as 1 seat left, so I'm assuming there's at least 1 space in U, but still no dice on the upgrade
I'm just guessing, but is it possible that the Twitter team meant they were being held for paid purchases, and not upgrades? It's pretty typical that on some routes, F isn't released into U until the last minute because AS wants to sell the seats.
Jan 10, 2018, 4:11 pm
#536
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8
That's on the to-do list as soon as I get the chance 
Understood about U space. I guess a subscription to EF will be useful now (my last check was just checking via seat alert). As for the purchase - the rep specifically said it's for customers "choosing to pay for an upgrade before the flight". I'm guessing that if there's no U space, this might be where they "pull" it from?
If they didn't show as available in U class specifically, then they weren't available for upgrades at all. They need to be released into U space, no matter how many empty seats remain in F even 48 hours out.
I'm just guessing, but is it possible that the Twitter team meant they were being held for paid purchases, and not upgrades? It's pretty typical that on some routes, F isn't released into U until the last minute because AS wants to sell the seats.
I'm just guessing, but is it possible that the Twitter team meant they were being held for paid purchases, and not upgrades? It's pretty typical that on some routes, F isn't released into U until the last minute because AS wants to sell the seats.
Jan 10, 2018, 4:34 pm
#537
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: BLI
Programs: Alaska Million Mile Flyer, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 3,195
Understood about U space. I guess a subscription to EF will be useful now (my last check was just checking via seat alert). As for the purchase - the rep specifically said it's for customers "choosing to pay for an upgrade before the flight". I'm guessing that if there's no U space, this might be where they "pull" it from?
I suspect the Twitter human, as nice as he/she may have been, may have also been misinformed.
And yes, an ExpertFlyer subscription is worth its weight in upgrades. (Not to mention seat alerts for better seating, and aircraft change alerts to make sure your seat still is exactly what you expected.) My unpaid endorsement of EF.
Jan 10, 2018, 4:41 pm
#538
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 30
That's on the to-do list as soon as I get the chance
Understood about U space. I guess a subscription to EF will be useful now (my last check was just checking via seat alert). As for the purchase - the rep specifically said it's for customers "choosing to pay for an upgrade before the flight". I'm guessing that if there's no U space, this might be where they "pull" it from?
Understood about U space. I guess a subscription to EF will be useful now (my last check was just checking via seat alert). As for the purchase - the rep specifically said it's for customers "choosing to pay for an upgrade before the flight". I'm guessing that if there's no U space, this might be where they "pull" it from?
While I was eventually upgraded to first, it was not automatic at 48 hours. I looked online - 8-10 first seats available - and was able to select a premium econ seat. Then 5-10 minutes later get an email about the first class upgrade clearing. This happened at +36 hours on the initial flight and +48 hours on the return flight. Not sure exactly if this was due to the ticket being purchased prior to obtaining 2018 status. It worked out in the end, just wasn't automatic as I was expecting.
Jan 10, 2018, 4:55 pm
#539
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: BLI
Programs: Alaska Million Mile Flyer, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 3,195
Recently flew PDX-ABQ and back last week. Ticket was booked prior to qualifying for MVP for 2018. On my reservation clearly stated "waitlisted for first class... waitlisted for premium economy..."
While I was eventually upgraded to first, it was not automatic at 48 hours. I looked online - 8-10 first seats available - and was able to select a premium econ seat. Then 5-10 minutes later get an email about the first class upgrade clearing. This happened at +36 hours on the initial flight and +48 hours on the return flight. Not sure exactly if this was due to the ticket being purchased prior to obtaining 2018 status. It worked out in the end, just wasn't automatic as I was expecting.
While I was eventually upgraded to first, it was not automatic at 48 hours. I looked online - 8-10 first seats available - and was able to select a premium econ seat. Then 5-10 minutes later get an email about the first class upgrade clearing. This happened at +36 hours on the initial flight and +48 hours on the return flight. Not sure exactly if this was due to the ticket being purchased prior to obtaining 2018 status. It worked out in the end, just wasn't automatic as I was expecting.
Jan 10, 2018, 6:49 pm
#540
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8
In my perhaps imperfect understanding, they flat out shouldn't be selling upgrades within the elite upgrade window if upgrade space is available and there are elites eligible to upgrade. That doesn't mean there aren't mistakes made (and believe me, I've experienced them). But they tend to be at the ticket counter or gate the day of flight, not a day or two in advance. Or someone sneaks in during OLCI to buy an upgrade while the upgrade processor is still chugging along to process a elite upgrade eligible batch.
I suspect the Twitter human, as nice as he/she may have been, may have also been misinformed.
And yes, an ExpertFlyer subscription is worth its weight in upgrades. (Not to mention seat alerts for better seating, and aircraft change alerts to make sure your seat still is exactly what you expected.) My unpaid endorsement of EF.
I suspect the Twitter human, as nice as he/she may have been, may have also been misinformed.
And yes, an ExpertFlyer subscription is worth its weight in upgrades. (Not to mention seat alerts for better seating, and aircraft change alerts to make sure your seat still is exactly what you expected.) My unpaid endorsement of EF.
Interesting that there's 0 U space even though there are plenty of seats; it makes sense they'd want to grab at least some paid upgrades before opening this up, but I always assumed upgrades would clear first.
Thanks for your help!
Recently flew PDX-ABQ and back last week. Ticket was booked prior to qualifying for MVP for 2018. On my reservation clearly stated "waitlisted for first class... waitlisted for premium economy..."
While I was eventually upgraded to first, it was not automatic at 48 hours. I looked online - 8-10 first seats available - and was able to select a premium econ seat. Then 5-10 minutes later get an email about the first class upgrade clearing. This happened at +36 hours on the initial flight and +48 hours on the return flight. Not sure exactly if this was due to the ticket being purchased prior to obtaining 2018 status. It worked out in the end, just wasn't automatic as I was expecting.
While I was eventually upgraded to first, it was not automatic at 48 hours. I looked online - 8-10 first seats available - and was able to select a premium econ seat. Then 5-10 minutes later get an email about the first class upgrade clearing. This happened at +36 hours on the initial flight and +48 hours on the return flight. Not sure exactly if this was due to the ticket being purchased prior to obtaining 2018 status. It worked out in the end, just wasn't automatic as I was expecting.
After checking out EF, I'm thinking I'll have the same outcome. I flew this route last month and didn't clear at +48 hours, but I did go straight to F instead of Premium first which is what threw me off this time.