OK I have searched this forum and I think that the answer is there but with all the "jargon" I can't seem to make sense of it all

So my question is why when I am checking in online should I STOP th process when it asks me if I want the complementry upgrade???

What I read from all of it is that the chances of getting upgraded are "decreased" if I do this vs. checking in at the airport.

Thanks

You need to provide us with more information. Specifically, what your elite tier is.

You have it backwards; you do want the upgrade process to run. If you are not upgraded, then you want to cancel out and try again later.

Word has it that this has been corrected. If you have already checked in the system will now un-check you, and upgrade you- you will need to check in again.
A few weeks ago my flite was changed to an A330 at the last minute. I originally had 1C on the 757. I was changed to 1H on the 330 and had to check in again. Don't know if this was done by the system or a person but was impressed.

The rationale is this.

NWA auto-processes upgrades 5 days out, 3 days out, and 1 day out, for everyone eligible. They will also check for upgrade seat availability when you check in, and then add you to a waiting list if First seats are not available. But, the waiting list doesn't get processed until gate-time.

It's possible that between when you check in and when the waiting list is processed that a first class seat opens up that you would be eligible for (someone cancels, changes flights, NWA stops holding them back, whatever). If you're already checked in, then you can't check in again, and will only get that seat if it's still available when NWA processes the whole wait list. But, if you are not checked in, and you check in once the seat is available, you could get the upgrade right then.

So, by canceling out your check-in once you realize you're not going to get upgraded right then but before you're checked in, you preserve your ability to try checking in again later when a seat might have opened up, but before the wait list is processed.

BUT... recent feedback suggests that NWA has changed this, and now processes the wait list anytime seats in First open up. So you SHOULD be able to just check in, then let the wait list do it's thing, and NWA will email you to let you know you need to check in again if you're upgraded before you get to the gate.

If you did not figure it out yet, there is a major flaw in the NWA upgrade process. If you go on the waitlist on-line, your chances are almost 0% for an upgrade. The problem is that if a seat opens from the time you complete your on-line checking process, the system does not go to the waitlist to provide the seat for the first passenger on the list nor does it save the seat till the boarding process. Instead it remains open for the next person that signs in or a passenger checking in at the airport. Just a couple of months ago, I checked in on-line from DTW to SFO with a Y fare (Platinum) and was put on the waitlist. When I got to the gate, my colleague had also a Y fare (Silver), I asked him and to my shocking surprise he got an upgrade when he checked in at the airport. I immediately called the Platinum line to complain, their explanation proved nothing more than the flaw I explained above.

Continental does not have this glitch. I was upgraded on several occasions after the on-line checking process before I got to the airport.

My guess, to fix this problem it requires a major software upgrade that NWA is not ready to spend the $ to fix. So in the meantime, do not complete the on-line checking, just keep trying and you might get lucky and sneak in.

Actually, the fix is easy - just deny all upgrades after the 1-day EUA and then go through the waiting list. Granted, that's not a GOOD fix, but it's a cheap and easy one.

The real fix is run the EUA on the wait list when seats open up, but that probably is a significant software change.

I am sure there are several ways to fix this problem. One thing I know, the Continental system works like a dandy.

And, if you read the above responses, NW has indeed fixed this. At least according to NW Scoop. This was a recent fix, so going by previous experience really isn't valid.

As I replied in another thread, NW Scoop never said that this was fixed. He confirmed that there was a new process in place by which you could get upgraded after having checked in online and before having gotten to the gate. He never said that the time window between an R seat opening up and it being assigned to someone from the waitlist was 0, nor has he replied further in that thread after that was pointed out.

As such, it's now possible to get upgraded after checkin and before the gate, but it's still highly likely that there still exists some time between when the seat opens up and when it's given to someone on the waitlist during which it can be "snagged" during OLCI. Until I hear otherwise from Scoop, I am going to still cancel out of OLCI as per the old practice.

Ok so I am a SE traveling on a full flight tomorrow (all seat buckets are zeroed out and not for sale on nwa.com).

Should I still cancel out, or is there pretty much no chance of an upgrade, and I should just check in?

MSP-RSW

If the F and P buckets are zeroed out, then you have pretty much no chance at an EUA upgrade. You may get lucky and there may be some people misconnecting, causing some seats to open up. I wouldn't worry about canceling out of the check-in process in this case.

Just hope for a gate upgrade. You never know, you might hear that special beep when the GA scans your BP.

This is my first domestic flight ever as a SE, so while I am not expecting it, I am really hoping for the beep!

I'm guessing you're on the 10:10 flight? If so, get to the gate early and ask if they are overbooked. You may even get a $300 bump voucher out of the deal (and possibly seats in F on alternate flights). This is of course only if you don't have to be at RSW at a specific time (or at all tomorrow, because most of the RSW options look full).
Good luck!