Elite Upgrade Helpful Tips
 

Based largely on some of the comments from many of you, we added a new page to the WorldPerks section of nwa.com that talks about some of the most frequently asked questions related to Elite upgrades - Elite Upgrade Helpful Tips.

This page is a very quick summary of the top 5-6 questions we get from members on a daily basis. Enjoy!

NW scoop

Nicely done, thanks.

Thanks, it's always great to have these answers in writing (officially).

Thanks Scoop... it's been stickied

I'm getting a broken link... Anyone else?

Edit; okay it's back up again.

This is great and it answers the question that many here continue to ask: Other than full fare, is fare class a part of the UG priority? It appears that other than full Y or B it is not a factor.

Well, until we get official word that the fare class plays no part in the upgrade process, I'm going to assume they simply ran out of cells in the table... ;)

Fare class, when you book all come into play.

I have seen silvers and golds on 800 dollar tickets to San jose upgraded 4/5 days out while i have to fight for a battlefield on a 425 dollar ticket.

They can admit it or deny it, but i have seen it 5 times now going to our corporate headquarters in san jose.

They buy B fares i buy the H fare and fight for the upgrade,

No problem. One of the things that didn't take long for scoop to learn, is that you all just want to know what the rules are. The rest sort of just takes care of itself.

NW scoop

Helpful chart .. thank you ^

:D Now you're getting it. ;)

Thanks for the efforts. ^

Directly from the page:
Northwest prioritizes upgrades based on the type of ticket purchased (full-fare vs. discount fare), Elite status, class of service (within Elite levels), date and time of booking. Full fare tickets include Y fares or -26/-27 type fares. Discount fare tickets include all other fares.

It clearly states right in there that class of service (fare class) is absolutely part of the equation.

-RM

Scoop, other than Y and B (full fare)does fare class come into play for EUA?

Well with 139k eqm's this year I have rarely paid more than a K fare (maybe once or twice) on all very elite heavy routes BOS-SFO/LAX and have only missed 2 UG all year. I realize that fare class likely plays a role in BF's but the quote you cite does not say fare classes but rather "class of service" which is the cabin not the fare. It is my belief from experience that the date of booking is the tie breaker not the fare class (other than Y and B)

Even if fare basis is a factor in determining EUA priority within an Elite level, I have seen a situation in which Gold or, I imagine, a Silver with the same fare basis can trump a Platinum. In fact a gold can trump not just a platinum but platinums even if the the gold purchases his ticket at the same time as the platinums and with the same farebasis. This is a quiz guys. Does anyone know the answer?