Slipping a gate agent $20 to op-up you to First?
 

Having been to Vegas, I've become aware that you can get room upgrades by slipping the hotel employee at check-in counter $20–$50 when checking in. This has me wondering if this type of move would work at the gate counter for a flight. Say I'm flying SFO–BOS and there's a few F seats open when the GA arrives at the gate (about an hour before departure), what are the chances slipping the GA a $20 and asking if there are any available upgrades would result in me getting bumped up the list or immediately op-up'd to F?

A bribe:)?

Roughly nil.

Try it and report back.

Not a chance.

That worked back in the 80s-90s on Aeroflot, but your chances are just about ZERO these days.

Slipping a gate agent $20 to op-up you to First?
 

No chance because folks on the legitimate upgrade waitlist may notice, complain to the airline, and put the gate agent's employment at risk.

In China the chances are much greater than nil, but 20 bucks is a bit low

Your best preparation for this is to make a quick stop in the men's room and write "Rube" on your forehead to remove any uncertainties people may have.

I was thinking "boob" might be more appropriate

And FWIW the "$20 trick" stopped working in Vegas years ago, at least at any decent hotel. Maybe it still works at Circus Circus or the El Cortez, but I wouldn't even want to find out ;)

Slipping a gate agent $20 to op-up you to First?
 

It is not a trick it is a straight out bribe. Vegas works on tips so tipping at hotel checkin is still considered appropriate. Bribing/tipping an airline will get you nothing but looked at weird and maybe a discussion with TSA. That would not be smart.

I was wondering that as well. My wife and I go out there for a conference once a year and the upgrade process seems every bit as regimented as the airlines. We get multiple offers leading up to the stay...$40/nt. for a minisute, $75/nt. for a bigger suite, $200/nt. from something ridiculously large, etc. (above the conference rate for a regular room, of course). It seems like the idea of "the $20 trick" would undermine all of this. Our hotels tend to be the big Strip ones in the high-3- or 4-star range...MGM, Wynn, etc. This year is the Aria and the latest email was $75/nt. for some sort of suite. (We typically decline the offers since the regular rooms at the newer hotels are always pretty good.)

We don't gamble much (and when we do, we definitely don't do it at a six-deck blackjack shoe or 2x odds craps table at the Wynn), so we will never see *that* type of upgrade in Vegas. Ours would only be of the paid variety.

still works at Aria.

Slipping a gate agent $20 to op-up you to First?
 

while it may work at a hotel, it is less likely to work at a gate where (a) all of the passengers are at the gate at the same time, (b) there is a public list of how many upgrade seats are available and the order people are entitled to the upgrades in, (c) unlike Vegas, where hotels often have empty rooms by the dozen, there are rarely more than a few first class seats empty by the time you get to the gate, and (d) it's not an acceptable practice