Didn’t we used to have a thread for people to gift their expiring GGU’s to other members at this time of year? I remember the mods put some rules in place such as one had to be an established member (not a brand new member look for freebies).

For Gold/75K member who did not originally buy the "upgradable fare" and wants to do so later when U space is available, I assume it is possible that fare goes way up relative to the original "upgradeable fare" observed at booking.

As an example, if U space isn't available, and the premium over main cabin fare is $100, it seems the best practice I've read on this thread is that one should not buy that upgradable fare. However, I assume in this case we are risking the premium going higher than $100 quoted in this example. Is that right? Any experiences or best practices to share?

For me, as an MVPG75K, I don't purchase upgradeable fares unless I can confirm the upgrade at the time of booking. Sometimes the lowest main fare is already an eligible fare; K class or higher.

An MVPG75K can select any seat, including exit and premium, at the time of booking, down to R class, without charge, so I will just choose a premium seat and expect to sit there. My position on the waitlist is usually very high and I am upgraded most of the time anyway.

Between my partner and I, we were able to utilize all 26 of our GGUs last year on itineraries including transcons, Hawaii & Costa Rica on companion certificates. In many cases only 1 GGU each was required to upgrade 3 & 4 segments on our itineraries.

If you are flying on non-reconfigured pmVX aircraft, those flights will have little to none U space prior to OLCI and broken seats reducing inventory are not being fixed.

Since you have a change/cancel fee waiver as an MVPG+, I wouldn't purchace an eligible fare with no U availability. I would monitor for U and call in to upfare and secure the upgrade up to T-120 if you feel the fare difference, commensurate to flight duration, fits your value parameters. Purchasing an eligible fare is no guarantee of an upgrade.

For MVPG. I would never purchase an eligible fare without U as if no U opens up prior to the MVPG75K window at T-120 hrs, according to others on this thread, an MVPG75K, even on an ineligible fare, would be upgraded before an MVPG on an eligible fare.

In the case of the lowest main cabin fare already being eligible, I would monitor and if U opens, call to apply your GGU right up to gate control since sometimes there is a lag between the release of U space and the upgrade processor running, giving "opportunity" to "snag" the upgrade.

Jamrs in Kigali.

For MVPG75K, H is also an eligible fare. Y, S, B & M have a COS bonus while H does not.

James in Kigali.

What I would do is:

1. Get an EF subscription if you don't have one already.
2. Check the advance purchase requirements of the "cheap" K fare that you are targeting.
3. Keep an eye on the K inventory.

This way, you have some idea of when the price might go up.

This is NOT foolproof. I was doing something similar with another flight (not for GGU purposes, but to see if it was worthwhile for someone without a change fee waiver to purchase really early or see if prices go down later). At 3 months before the flight (to the day) AS zeroed out the two cheapest fare classes that still had availability, so the price unexpectedly jumped (unexpectedly to me, anyway... I don't know if more experience would have allowed me to see that coming)

Personally I probably would not buy a higher fare class, gambling that U would become available before upgrade windows opened, unless if the price difference was negligible (people have reported cases where it was $4... in that case, I'd just spend the $4. Even if U never opened up, it would put you slightly higher on the upgrade list when the windows opened). I certainly wouldn't spend $100 on it.

Several of my recent T-30 day bookings have been for economy fare buckets that qualify for GGUs, often have 1 or 2 available upgrades, I grab the upgrade if it is a dinner flight of more than 4 hours, particularly if the instant upgrade is much more expensive.

Here's an idea I follow but it takes a cooperative GA. Last Tuesday I was at a gate at PDX, heard a conversation between a gentleman and two young servicemen. The young servicemen were heading back to their base after leave. I quietly went up to the GA and said I'd like to use my GGU's to get these guys upgraded if possible. Well it worked, both rode in first on an original config Airbus. It was only a two hour flight but watching these young men experience first was wonderful. This isn't the first time I've done this or even given my first seat to a serviceman and it won't be the last. I'd put this out there, if you have a bunch of GGUs and see a serviceman/woman in the gate area, check with the GA about using your GGU and try and get them upgraded; I've even paid the $30 or $40 to get the fare to and upgradable one. Just a thought.

Do you have any idea if they were on a GGU eligible fare or was the GA just being nice?

These guys were on eligible fares, and the GGUs' were taken from my account when I looked today.

That's a very nice gesture for them, but unless the flight is departing with two empty F seats (which seems unlikely with a pmVX Airbus, but you never know), we should be honest about who is providing the favor here. It's not the person giving up the GGU that was likely going to expire anyway, but the lower-level elites on the upgrade list who now won't clear into F. Which is fine -- I'm not saying they're more or less deserving than the young men who got the GGUs -- but they are the ones who are actually giving up their seats, albeit involuntarily.

I follow your logic but how is that any differnt than gifting the Gold "Guest" Upgrade certificates before the gate? It is a "benefit" of attaining MVPG+ staus. Should lower-level elite benefits superceed upper-level elite "benefits" in this instance? It beats a GA from selling the upgrade out from under you to a non-status flyer.

It appears the flight was under gate control and the pax were on eligible fares. What we don't know is the route, flight load or the waitlist. The next time I am on an eligible fare and lower on the waitlist than there are F seats available I will ask to see if I can use a GGU.

James