mike_asia

is this offered on the CO website to everyone or just Elite members?

Steph3n

fareups are offered to all, copay+miles to all, miles only for Domestic F, only elites.

usa18dca

Correct...Although I believe UA Elites will be able to take advantage of the Y/B Buy Ups though...I am not sure if this would happen because CO Elites cannot Y/B/M* on UA though so it's purely speculation at this point until COInsider Chimes in.

* for Plats

sbm12

Depends on the fare-class purchased. There are several that have no co-pay for all passengers, not just elites.

And you forgot the option to buy up at a discounted, fixed rate on the day of departure should the inventory be there, which is only available to non-elites.

skipmnyc

Slightly OT: Is there a way to tell in advance what fare class the buy-up puts you into? I'm thinking of doing it on a EWR-GIG and EWR-MIA itineraries, but only if it puts me into a 150% EQM earning fare. On domestic flights, if it's the M-up, I'd be less likely to jump at it.

Steph3n

Firstly thanks sbm12 for adding those points they are indeed correct as normal for you


now, according to my reading of what Scott has said in the past it will on domestic legs be a buyup to the lowest fare class that would be an 'instant upgrade' depending on your status level this could be an M level fare if plat, but a B if gold.

EWR-GIG however would be a discounted BF level ticket unless you did miles+copay(or a fare class with no copay as pointed out)

sbm12

The "catch" to this is that if there is no Zish inventory to upgrade in to from a B/M fare the system may offer you a buy-up to Y that books into F as long as there is a seat available. So there may be M or B inventory available but you might "jump" over that into Y if the upgrade inventory isn't there.

On the BF routes one will mostly be buying up to Z but I suppose it could be one of the higher fares if you paid it.

ijgordon

Actually, you'll likely end up in a "D" booking class, which is (almost?) always less expensive than full Y. And F/C/D inventory always seems to be the same, even when there's only one FC seat left for sale.
In this way, you'd also get the 125% base miles (RDMs) that you wouldn't get from a Y-UP.

mike_asia

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8330m/4.5.0.186 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Thanks for all the responses, now I understand. All I can say is I don't like this type of thing from CO because it dilutes the value of platinum. Makes me want to return to AA

tvetter01

I understand the gut reaction to feel that way. When I'm hoping for an EUA, I'm also hoping nobody buys up (and I find myself wishing that CO didn't advertise the buyup so prominently).

But it's hard to fault CO for selling first class tickets. And, really, that's all they're doing - all these people that are offered buyups (buyups that would affect your upgrade, anway) could have purchased into the first class cabin at the time of their original purchase for the same total amount. CO is just continuing to offer them the ability to do so.

I mean, you wouldn't expect them to stop selling F tickets, just to leave more open for elite upgrades, would you?

ijgordon

Yeah, I really hate when people buy first class tickets too -- cuts into my upgrades.

Phillies

I'm a little confused on these first class buy ups. I have a flight from EWR to DEN next month and I was checking my seating assignment and there was an option to buy up to first class for 15,000 miles for a few of my companions but I don't think there was an option for me, a silver elite. If anyone can upgrade using miles like that, I'm guessing there will be less opportunities for elite members like me to get free upgrades, right?

sbm12

Two things...

1) Even if they do not solicit you for the mileage upgrade you can request it.

2) Yes, if people buy F seats - either all miles (award), cash + miles (upgrade) or all cash - there is a lower chance of an upgrade. That's what happens when people are willing to pay the asking price for the product. Does that mean CO needs to raise the asking price so increase yields? Maybe. But it is what it is.

mike_asia

Is this correct? Always for the same amount?

tvetter01

Not precisely, no. The mechanism for confirming a seat in F is the same, no matter when it is done (Y/B/Mup or Z/F/etc. fare), but it's possible that the price could vary a bit or that different options are available at different times.

If they change the price of the fare bucket that people are buying into (M/B/Y/Z/etc.), then yes, they would be buying up to a different amount than they would have originally purchased - I don't think the difference is going to be significant on the vast majority of buyup opportunities. I think the M fare for platinums is the most likely to have meaningful movement, but I'm not sure that I'm correct on that.

If Z or an M/B up was available when they originally booked, but now F is the only thing available, they'll be paying much more to upgrade than they would have originally paid. It could work the other way around, too, but I suspect that it's more likely for inventory to dissappear than show up (again, I don't know this to be a fact).

The point is that I have a hard time complaining when CO finds someone that is willing to pay (usually significantly) more than I am to confirm a seat in F.