What’s your tipping point to buy into F?
 

Soon to be MVPG here. I’ve got a quick work trip coming up (SAN-FAT) in a couple of weeks. Main fare is $114, F is $149. Pretty certain I’ll get U, as the First cabin rarely flies full on these flights. I could pay the extra $35 out of pocket for the COS bonus miles, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. I will have already attained MVPG by then, so I don’t need the miles for tier qualification.

Thoughts?

That’s a pretty short flight. Since you don’t need the miles, I’d just book coach. Not a big loss if you don’t get the upgrade.

I have flown 10 round trips on an E-175 this year; duration usually 1.5-2 hours and have always been upgraded to first. If you have observed a fairly empty first cabin, as a MVPG you will most likely get the upgrade. On a short flight like yours I probably would not buy up to first unless you want the bonus.

Definitely worth it... for the 75% COS bonus alone. But you should also consider that the flight could sell out, there could be IROPS, any number of reasons you might not be upgraded, so it’s always better to have a paid F ticket, especially when the premium is so low.

I flew some intra-Alaska flights like ANC-FAI this summer and always bought F because it was never more than $50-$100 over the Y fare. The math works out even better on longer flights, but to me these days, I think, why risk ending up in Y when the price difference for F is so small.

SAN-FAT I won't buy into F, and as a 75k there is a really good chance I would get bumped up anyway.

For me, anything further than SAN-DAL (may that route RIP) and I start looking on ExpertFlyer at the fare buckets. If F is filling up, especially on SAN-MCO which I do at least monthly, I will call and do a fare upgrade to avoid the disney-bound zoo in the back. The bonus miles are also very much worth it. FLL-LAX is another favorite I will watch, also full of cruise tourists.

Other runs I will chance it with a same-day upgrade. Milk runs between SAN and SEA/PDX are so full of other 75ks that I am content with picking a premium class seat after work has bought the ticket, and if I luck out with an upgrade so be it.

You hit the nail on the head for me. I want to avoid Y at all costs on leisure routes like this. No offense to anyone intended, but I appreciate the generally quieter environment of F, particularly on the Florida, Mexico, and Hawaii leisure routes.

Under 2 hours I will just buy saver. F is just not worth it on such short routes. The only time I bought premium cabin on that short of a flight was FRA-MAD on LATAM for $105 for 2 hours in international J cabin.

My tipping point to select F is a reliable pdb and lie flat seats. :)

Maybe I'm a sucker, but for basically $30, I'd probably go for it.
The bonus upon bonus miles would make it worth it to me, plus the added relaxation of both flying in first AND KNOWING THAT I'LL BE IN FIRST without waiting for an elite upgrade (which seems to not happen on schedule these days) or the stress of a battlefield upgrade (which seems to be the new normal, a la Continental Airlines circa 2005).
But that's just me. Your $30 might be spent on something more exciting than that, for all I know!

I'm not a lounge member so I factor that in ($25 value). I can easily get 2cpm for AS miles so I calculate the 75% bonus. I also factor in not being a 75K, so I'm willing to spend a little more to guarantee F :)

No lounge on either end of the example city-pair however.

I'd probably go main cabin. Saver is only if I *will not* be changing- rare for me not to change some component of travel.

Correct, so that might push me towards buying main cabin. It’s a general formula that use on all routes.

I’m self employed in a state with income tax so the tipping point is lower. $30 upfare vs pay the taxes on that $30....

I sort of got addicted to the Delta “value proposition” paradigm of $1/minute, which comes out to ~$250 eastbound (generally redeye) and ~$300 westbound for TCONs and ~$120 for West Coast flights ... coach is reimbursable for about 75% of my SEA-WAS/LAX travel, and there’s no pushback if I score a GGU at booking (email receipt that says “U (First)” explicitly states “Complimentary or Mileage Upgrade”)

Thank you, all. These are exactly the sorts of responses I was hoping for. I realize that our cost/benefit analysis is all going to be different, but you’ve all presented useful thoughts.

What would the actual earning difference be for a 313 mile flight for an MVPG, G vs F/I?