These you got when you went over certain thresholds, dont recall but something like 90k or 120k EQMs. But there were basically no restrictions on class of service and very easy to use.

The current PMUs are useless to me.

I would change it to day of departure, open seats you could get upgraded with the PMUs without class restriction.

Huh? I thought past process allowed for the possibility of PMUs clearing day of departure as well, just not at the gate.

This is correct. You cannot stand by for a PMU upgrade at the gate, but you can clear on the day of departure if Z inventory becomes available. This will supposedly change under the new system.

I missed out on a few where I was waitlisted, and was told at the gate that they had to clear by the day before, but I guess that's ancient history now anyway. (They were Central America flights, so I didn't have to buy M fares to qualify, and it was before those flights qualified for complimentary elite upgrades.)

How accurate is expertflyer? the reason I ask is that I just booked lga-dtw-hkg-nrt-jfk and was told by SMS that there was 9 seats available in Z class for both the dtw to hkg and the nrt to jfk routes. This was just 3 days ago. I did the 5 day trial offer with expertflyer and it shows 0 availability for dtw to hkg and 0 availability for nrt to jfk, this was checking this morning.

I've found EF to be very accurate.

Just curious, though. Did the agent reference "Z" specifically, or the number of seats that could be upgraded with PMUs. On NW flights, you need the "U" bucket to use PMUs.

I'm 99% sure she said there was 9 seats available for PMU/mileage upgrades.

my outbound from lga to hkg via dtw is 9/15 and the return from nrt to jfk is on 9/23. Supposedly, each of those flights had 9 seats available in the Z bucket, this was 3 days ago and now there are none.

Per EF:

9/15 - NW 751 - DTW-HKG - U6
9/23 - NW 618 - NRT-JFK - U8

Things do change in three days, but EF does show PMU/miles upgrade availability on those flights.

I have found ExpertFlyer to be very accurate, 100% in my case so far for a few years. Often EF has listed a seat and when I call the Platinum line they say there isn't one, then I explain the routing, and then they find it. EF is really WAY more accurate to me than the phone reps from DL or NW, many reps are inexperienced and don't know what bucket you need, or how to look for possibilities through gateway cities, etc. I have also had them tell me there are seats when EF says there aren't, but then when I ask them to book it it comes back that they are mistaken and EF was right.

Seat availability is VERY fluid. Seats appear and disappear quickly, that's why EF's email notification (which I have set up to text me) is helpful. I have found unexpected upgrade seats on popular routes for Holiday travel with the notifications, for instance, when one just popped up and I was the first person to call and get it.

+1. I would bet on EF against phone reps every time.

I had forgotten about that one, thanks. It's good for the price (free) but with the upgrade seats the way they are now (like finding a needle in a haystack), EF's extra features are worth it to me as I use it fairly often.
- +/- 3 days on outbound and return flights on searches
- Email notifications if a upgrade seat pops up
- Saved queries so that I can look at it again on potential trips.

I hate to be a shill for EF, but really it's a small price to pay to be able to get the upgrade seats.

Does anybody know of a free or cheaper program that gives the advanced features?

O.K., I see it now. What I was doing wrong was checking off Delta Air Lines as the airline in the drop down menu. I tried it with North West and the availability did come up.