ryan754

I just bought a full fare ticket (no f available). I just noticed one person is above me on the f wait list? I'm assuming they are in the same situation and bought their ticket before me? I've noticed at a 75k that on most all my last minute travel I'm stuck in coach. Today looks like 29F. At least I managed to snag the last non middle seat :/

missamo80

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...ades-work.html

Fare bucket has no bearing on placement in the Alaska Airlines upgrade list. It's purely based on time of add to the upgrade list and your status (75ks first, MVPG and MVP together second).

Neil

haddon90

wow even i had no idea about that.

so my LAX-DCA flight in december i bought in march means i'm probably pretty high on the list.

ryan754

Ahhhh ok. I learn something new everyday! I have to say I love Alaska, but they are not big on taking care of last minute higher revenue elites. Not a game changer. Three hours in Coach isn't the end of the world.

missamo80

"I have to say I love Alaska, but they are not big on taking care of last minute higher revenue elites."

On the flip side it means they don't discriminate against you when you book a low-cost fare for vacation. To quote a travel blogger "I am not my fare".

Neil

PDXPremier

+1....this is what I love about the Alaska Airlines program....I'm almost never going to book a high priced last minute fare so I love the fact that my low fare ticket booked months in-advance doesn't put me out of the running for the upgrade.

ryan754

I agree fully, but I'm thinking there is not a lot of 75k members who book last minute given Alaskas generous policies. Also most upgrades are cleared before the last minute pax buys their ticket.

PDXPremier

Very true.

Scottrick

As others have said, fare class has no bearing on upgrade priority. It depends solely on status and the time of request (usually when you booked).

This is a negative for last-minute travelers but is very powerful when combined with Alaska's generous change/cancellation rules and best fare guarantee.

There is no reason to wait for a cheaper flight. Book now and secure a spot at the top of the upgrade list. If the fare goes down you can get a credit for the difference in price. If you request a fare difference, you'll also need to request that you be re-added to the upgrade list. So your spot will change. But if the price never goes down, then you not only locked in the lowest price but still have a very high position.

Furthermore, if you aren't even sure you'll travel, book now. Anyone can change or cancel a flight 60 days before departure and get the full value back to use for a future flight. MVP Gold and 75K members can change or cancel any time before departure and get the full value back to use for a future flight. Assuming you will spend that money with Alaska Airlines at some point and can float the cost, you can book lots of speculative trips to secure a high spot on the upgrade list. Cancel the ones you don't want and use the credit for another flight.

Kufat

Waitlist priority is a zero-sum game; one person's gain is by definition another's loss. It's tricky, but I generally like the way AS's priorities work. I do wish that getting a credit for a price drop didn't cause you to lose your spot in line, though.

CDKing

I thought off the subject that Trumps plane broke down and he had to fly AS and got upgraded

rustykettel

The polenta is going to be yuuuuge!

LwoodY2K

Business travel is my leading cause of booking <1 month out. I'd guess that's a common theme among other late bookings.

Orwaid

Hi -

Also, 75Ks get processed first at the gate for that last-second seat.

formeraa

But the real issue is whether a MVPG 75K on a higher fare should trump an MVPG 75K on a lower fare on the waitlist for THIS flight. Assuming that both MVPG 75's are worth roughly the same value to the airline, it seems that a higher fare should trump the lower fare.