Who's priority?
 

I was just wondering how the UG process works. I do know Platinum members get it first then Gold then Silver. What if there are bunch of Silver memebers? Who gets the first seat?
Thank you.

Within elite level, higher fare class gets the priority for the automatic upgrade. If a fare-class "tie", then conventional wisdom says the earlier purchase gets higher on the list.

Once it becomes a battlefield situation, there is anecdotal evidence that the earliest check-in (i.e. 24 hours) within elite level gets the top of the list.

Priority is like this.

1.Fare that you've purchased (T&U class doesn't helpful for Silver.)
2.Date of you booked (Early birds~)
3.Check in time (23:59 OLCI makes more chance!!)

Just curious... What is your justification for stating that fare class gets priority? There are a multitude of other factors that could and may be used.

There have been several past threads from knowledgeable posters indicating a 2-prong upgrade scenario. Some of this info was verified by Russ Hinckley in last year's chat.

For the EUA:
1. Status level (all plats get upgraded before a gold)
2. Fare Class
3. Time of Purchase

For the battlefield:
1. Status Level
2. Time of check-in

However, perhaps "revenue" would be a better barometer than fare class (although I think they tend to be one and the same).

Full Y fare actually comes ahead of status level.

On with my goal to get all R/Ks as a Plat... :)

Steve B.

We've tried to outline it in detail here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/wiki/index....Elite_Upgrades

That is correct. A regular Plat gets EUA'd five days prior to the flight. Since all of my tickets are Y fares AND I'm a Plat, I get automatically upgraded the day after I buy my ticket, which can be weeks in advance of the flight.

What I like are when DL cancels something (and we are always on cheap tickets, never higher than "U" on DL) and rebooks us (always "Y") on NW.

When that happens you haul your rear end to a WC or ticket counter ASAP & check in, and if there is any room you are moved to F immediately. The NW agents have no easy way of determining your original fare paid at that point. Even though Expendia echoes copies of the itineraries to nwa.com, they are under Expedia's conf. #'s which are not the same as the DL conf. #'s.

Does WorldClub membership factor in at all? I was boarded and settled in 9A yesterday afternoon from ATL-MEM. Just before the door closed the GA came to my seat and upgraded me to FC. The guy sitting beside me was a Gold who was also on FC standby but I'm a Silver w/ WorldClub membership and I got the upgrade.

I'm not complaining, just wondering if it was a computer glitch or if WC factors in somehow.

No, he should have had the upgrade unless your fare class was Y or maybe if he was on an award ticket.

I was B class. Don't know if he was on an award or not but that makes sense.

All Elite members get an immediate upgrade when booking a Y class ticket for any route that an elite upgrade is applicable.

I'm surpised UpgradeMe hasn't responded since this question has been asked and answered more times than flight delays out of LaGuardia! Actually, to be more specific, it has NEVER been fully answered and remains more of a mystery than an Agatha Christie novel. One other factor which may/may not come into play is total mileage that one has flown.

total miles flown....miles flown recently.....miles to be flown....politeness to the check-in person and getting an immediate UG....priceless...too many factors to list!