XIY is elite light. Last time I flew it I was the sole CX DM, and there were 0 GO (OWS) either. (I didn't ask about partners). It's totally possible you guys were the only OWEs and OWS on board.

I had a similar experience to CKG before.

Am flying that route twice soon. Wondering if elites will get DYKWIA treatment ;) ;)

Admittedly I've only done 4x KA sectors on each...hardly a very useful sample size. But that was the case for each of my flights at least.

I'm sure that this has been asked before but I can't find it in this thread. My wife has a bunch of miles that will expire at the end of the year and she would like to use them if possible before that time to upgrade from PEY to J. The thing is that the outward is about 10 months away and the return would be at least 15 months away, I assume it is not possible to book this in one go? If not, what's the best way to approach this to ensure that the miles are not lost?

Hi all, looking for some advice. My wife & I are both AA EXP and are flying CX PE on my birthday. I read about birthday upgrades for Asia Miles members, and wanted to know what the upgrade chances are for a newbie Asia Miles member. Is it worth creating a new Asia Miles account? We are flying ORD-HKG.

I need to credit this to AA to requalify, so I'd have to change my FF# back to AA at the gate. Any recommendations? Thanks

Birthday upgrade is an unpublished benefit for Marco Polo Club members (SL or above). Marco Polo is not the same as Asia Miles.

In other words, no it's not going to happen. (Unless your flight is oversold!)

CX only gives possible birthday upgrade to her own DM, GO and SL.
No birthday offer for GR and AM.
Thus, stick all the way with your AA EXP then. You might get op-up when oversold.

Well, I like to arrange my holiday in advice so here is what I usually do:
Call MPC hotline, booking a confirmed outbound seat in 10 months, requesting to hold it for the next 5 months until confirming the inbound flight. Explain the situation to agent and usually they would do me this favor.

However, if your miles expired in less than 15 months, this wouldn't work.

Thanks, I'll stick with my AA EXP. I'm happy with PE for the fare I paid, so no complaints if I don't get upgraded. I appreciate the advice.

I'll be flying alone in PY (E) on CX883 on 31 Aug LAX-HKG. I took a look at EF and the flight appears to be very full in all cabins. Can someone confirm? I'm a bit new to EF.

Anyway, what's typically the recommended strategy for trying to get an op-up? Ask in the OW Biz lounge? Go to the gate? I am OWS and I'll be arriving at LAX 5-6hr prior to departure (long layover from AA). So I won't be using the checkin counters at TBIT.

FWIW, I looked into a miles upgrade, but the buy up to W/R was around $5k one way. And upgrade to J was the same price. No big deal if I don't get upgraded, but the flat seat would be nice for sleeping. I assume this flight is probably elite heavy, so I'm not looking for a miracle.

Looks like there may be a few op ups but bear in mind status and ACV (for which all oneworld elites = 0)

I have no status with MPO, as you probably surmised. I assume travelling alone in PY without a special meal request works in my favor. Is it a good idea to ask the GA (politely) about upgrade availability or is it best to just shut up and do nothing?

ACV = Airline Customer Value?
Is ACV related to CIV (ow elites and everyone else has CIVs though)

I wonder about having a special meal request, if it can't be accommodated do they silently exclude you from an op-up? I wonder about this because some of my colleagues, who are MPC GO and hindu vegetarian, never seem to get op-ups. I thought one possibility may be special meal request. But I think there's no evidence to support this claim.

I originate outport from EWR. I don't think the agents in EWR are CX staff, just an outsourced crew that change uniforms for the different companies they handle. I don't think they have any discretion other than the system telling them to op-up.

However, I do ask, very politely, at each stage, check-in agent agent, lounge agent and sometimes at the gate before boarding. I am a firm believer in asking and that there is little to no harm if done politely and respectfully.

I've never scored an op-up in EWR this way, always I am paged and see the nearest agent to receive my new boarding pass. So I don't believe it's an effective strategy.

You are OWS, high availability in J and low availability in PE and Y, so it looks possible unless you get outranked by DMs and GOs.

Your odds are low. I wouldn't spend any more time thinking about it than you already have if you're the type who gets disappointed.

Asking isn't a problem - no harm - but it will 0pct have any impact on your odds. There is an American idea that politely asking agents helps gets upgrades. At least on CX, that's not how it works. Ever. They've got a system that sorts it out by CX and OW status, and customer value apparently. And in the times they have discretion, asking won't help you. It's just not the same culture where you can kinda sweet-talk your way to things. Believe me, everyone in the back would rather have a flat bed...not just you!

It's also mindful knowing an op-up on CX only happens due to oversold cabins. Whereas in the US flyers fully expect F class to go out full house every single time, it's not the same here. CX will very, very frequently leave empty seats in J or F class. It's not "upgrade until full" mentality. So that reduces odds too.