BNAtraveller

Hello -- I am a CO Plat and fly on NW all the time. I travel frequently with the same person, who is now a WP plat. She used to always get upgraded after me (when she was WP gold). Now it seems that as a CO plat that NW has changed their rules. Prior to this apparent changing of rules, my upgrade percentage was about 100%, now it's about 25%.

Case in point:
03DEC NW1746 BNA-DTW
03DEC NW1009 DTW-IND
04DEC NW1880 IND-DTW
04DEC NW1743 DTW-BNA

1) We both both the same fare class (K)
2) I bought my ticket before her
3) She has been upgraded on *ALL* segments within the normal interval
4) I have been upgraded on *NONE* of my segments to date

I called RES and the WP line and they indicated that my record indicates that upgrades were attempted, but not possible.

I looked into her seatmaps several times and saw that FC was virtually empty when she was upgraded and now it is pretty much full. WP indicates that "this could be due to paid first class or folks using miles" which I think is hogwash given that this has happened on all 4 flights. They indicate my record is just fine.

Anyone else had this before?

gldwebs

NW1746 P3F3
NW1009 P9F8
NW1880 P5F3
NW1743 P8F5

Those are some odd numbers. It could be they are holding back Rs. As you can see, 3 of the flights they are holding back some F over P so they could be holding back even more R. I would still have them check to see if somehow there was an incorrect name match or other reason you were overlooked. Gold EUA should have just ran for the first 2 so maybe you got your UG overnight - otherwise call back.

Bigpops

It appears based on your post that it is working correctly as NW Plat should trump a CO Plat. That being said I have had more problems getting upgraded prior to the flight in the past couple of months and based on other posts so are others... I also think NW is keeping "r" bucket relatively low hoping to sell the FC tickets.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is the time of yrear when there are the most Plats as some folks mad eit for the first time in 2005 while others are leftovers from 2004. After March 1, I think things get back to normal... Good luck

wldtrvlr

CO and NW do not have the same criteria for processing upgrades. On CO it does not matter if you are plat on NW or CO both are thrown in the same pot and processed by factors such as fare paid, date bought, etc. On NW it is all NW plats (regardless of class paid or date bought) before any CO plats are processed. Then all NW Golds, before any CO golds, etc, etc.

Another major difference between the two is in companion upgrades. On NW metal a NW Plat companion gets upgraded with the plat at the 5 day window. Day of at the gate, Gold and Plat companions are upgraded after all Elites (NW and CO) are upgraded if space is still available. On CO for day of upgrades at the airport the companion is put in the same order as the Plat/Gold and upgraded before any silver has a shot.

So from your description it sounds like it is working exactly how it was programed to work.

sllevin

Actually, my understanding was that NW *always* put all the elites together, and CO, until the past year or so, kept them split.

Truth is, I don't think anyone really knows for sure.

Steve

GTITAN

Yes, precise and correct as usual Wldtrvlr. If you venture over to the CO Board, you will see that this fact bothers the CO Elites tremendously. Of course, from my perspective, I think that the policies on both sides are just fine. Another clear example of NWA and Sky Team justly benefitting we NW elites!

HeathrowGuy

Both sides continue to split - all other factors being equal, a NW Platinum will receive an upgrade over a CO Platinum when the rules are properly followed.

BNAtraveller

Agreed that she should trump me as she's NW and I'm CO, but the issue here is that I am being processed after Golds and Silvers apparently due to my fare class (K), despite the fact that she bought the EXACT SAME route at the EXACT SAME fare class.

mdb

sorry but I am confused... you said your companion was WP Plat now.... am I missing something?

BNAtraveller

Two different PNRs, one COPlat one NWPlat. NWPlat was upgraded within window. COPlat was never upgraded, despite NWGolds and NWSilvers being upgraded within their windows. Res says nothing wrong with the record and that messages exist within the record indicating upgrade attempts.

chrissxb

anyone knows how AF/KLM elites are in the ranking? between NW and CO?

cfischer

I believe we are right in the middle. I am not sure I believe the story anyway, NW is more likely to differentiate by fare class than by program. Just a caveat, I recently did not get an upgrade coming back from Europe; while NW OLCI puts you on the upgrade list (was one of those strange P9 situations where EUA did not run), KL OLCI does not! I asked at the NW WC and they told me, I am on the list and should make it.... At the gate the agent had another story, while I was on the list, I was not 'verified' . Apparently, someone has to manually verify you if you have checked in with KL and EUA did not upgrade you already. This is the first time EUA did not work (I guess there are more discussions about R availability ongoing), next time I will make sure to call NW once I checked in to make sure I get on the list.

Bigpops

If you are getting processed after Gold's and Silvers then you have a gripe... You should follow the NW plat's in the pecking order, and that is the way I thought it worked...

SpinzCity

>>>>>while NW OLCI puts you on the upgrade list (was one of those strange P9 situations where EUA did not run), KL OLCI does not...

I'll be flying HAM-AMS-DTW-MSN in a couple weeks, and had read on FlyerTalk about someone doing OLCI not for the first flight on an itinerary (which would be the KL flight HAM-AMS) but actually doing OLCI for a later connection in the trip. Wouldn't it be possible to do a nwa.com OLCI for just the DTW-MSN portion to be officially in the system--and even to ABORT the check-in after being asked told I was on the first-class waitlist? Is there any reason this wouldn't work, or might cause problems?

cfischer

There is no problem with that, except the 24h rule, which screwed me in this case (it was a 'creative routing' ). Additionally, due to the increased security measure, you now have to fill out an immigration form for the US prior to departure; I am not sure how such a partial OLCI on NWA will affect your KL check-in. After you have done your KL OLCI the NW system shows you as checked in and there is no way to get on the waiting list. Usually, EUA picks me up and then there is no problem.