DTW -> DEN - Impossible for Platinum to upgrade?
 

I have flown the DTW -> DEN route for the past several weeks and have yet to receive an upgrade. First time was an M class ticket, second was a V/Q mixed fare. No upgrade for this week and it's a B/Q fare (outbound/inbound).

What gives? Are that many people buying first class or elites buying full fare? Do all the Plats just happen to have higher fare class tickets than me?

When I talked to an agent in Denver she was confused as she said there was a Gold with a lower fare class that had been upgraded ahead of me. I talked to the elite services line and she said that it was possible that a Gold slid ahead of you if someone cancelled halfway through the check-in process... what does that mean?

Is this route heavily travelled by NWA elites? Prior to this, I had missed two upgrades all year with multiple DTW/ORD and DTW/MSP runs which tend to be heavy elite.

I realize that FC upgrades are a perk offered by NWA, not a right and I could buy FC. However the upgrades a differentiator for me. If NWA stops giving them out, then Northwest is no longer my airline of choice for my $30k in annual airfare spending. I run my own business so I am not tied to any specific airline. Right now Frontier is looking awfully good on the DTW-DEN route. NW isn't usually the cheapest on this route so if the no upgrades continue, it only makes sense to jump ship.

Any ideas? I do like the $1 trail mix though, if there's a bright side to this. NWA should have it in FC instead of the King Nut Mix.

Did you recently achieve Plat, and make these reservations before you made Plat (when you were Gold, or Silver)?

Validate that your Plat status is linked to the PNR, for EUA processing. If you made the reservation when Gold, Gold will reflect until you have someone manually adjust the PNR for Plat (for EUA)... which makes sense if a Gold is in F (higher fare class?), and you aren't.

This has been covered before, and might the reason for your issues.

Steve B.

Last week I bought a B class ticket for this route, and I was upgraded immediately. The flight is still 6 weeks away, and as far as I can tell, I'm the only person up front right now.

I've flown this route once this year (as a Silver) and wasn't upgraded, for what that's worth.

Despite what some believe, fare class may not be the determining factor