SWU redemption tips?
 

I have to book a phx-lhr flight leaving 6/9 returning 6/14. Are there any tips/tricks etc I should be aware of in obtaining my best chance of getting the swu redeemed or is it just a crap shoot? I know it has to be on CO metal, and if I know my chances are good I'll definitely book the phx-iah-lhr trip as I"d like to be in BF as long as possible. Then again, if my chances are crap, I'd rather fly through ewr instead to make my trip in coach as short as possible. ugggh!

Calling sbm12 You are the resident answer man when it comes to questions like this! :p ^

I have question on SWU, specifically transferring and will anxiously wait for SBM12's answer; however, he seems off line now :( He is probably travelling to some exotic place...

I wrote to CO about SWUs and they told me to book the flight then check for upgrades. If the upgrade cannot happen you still have the 24 hour OP time clock to return your ticket.

You can check to see if the inventory is available during the booking. Otherwise, the only "trick" to increasing chances of it clearing is to make sure it is not a "direct" flight. PHX-LHR doesn't have that problem but IAH-GUM or SAT-NRT could.

Looking at your desired travel dates I see nothing confirmable on the outbound but you can confirm LHR-EWR on CO19, CO29 or CO111 (the first 3 departures from LHR) on the return. I didn't look for the EWR-PHX flights.

And even in Y I'd probably opt for the IAH routing overnight. The EWR routing leaves you only about 3-4 hours to sleep. Even with drugs or booze that isn't much time. On the flip side, of course, is the fact that row 7 or 21 on the 752 does have a nice amount of legroom for you making the short sleep a bit more comfortable.
Pretty sure I've answered this already elsewhere, but the short answer is that you can redeem your SWUs for any passenger you want. Pretty nice deal, actually.
You can check during the booking process; no need to book first then check. On the "Advanced Search" page there is a check-box at the bottom of the screen to search for upgrades.

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Sorry I feel stupid as I must be doing something wrong. I just got to the final confirm page of booking CO 1434/28 on the outbound on 6/9, and CO 111/1635 on the return on 6/14 but no where did I see an option that says "confirmable" to BF or any indication of when I can apply my swu's? How are you seeing a confirmable flight?

Thanks sbm12.

Did you do advanced search and tick the box to search for upgradeable flights as per the diagram above?

Yes--it doesn't work. It does show what flights are availabl for upgrade, but when I do choose a series of flights then attempt to get it ticketed, it wants 20K miles + $500 copay. No SWU redemption possible :(

Book it without the upgrade and then go in to the reservation, change your seat to an F seat and process the upgrade that way. :-:

But it is easier to find the flights that do/do not have the upgrades this way rather than buying the ticket then checking.

+1. Just use the advice above to search for which flights to pick, not to actually book.

Even for a cash+miles upgrade I'd take the two-step approach to make sure that the ticket issues and then the upgrade applies. I know that there were a lot of issues with this when they did the *A cutover and even though that was a while ago I wouldn't tempt fate.

Oh Okay I see what your saying, thank you Just use that as an availability tool, then go back and book the flights that you knew were upgradeable, then change the seats to process the applicable SWU avail flight. Will I automatically be on an BF standby list for the flights that didn't clear? When would that happen? How about domestic flights that weren't avail for an SWU at time of booking..will I get on a upgrade standby list, the regular EUA process, or whatever comes first?

If you request it online it should waitlist you automatically; mine have recently. That said, after you request the SWU upgrade go back into the reservation and confirm that you see the additional segment with the red "This segment is waitlisted" warning on it. If you don't see it you'll need to call it in and they'll list you correctly. This applies to both the domestic and international segments.

[QUOTE=sbm12;16165358]

Pretty sure I've answered this already elsewhere, but the short answer is that you can redeem your SWUs for any passenger you want. Pretty nice deal, actually.

You can check during the booking process; no need to book first then check. On the "Advanced Search" page there is a check-box at the bottom of the screen to search for upgrades.

QUOTE]

Indeed you did and THANKS as it was very concise and informative. Now I know what to do - not sure even SBM can get me the upgrades but that's another story.

This is what I find valueable on this site - hard facts, ideas, and solutions... not bickering, personal opinions that is not consistant, and assumptions...

If you had to standby for BF what would you rather be on -- the 752 or 772? Both flights I'm looking at are just about completely wide open up front (of course it says "no reward availability" :rolleyes:) I guess it all boils down to the ratio of coach vs BF seats.