PIT_Flyer

Been a while since I posted here. Was supposed to attend the do, but a throat problem took a turn for the worse and I'm now in line for surgery (I'll post details in Omni for those interested)

Anyway, I'm flying to PIT-IAH-DFW this weekend while my wife will be flying IAH-DFW on the same flight. I'm Gold while she's Silver.

Is there any advantage in trying to upgrade her as my companion instead of letting her upgrade be processed as a Silver? I guess I'm asking who will be upgraded first - gold companion or silver...

For those with significant others who've been in similar situations before, what do you normally do?
1. Tell the gate agent that you don't want the upgrade if your SO isn't upgraded.
2. Upgrade the lucky person who's sitting next to your SO in coach.
3. Let your SO fly upfront while you take her seat in coach.

I'd think the "correct" answer is #1, so that the next person on the list gets upgraded. I honestly don't care much if I have to sit in coach to ride with my wife, but I'm sure some elite would be pissed as hell if my lowly silver elite wife sits upfront...God forbid I sit in coach and let some lucky passenger in coach ride upfront in my seat so that my wife and I ride together...

Xyzzy

Gold companions get upgraded prior to Silver members. In your described case I always take option #3.

oopsz

In the interests of marital harmony, let her sit up front. Seriously.

Besides, it's not like IAH-DFW is that long a flight, anyway..

Catbert10

If you and your SO are on the same itin, I don't think one will be upgraded without the other. If you are on a separate itin, then option #1 can cause problems. If your upgrade has already been processed, then there's a good chance that the seat next to your SO has already been assigned to someone else. If you turn down the upgrade, you'll be put somewhere else in coach, not next to your SO.

As a Plat with a Silver wife, here's what we do when we travel together.

1. I book us on the same itin, give her an aisle and put myself next to her.
2. I separate the itin so our upgrades will run at our respective elite status EUA window
3. If I upgrade before the flight and she doesn't, I put her on the companion list at the airport.
4. If she doesn't get a companion upgrade, then we flip a coin to see who gets 1st (strangly, she wins the coin toss a lot ) and the other sits in an aisle seat

cova

Why book her on the same itin? Since she is Silver - she can still get Elite seating and be seated next to you (except exit rows) - while booking separate.

(Not sure - but I believe booking both on the same itin results in loss of the 500 booking bonus for the companion).

sbm12

Not only does the second pax not get the 500 miles booking bonus, but neither of you will get EUA. If you split the itins you will each get processed at EUA. If, for any reason, the silver hasn't been upgraded by the time you get to the airport, ask the agent to change their FC standby to be your companion. They may look at you funny, but if you remind them that it will move your guest up the list the agent will do it (and usually smile when they see the person come back on the list higher than when they left it).

As for the concern about some other elite not getting u/g because you took two, that's part of the game; I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you.

S.

ijgordon

I was told by a CO agent once that the system won't let them put a silver elite on the upgrade waitlist as a gold companion -- the computer will keep kicking it back down to the silver priority. I don't know for sure whether this (1) was true, (2) is still true, or (3) was an excuse for the agent to not want to handle the request.

In any case, if you hear this from the agent, then my suggestion is that you remove your wife's FF# from her record, put her in as the gold companion, and then submit her BP stub for mileage credit after the flight.

TXNancy

The answer is (3). On agent actually suggested that we change my husband's wait list from silver to gold companion to improve his chance.

sany2

What I've never understood is why Gold companions are higher priority than Silvers.

skibum_nj

They are only higher when it comes to battlefield upgrades at the gate. If there are enough F seats to accomodate companions at the gate, it is very likely that the Silvers would have been EUA'd at the one day mark.

If F is full at EUA time but a seat opens up prior to departure, then the companions would trump the lower elites.