PIT upgrade for the spouse
 

I finally (being Plat) was able to get my spouse upgraded this year. It took me flying from PIT back to IAH for this to happen. Does anyone have any luck with flighd out of IAH as a Plat getting the companion upgrade? I have flown to PHL, TUL (on the 737 not the ERJ) and MSY this year and still not have been able, 2 seperate tickets as well. Does the plat companion trump the new purchase an F ticket? I thought I knew the rules, but out of PIT she jumped to first on the upgrade list with a "cheapest you can get ticket" off the internet. . .

The companion upgrades are only possible at airport check-in (either at ticket counter, PC, or gate). Can't speak of IAH routes since I fly out of EWR. Based on people's signatures, companion upgrades seem rare. That being said, my understanding is that in regards to battlefield (gate) upgrades, the companion gets the status of the sponsoring traveler (ie a plat companion trumps a gold or gold companion).

Your in the same boat out of ERW, any luck with the companion upgrade? I may need a ruling on this, but I find it hard to believe that there are that may plat out of TUL or MSY that would trump her if that was the case. I actually asked to pay for her to upgrade out of PIT, but the ticket agent (not the GA) told me it was full. Meanwhile, I could see on my pda that ther were 4 seats left (hence the reason I would offer to pay - 2 blocked, and 2 avail 1 hour before departure - not sure why 2 seats would stay blocked 1 hr before departure?)

The TA probably thought you were asking about the day of departure upgrades. Those are hard to score because they are only offered if the number of empty F seats exceeds the number of elites on the flight that have not been upgraded yet. Did you specifically ask for the TUL and MSY flights that she be added to the UG list as your companion? You need to know what the UG list looks right before and right after you check in to really track her progress. Did the flights you're referring to go out full in F? Did you get an upgrade, and if so when?

I think I understand. You can't (even offer to pay for an upgrade) for your companion if the elite line is stacked holding (taking all seats avail in F, even before upgrade?) - even if it is on the day of departure? What is the meaning of 2 blocked seats in F an hour out? I figured (even though the CO website says they upgrade based on elite) that those were the rev seats they would hold on to until the last minute, waiting for someone to come in and purchase?

Let me also add, I thought it was strange that I did not clear until 1 day left before departure as a Plat with 7 seats left in F. I am wondering if this is the norm now with CO offering to but F seats. . .

I'm not sure what you mean by this. There is an EUA run at T-24 and T-3 hours. That will be based on status and then fare class. So if you did not clear until T-24, there were a lot of seats being held back.

On the pda site it tells you how many seats were booked and how many people were checked in. Do you remember what it said?

Which route was this? You mentioned a few in the original post. What about the day of the week and time?

not clearing until one day before
 

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I think popular routes or Elite heavy routes don't have their R (or whatever the new class may be) released for EUA until later. I'm on 383, BOS-IAH at 4:50 pm on Friday, July 17, 2009, and online tools are still showing nine seats in the front cabin. I suspect that this is Elite heavy and some people may be willing to pay either miles or money to get the front cabin, so Continental may be holding out for those passengers. Odd thing is that all my return legs were all ready upgraded and they seemed to be equally desirable segments (IAH-BOS on a Sunday evening).

PIT-IAH, despite the 735s, is usually a good bet for upgrades, including companions.

That said, there was one time when I was the only elite on the whole plane (unless some of the paid F were elites) and I didn't get the upgrade.

PIT - IAH ona Tuesday, on the 5pm ish flight

That is odd. I fly from IAH-PHL and will clear 5 days most times. Thats why I thought it was odd that from PIT - IAH I would not clear until a day before, (same ticket class) . Clearly the IAH - PHL route is heavier.