Hi,
So just a lowly Silver, going on an Int'l trip with a transcon before.

How does the 24 hour timing thing work. Origin departure starts the 24hour clock.

So for instance Lv SFO 8AM Lv EWR 6pm Friday

I do the upgrade request 8am Thursday or 1201am thurs??

is that for both legs, or do I have to do the connecting segment 6pm Thurs?

Needing to learn the ropes, thanks in advance

You may, or more likely may not, be upgraded automatically which starts 1 calander day before departure meaning 12:01am. You do nothing - they notify you if you make it.

You also can check in on line starting exactly 24 hours before your departure and ask to be out on a seperate upgrade list if 1st class isn't immediately available which almost surely, it won't be. This list has been the sources of numerous posts on how it interacts or doesn't interact with the previous EUA list. But whatever, the story all things being equal, the sooner you check in, the more liklihood you have of getting an upgrade over another silver elite.

There are no free international upgrades to Europe (i assume that's where you're going), only mileage plus cash, and these have to be confirmed a minimum of 72 hours before your flight.

There is a difference between CO, and for example, AA. You cannot game the system at CO by making calls for upgrades, they don't take calls for upgrades. I am a Plat, have seen empty inventory online and they will not upgrade. The response is that you will get an upgrade if the computer gives you one. You cannot rerequest the upgrade at certain point before departure and jump the line, as can happen with AA. (There are plenty of threads on AA regarding how it is done.)

About the only thing you can do is checkin online and that will give you priority over other Silvers with the same or lower fare class. When you do the online checkin, you will be asked if you want to seek an upgrade, if you say yes and do not clear, your boarding pass will note that you have been added to the wait list. Upgrades are processed first to full Y fares, then to Platinums by fare class, Golds by fare class and Silvers by fare classs. As the poster above noted, Silvers do not frequently obtain upgrades.

This changed to 24 hours a while ago...

Welcome to FT!

Are you talking about an upgrade on the international or domestic portion? I assume it's domestic; as someone pointed out, these upgrades are processed automatically, so you don't need to do anything.

If you're waitlisted for BF, that's different. The waitlist rules are changing in that the list will soon no longer be wiped clean 24 hours before a flight.

Really!? Please explain!

There is a recent thread on the topic with Closed Waitlist as part of the subject line. CO Insider made a contribution in which he described the changes that are in the works.

Here are two tips.

First - Make sure that the flight you are on is eligible for elite upgrades.
Second - (this always helps.) As a silver, if you are traveling with other passengers on the same reservation code, call up the elite line and have them separate and issue you a new one. Don't be worried, in the computers you are still on the same ticket (whether paper or e-ticket) and are cross referenced so that the check in and gate agent can see that you are all together.

This is incorrect. The only change CO Insider described was that BF mileage upgrade waitlists will no longer be "closed." In other words, anyone can get on the waitlist for a mileage upgrade at any point up to 24 hours before departure and the waitlist will be processed according to elite level, etc. All BF mileage upgrade waitlists still terminate 24 hours prior to departure. I think you might be confusing this with the fact that it is possible to standby at the airport if you have a BF reward ticket that you were only able to confirm in coach for the segment at issue.

You can also do this on co.com [when it works] Go to manage reservations then click on "Separate Travelers."