AbyssalLoris

Oh, I understand about the glitch and about the U availability as well. However, U eligibility is dependent on the fare you buy, correct? You would have to buy the "first upgrade" fare to be eligible - this is my understanding. I assume this means that what is quoted under "main" is a G, T, R or X fare. Here, I am referring to the 3 fare columns that show up on the right (having selected GGU on the upgrade type list). Am I wrong?

be_rettSEA

Upgrade eligibility is dependent on the fare you buy, correct. If you selected Gold Guest, then the "first class upgrade" is the lowest GGU-eligible fare class available for sale. If/when U space becomes available, you could apply your GGU at that time to upgrade. If you selected one of the other levels to meet your current status level (lets say Gold, for example), then the lowest "instant upgrade" fare available for Gold elite members is what's in the "first class upgrade" column, which would upgrade you to first if/when U space becomes available (assuming others ahead of you on the waitlist do not get upgraded first). Sometimes the only available main cabin fares are the same as the GGU or status-level instant upgrade fares, in which case it doesn't really matter whether or not you'd select main or first class upgrade column (you'll know because the price will be the same). In some (many) cases, it's cheaper to buy a discounted actual First class fare rather than one of the first class upgrade fares.

Flying for Fun

Exactly, when I purchased my tickets for Dec 31st in the last week of December the lowest fare available was H class and U was available. I bought the H fare and immediately upgraded to F as a 75K.

I do also see times when P is cheaper than an eligible main fare with instant upgrade availability but unfortunately I can't purchase those when using a companion certificate. The saving grace, however, is that I only need to upfare 1 ticket as the companion fare always remains at $99.

James

AbyssalLoris

Thank you for the direct answer.

I still think this whole matter is quite confusing. Especially - other sources (such as Travel Codex) say G, T, R, X are ineligible for GGU to first. All other fares are eligible. It appears to me that the "saver" fares you get when you don't select any upgrade option are G, T, R, X. This would mean "main" fares are the other economy buckets, which should be GGU-eligible.

Another explanation is that "saver" is only a subset of G, T, R, X, and rest appear in "main". This would explain the notion that some "main" fare buckets are ineligible for GGU and those listed under "first upgrade" are the other buckets that are eligible.

A third explanation (and one that I don't like) is that when you select GGU, Alaska raises the price of each fare class to reposition them from "saver" and "main", to "main" and "first-upgrade", respectively.

Do you know which explanation is correct? Or is there a different one altogether? On the whole, I wish the mapping of fare codes to the website's fare columns is clearly documented somewhere. Perhaps it already is?

be_rettSEA

I believe this is the closest explanation. Saver fares are relatively new to Alaska, so many of us are still understanding how they work, but from reading fare rules on AS site and details in this forum, it seems like they can apply to any/all fare classes, though they have additional restrictions on top of them. In most cases, these would be on the lowest main cabin fares, G, T, R, with a designation of fare class X (saver) unless you "up-fare" to a standard main cabin fare, though theoretically, Alaska could sell a full Y fare with saver restrictions if they truly wanted to.

aCavalierInCoach

Can GGUs be applied after booking?

PDXPremier

I would just buy the upgrade fare for GGUs if and only if U space was available....otherwise buy the cheapest fare and plan to sit in Y.

Finkface

Yes. They can be applied anytime as long as there is U space and you have bought (or upfare to) a qualifying fare.

If you have already requested a complimentary upgrade, though, you will have to call in and have an agent remove you from the waitlist queue before you can apply the GGU.

be_rettSEA

Yes, though if you've not opted out of waitlisting for first class, it will require assistance from reservations to remove you from the waitlist/queue and have them add the GGU for you.

Flying for Fun

retracted!

James

williwaw

I haven't been charged for upfaring recently as an MVP within Y.

Flying for Fun

Actually, you are correct. I have been advised by AS that there is no change fee on an upfare as long as there is no change to the flight/route/time. I retracted my earlier statement. Thanks

James

TA

I am a relatively new MVP and I was disappointed to learn that only certain fare classes are GGU-able. This significantly lowers their value in my mind.

Not only that, it's quite confusing from the booking process that this is the case. If you select just a regular lowest fare (but which displays the solid "F" available upgrade icon), the confirmation screen will show like below. It deceives you into thinking that you've confirmed an upgradeable fare with the words "You will be able to apply MVP® Gold Guest Upgrade codes right after your purchase" when this is not the case.

PaperGlider

1) the GGU is not as much a benefit as it might first seem to those people who have yet to be disappointed by failing to find flights where they can use the GGU's.

2) Yes, that banner saying "You will be able to apply MVP Gold Guest Upgrade code.." is misleading because it really doesn't apply. It is an example of poor logic in the webdesign. If enough people provide feedback maybe just maybe someone will bother to prioritize the task to fix it. Their motivation to change it could be an interest in wriggling out of a pattern of misleading business practices. Fixed means that even if you start by searching for GGU's and you select flights without blue F's then that note wouldn't appear. Currently, there is no way to undo the disappointment but the 24 hours free cancellation can undo any purchase.

Flying for Fun

Interesting, neither T or G fares are eligible for GGU application anyway. Therein lies the confusion. It appears a main cabin fare was selected, hence the absence of the U space indicators. The banner should be removed or at least should be reworded to indicate "for eligible fares with available upgrade space."

James