westlaker

I will fly transcon between SFO and EWR every month. Currently I am silver but will be Gold by next month. Which flight offers the best chance for upgrade as Gold? My guess is that the red eye from SFO to EWR and the earliest flight from EWR to SFO are my best bets
Believe it or not, I was actually EUAed to First with cheap W fare on 9/6(the day before labor day) from EWR to SFO as silver.

adelauro

One option, if you have the flexibility, is to travel on a Saturday

sfogate

This route is difficult to predict.

EWR-SFO: the first flight in the morning and possibly the late afternoon flight and the last flight of the day, on a Saturday.

SFO-EWR: the redeye flight on Mondays and Tuesdays.

In other words, take flights that most businessmen don't. I find that most businessmen leave on Sunday(EWR-SFO) and return on Thursday night or Friday morning(SFO-EWR).

westlaker

Thanks for the advice.

I just booked a Thursday red eye SFO to EWR and 2nd morning flight EWR to SFO on a Wednesday. As a silver, I guess the upgrade possibility is still low.

ContinentalFan

Please let us know what happens.

elonepb

Just don't get on my SFO - EWR flight today (649) - 47 people on the standby list!

Syzygies

Watch the flight status page, specifically the upgrade standby list, for each any flight you're considering, same day of the week on weeks you're not flying. You'll get a feel for the differences in neighboring flights.

channa

Quite possibly THE most difficult redeye to book. Thursdays are popular with biz travellers.

rjque

I can't believe you were upgraded even once on this flight. I took 348 last Sunday and as a plat on a mid-range fare was higher than 20 on the wait list after F boarded full. Personally, I wouldn't spend too much time changing your schedule around just for an upgrade because the upgrade is very unlikely to happen on any SFO-EWR or vice versa. Just make sure you have an exit row and treat any upgrade like a rare international op up - an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

westlaker

I was total surprised by that upgrade. That's a Sunday before labor day which equals a Saturday for Biz travelers. There are 5 empty First seats. I assumed all elite have been upgraded as I am silver on a cheap fare.

I will make Platinum by year end. I am pretty sure there will be 10 platinum, 20 gold and 30 silver on one of those flights by next year due to DEQM.

joebeenyc

If possible & convienient try to switch to the LGA-(CLE or IAH)-SFO flight. I have had MUCH better luck than the non stop EWR-SFO transcons. Plus I look for miles so WHY the heck take the non stop??

channa

I was #8 today on SFO-IAH with F booked full 2 weeks out.

I would say the chance on SFO-IAH is probably around 30% as Plat.

spin88

and SFO-EWR about 10% as a Plat....

why I went back to UA

This said, I do look forward to having a CO non-stop return to SFO in the afternoon to pair with the morning non-stop (SFO-EWR) on UA...

channa

Same here. I used to get 70% as Silver years ago out of SFO. Back then CO was a no-brainer. 70% as Silver vs. what, 20% as 2P?

Last year I got 33% as Plat. This year, probably closer to 50% as Plat. My how things have changed. And the reason those numbers are as high as they are is because of connections. The to/from SFO numbers are lower than that.



I'm looking forward to having the ability to redeem on CO metal for BF awards. I see space ex-EWR all the time, but SFO-EWR is never available for award in F. Either I waitlist and play that game (which won't turn out well in the SFO-EWR market), or I fly it in coach (6 hours, no thanks), or I fly a connection (in which case I might as well take another carrier).

Now I'll have the option of flying SFO-UA-EWR-CO-Europe in F/BF.

rjque

10 plat/ 20 gold/ 30 silver wouldn't be bad. It would, however, be a reduction of the number of elites on this route. As I said, I'm a plat and I was at #20 on a mid-range fare after all the upgrades had already cleared. I'm sure there were plats on lower fares below me and the waitlist can often stretch up to 70 or 80 passengers on these flights.

Better yet, SFO-FRA-XXX in LH F.