Upgrades out of Anchorage
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: IAH
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 255
Upgrades out of Anchorage
They'll be 3 of us on a trip out of ANC mid December. Do I have a better chance of status upgrades, MVP upgrades, mileage or pay for upgrade? Which airline would be my best bet?
Thanks
Thanks
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S+, Choice Platinum
Posts: 23,319
I will qualify my statement by telling you that I have no personal experience with upgrades out of ANC with any airline other than AS. That said, the majority of people who regularly fly to Alaska bank status with AS, so from what I've heard, upgrade chances on other airlines are actually pretty good. Of course, you'll need to be elite on that airline (or a partner airline, but make sure you qualify first!).
With AS, the main trick I've used to help give myself a better chance is to fly through PDX instead of SEA. ANC-SEA is a very MVPG-heavy route, and PDX seems to have a lot less competition for seats up front. Plus, PDX is a much nicer airport to connect in.
As for "status upgrades, MVP upgrades, mileage or pay for upgrade":
-Status upgrades: I assume you mean the 48-hour advance complimentary upgrades. These are the main ones I use, since they're free!
-MVP upgrades: Not sure what you mean, since these would be the same as "status upgrades"
-Mileage: While these can be confirmed in advance, I wouldn't call these a good deal, since you have to book at least a Value fare to use these. Value fares can be double the regular "Hot Deals"
fares--not worth it just for the privilege of dropping another 15,000 miles on an upgrade.
-Pay for upgrade: As an MVP, you should never even have this in your vocabulary! If upgradeable space opens up, you should be cleared into F for free without spending a penny.
Of course, this assumes that you and all of your traveling companions all hold MVP status. If you tell us here or update your profile to include your location and status (and airline affiliation if you're not AS!) and let us know the statuses of those traveling with you, we can probably give you some more applicable assistance.
With AS, the main trick I've used to help give myself a better chance is to fly through PDX instead of SEA. ANC-SEA is a very MVPG-heavy route, and PDX seems to have a lot less competition for seats up front. Plus, PDX is a much nicer airport to connect in.
As for "status upgrades, MVP upgrades, mileage or pay for upgrade":
-Status upgrades: I assume you mean the 48-hour advance complimentary upgrades. These are the main ones I use, since they're free!
-MVP upgrades: Not sure what you mean, since these would be the same as "status upgrades"
-Mileage: While these can be confirmed in advance, I wouldn't call these a good deal, since you have to book at least a Value fare to use these. Value fares can be double the regular "Hot Deals"
fares--not worth it just for the privilege of dropping another 15,000 miles on an upgrade.-Pay for upgrade: As an MVP, you should never even have this in your vocabulary! If upgradeable space opens up, you should be cleared into F for free without spending a penny.
Of course, this assumes that you and all of your traveling companions all hold MVP status. If you tell us here or update your profile to include your location and status (and airline affiliation if you're not AS!) and let us know the statuses of those traveling with you, we can probably give you some more applicable assistance.
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MN
Programs: Lots of programs, dirt on all of them!
Posts: 11,943
With NW I had great success with upgrades both out of ANC and FAI, but those were almost always on award tickets. Now that DL doesn't upgrade award tickets (for now...), I usually just book an F award if I want to fly in F.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: IAH
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 255
Thanks for the info Jackal
There will be 3 of us traveling. I'm MVP Gold (via status match) and along with CO & Delta Gold. The other 2 don't have status.
I've found a solution I think. I'm book 2 of us on a route with U availibility and 1 booking on another to try and use my paper gold upgrades.
There will be 3 of us traveling. I'm MVP Gold (via status match) and along with CO & Delta Gold. The other 2 don't have status.
I've found a solution I think. I'm book 2 of us on a route with U availibility and 1 booking on another to try and use my paper gold upgrades.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S+, Choice Platinum
Posts: 23,319
Thanks for the info Jackal
There will be 3 of us traveling. I'm MVP Gold (via status match) and along with CO & Delta Gold. The other 2 don't have status.
I've found a solution I think. I'm book 2 of us on a route with U availibility and 1 booking on another to try and use my paper gold upgrades.
There will be 3 of us traveling. I'm MVP Gold (via status match) and along with CO & Delta Gold. The other 2 don't have status.
I've found a solution I think. I'm book 2 of us on a route with U availibility and 1 booking on another to try and use my paper gold upgrades.

