OK, we have the "Battlefield" upgrade, which happens on the plane, once you've stowed your bags and have to swim upstream amid all the dirty looks...

And as I understand it, the "EUA" is for before you get to the airport (or check-in).

I had a new type of upgrade happen to me yesterday. I checked in on line in advance of going to the airport (about 5 hours out). Upgrade not confirmable, placed on the list.

I got to the airport and after going through security I went up to the friendly Kiosk and saw about changing my seat (There's a black hole in the logic that one can't change one's seat when checking in online, and if it's under 30 hours, you can only change seats at the airport, the day of the flight)

At that point the upgrade had been processed and it cheerfully spit out a new boarding pass.

So, it's not a battlefield upgrade, strictly speaking (although the north concourse of IAH-C does look like a war zone right now...), since I did all the advantages of boarding early, etc. But it's not an advance or check-in upgrade either.

I would maintain that it's also better than the "pester the gate agent by hanging around" pseudo-battlefield upgrade that I would have received had I not used the kiosk again (and it's nice that you can do this with the kiosks now). I maintain we should call that one a "Blue-Carpet Battlefield" upgrade, since it is essentially a battlefield upgrade but you still get to trod on Gordon's blue carpet.

So, we should come up with a zippy name for this type of upgrade.
Any military terms for receiving the promotion before you get to the battlefield come to mind?

This is the "three hour mark" upgrade. We likely need to come up with a better term. EUA, now, processes upgrades 3 hours before departure time and sends out an email. If you have the email sent to a pager or text cell phone you get the notice about 3 hours in advance - you might be driving to the airport. I also have had this happen on a second segment, while waiting at the gate for my first segment. Having received the email (on the cell phone) I just went to the counter and got the new boarding pass. I told the gate agent - I just got the upgrade message for my next segment - could he please give me a new boarding pass.

I am also finding that you never get upgraded when you check in. If you do not get upgraded via EUA during the overnight processing (1-5 days out) - then you will always be on the standby list when you check in, or get EUA processed at the 3 hour mark.

"Electronic Boarding Pass Scan" Upgrade....


when it BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPS while scanning the coach boarding pass to tell them that you've been upgraded as you're entering the jetway....

Or the increasing common situation where someone else boards the plane in coach with your seat assignment but BEFORE the gate agents have come down to give you your battlefield upgrade. For a short while you both have the same seat assignment. When I've known I'm #1 on the standby list it's still obnoxious to tell people "oh, that's fine.. take my seat.. i've most likely been UPGRADED!" Hahahahahah

Just got back from SEA, and checked in online about 24 hours before departure, and when I saw the "if available you are eligible" screen, I knew I was still in coach. Snagged a better seat, since the golds and plats were moved to FC, and just printed my boarding pass.

There was no line to speak of at checkin at SeaTac, so I stopped and asked if there's a chance for upgrade, and they told me I've already been upgraded. However, just like the other time this happened to me, NO EMAIL. Do I have to sign up for it?

It was a "99% full flight" and I tried to volunteer for a bump, but they said they won't need any. Of course I saw a thread about a Flyertalk member who was upgraded, but then refused a bump, since he was already in FC, so I asked about the bump before accepting the FC seating.

Also another question, one that may (or may not) warrant its own thread:

My mother used to fly to conferences (ten to fifteen years ago), and got upgraded several times (mostly Lufthansa out of Canada) to FC because coach was full, only needed one seat, and most others were thraveling as couples or groups.

The Question is, would CO do this to avoid having to do a voluntary bump and give a travel voucher, or are they keeping the integrity of First Class?

BTW, there was one empty FC seat on that SEA-IAH.

EmailKid

Emailkid:

what you just described happens sometimes on BF Int'l flights (at least to me). They'd rather upgrade an elite who's in coach gratis than bump people.

One of the few intelligent policies i've seen in a while....

Wow, that's sweet .....

Is that a bump from coach? Or BF to FC?

EmailKid

It's coach to BF... if it was just first they would've already cleared all elites into any open FC seats. (Like on int'l non-BF routes, south america, etc.)

With BF to "preserve the integrity of the BusinessFirst cabin" they would rather fly with it empty (or with non-revs) than do free upgrades.

If you're pushing for an operational upgrade I find it useful to be EXTREMELY nice to gate agents and dress well. Check availability in coach before the trip to see the possibility of getting "opped up". If it's highly oversold, you stand a good chance based on your status. But i've also had situations where on AMS-EWR coach was oversold by 15 the day before and get to gate and suddenly "No sir, we dont need your seat." Weird.

Yes, you have to sign up for Elite Upgrade Notifications emails - your profile on CO.com. You can have different emails for different times of the day if you choose.

I used to use my normal email address, but changed to text message on my Verizon cell phone, address is CellPhone#@vtext.com (This cost me $.02). The Verizon text message is limited and thus the email is truncated - so you do not see the flight # or seat - but I know which flight it applies to, since it usually occurs almost exactly 3 hours before flight time.

You also get the notification on the overnight EUA if it occurs. You can choose to have the overnight sent to a different email - so as to not wake you with a cell phone beep, but I still have it wake me at 3am with a beep, at least I get the notification if I am away from home - at the destination.

"3 hour upgrade" is exactly what happend to my dad (Gold Elite) on his HKG-EWR-IAH trip yesterday. When he checked in at HKG, they said nothing, and printed his boarding pass EWR-IAH in coach. I checked his itinerary a couple of times when he was over the Pacific, same thing. Still assigned to his coach seat. But then at almost exactly 3 hours before CO51 was scheduled to leave EWR, they sent out an email to him. I notified him by phone when he was at EWR, so he could go to the counter and get his new boarding pass in BF. They've already given away his seat in Y to other people, so I'm sure if he had just proceeded to the gate, he'd be "beeped" for an upgrade then.

I call it the 'check email while drinking beer in the PC' upgrade cause that's when I usually find out in the rare (like 2x this year) instance I haven't been upgraded in advance. Then, I ask the lovely ladies in the PC to print my new boarding pass.

I experienced two (2) types of new upgrades this weekend:

First was about 1 hour, 10 minutes out (before the gate even opened). I had checked upon arrival in IAH and was not upgraded. Later in the PC, I looked at my itinerary, and I was upgraded. I exchanged BPs at the PC. Then later, a redcoat came on the plane to verify I had gotten my BP and was in F.

The same thing happened in EWR. I was rebooked onto a different flight and added to the F standby list about 90 mins prior to departure. A little over an hour beforehand, I refresh my itin, and there it is. Exchange BPs and I'm on my way.

So that's not an EUA, nor is it at the gate (the gates don't open until 1 hour prior). So I think a redcoat or someone is watching the flights and processing gate upgrades a bit early if it's possible.

Second, after enjoying a pre-departure beverage, I was pulled off a flight with a mechanical (along with 2 other plats) from our F seats and rebooked because it was believed we would misconnect. After we got rebooked, I reminded the redcoat to please upgrade three (3) more Elites, as we had just offloaded 3 F seats. From his reaction it sounded like he didn't realize we were in F, and he went over to process them. So it's possible to get upgraded, even after F is fully boarded!

As a perpetual silver (though going plat this year), I'd like to thank channa for a very courteous and thoughtful action. I'm 6'3" and those big seats always make my day.

Ok, keeping the terms short and catchy, then..

We have the "battlefield" upgrade. This one is well-known. After you've boarded the plane, stashed your stuff in the coach seat,and have to swim upstream to take your new seat.

We have the "beeper" upgrade (suggested by Enhanced in Austin), where you get to hold up the line while the machine beeps funny to tell you the coach boarding pass is invalid.

We have the "bluerug" upgrade. This is the kind where you get the battlefield upgrade a few minutes earlier, while still in the boarding lounge, and hence you still get to walk on the blue rug. (I know you're eligible to walk on the rug when you're in coach anyway, but I dunno, I just feel cheap doing that--like I'm breaking Gordon's trust or something).

We have the "beer-drinking" upgrade (thanks to IAH_FLYER) where you get it while indulging in an airport waiting activity such as drinking a beer in the PC (or my personal favorite--drinking a beer while giving people the evil stare from the balcony at Pappadeaux's in IAH-E)

We have the "Random act of Kindness" upgrade, as described by Channa, when odd circumstances free up seats at the last minute.

And we of course have the "Gordon's Happiest" upgrade, when you are forced to pay full Y and they upgrade you after booking. On the rare occasions I get this one I just about roll around on the blue rug.

(I suppose there could also be a "Siegel" upgrade where you don't get upgraded becasue they switched the flight to a COEX RJ.)

...admit it,this is more fun than kvetching about 50%eqm for the umpteenth time...

Good luck with this group...you'd think it was their favorite (only)pasttime...that and 'sleazypass' rewards'...oh and BF upgrades...and EUA...

Maybe I'll start posting anytime I have a good experience with any of the above topics. ^

My experience has been different. As a Silver (for now) I've missed the "1 Day Window" where you actually have a second shot at midnight say about 8 hours before the flight. (my flight is usually leaving SLC at 8:20am) After missing the 'first' midnight upgrade I checked in online at about noon about 20 hours before departure. When asked if I wanted to be placed on the waitlist I checked 'yes'. Then the next screen says my upgrade has been successful and I get upgraded.

I think that if I did NOT check in at the 20 hour mark then when EUA would run again at midnight about 8 hours before my flight time then I would have been granted the upgrade.

This tells me however that sometimes they release inventory at hours/times other than the midnight window.

This happens to me about 50% of the time and another 50% I actually get the upgrade while checking in online. (about 25% of the time total)