Upgrading international
 

Going LAX-ARN next month and Continental Gold.

Q1. Do they ever upgrade elite members on international flights like they do domestic flights?

Q2. If I go with the mileage upgrade option what is the deal on an M fare? Seems like 15,000 miles + $250 each way which seems like a bit of a rip-off

1. Elite upgrades are not offered on flights marketed as BusinessFirst.

2. That's pretty standard for the copay+miles option. The copay would be quite a bit more if you were on a lower fare class.

Welcome to FT, dangerous dave!

A1: There is no EUA on EWR-ARN. FAQ
A2: There is no co-pay for a Y fare. After 27 October, there is no co-pay for a B-fare. FAQ

Depends on your perspective. If you're accustomed to AA or UA style SWUs where you don't have to fork over miles or cash, then yeah, it's a ripoff.

If you're used to forking over miles + cash for CO upgrades, as has been pointed out, it's lower than if you'd been on an L fare.

Thanks everyone, I saw this on the website but last time I was at Newark there was alot of people on upgrade lists for international flights and it did not seem likely that they were paying with miles/cash but perhaps they were.

Well, you left out a few scenarios:
If you're anything but top-tier on AA, then you wouldn't be "accustomed to...SWUs" and you'd be forking over miles + $350 regardless of fare (except the most expensive fares). That may be better or worse than CO depending on the fare you're buying.

If you're used to only being able to upgrade the most expensive fares (a la DL/NW and UA?), then no, it's not really a rip-off.

But in any event, that BusinessFirst ticket costs minimum $2,000, a more likely price is $3-5k, or even much more without advance purchase. So not sure how the mileage upgrade translates into being a rip-off. That said, expect to fly coach on the LAX-EWR segment...

Could be non-revs trying to get on the flight. IIRC, they show up on the same list if they're listed for BF.

Good point as the OP is Gold and would not receive SWU on UA or AA at the 50k elite level.

Actually, I should take the ripp-off comment back, I am just bitter because I do not want to fork out $500 of my own money, nor sit in coach for 9 hours.

I used to fly J for flights over 8 hours but the economic climate changed that, before long I will be getting fedexed to my destination.

The OP doesn't state what his status is with other carriers, if any, in his profile. He just posts that he's a CO Gold in his post.

But it is a good point nonetheless -- if you're coming from top-tier AA or UA, it does look like a rip. But if you're not, the price is what it is.

A CO Gold should be able to snag Exit Row, if available. Not the same, obviously, but if it helps.

Another strategy is to upgrade one direction to ease the blow.

Yes I have an exit, aisle and am considering the return for an upgrade. I don't mind be being wasted on their time but I want to be in the best shape possible for the weekend.

BTW, I have rectified the FF details.

$500 seems like a fair sum to get out of 18 hours of Y flying, but that's just me.

Actually, one more question...

Is availability for upgrades (with miles and fee) generally good?

Of course I know this depends but just want to get a general sense...

The upside with the CO program is you don't pay the copay until (unless) you clear. So you waitlist whenever, and it will clear whenever.

The added bonus is that if you clear the domestic portion only, but not the int'l, you get to keep the domestic portion as a freebie, and get your miles refunded.