Upgrades with gold status are rare but not impossible. I was gold for much of last year, and I had a few, including SFO-SEA, EWR-MIA and EWR-TPA.

Heck, I was once even upgraded as a silver on EWR-SFO. The point is, it's possible.

I'm a platinum now and am currently 1 for 5, with the one being EWR-PBI.

As a Platinum I cleared at 6.25%

Congratulations :)... This year I am 1/7 for upgrades as a 1k :(

Yep, that's about my luck. Batting 18% (think last year was 14%, so slightly better this year!). I've just resorted to purchasing P fares more often now.

I missed an ORD-TPA upgrade two weeks ago, on an E fare....sad.

12 eligible CPU flight this year, one CPU so far as 1k. Another year. LAX yesterday 937 to IAD Group 1 was 34 deep and I ended up 12th. Hub to hub for me are brutal, heck, I can't even use a RPU or GPU, not available.

Upgrade rates
 

Back when I finished college in 2000, and travelled heavy for my first job upgrades were abundant and service was awesome pre-9/11. The industry has deteriorated a lot since then to no one's surprise. I no longer get upgrades as a gold on discounted fares, but UA has some instant upgrade fares you can pass through to expense if on business. These instant upgrade fare classes like "B" are a major reason why upgrades are so few these days.

Lol As far as I can tell GS bags don't look any different than any others.... I wish I could do a 10 day APAC trip with just a carry on but just not possible with suits and gym clothes!

Truthfully it is the TOD that cause the drop in upgrade rates these days. I watched a family member be number one on list on PS flight last week that had 12 unsold seats at the 2hr pre departure point, and not one person on the upgrade list including my family member got it.

12 x TOD left 1K's etc on the list. For what it is worth, the family member was not offered a buyup at all at check in

That's pretty amazing bc I think that route, at least the 6-7pm FL, is one of the hardest to UG period.

Got upgrade as a Gold!!!
 

0% upgrades as gold in 2014 but my companion and I were upgraded on Feb. 2, lax-hnl at T-24.

Last year I was upgraded 3 times as silver from lax to nrt. I think its just the routes.

Those weren't CPUs, they were op-ups. Not the "upgrades" that are being discussed here.

You are not entitled to a complimentary status-based upgrade on long-haul flights at all. And you may be the luckiest person on earth.

Yep 2/12 here (1K). I thought Feb 1 might have helped but just as dire so far.

I had a few UGs when I was gold in '13. Most notably ORD-LAS, ORD-MTY (int'l!), ORD-IAD. I didn't notice a huge difference between gold and plat upgrades out of ORD from '13-'14, likely due to the influx in 1Ks flying through Chicago.

If you can get some time off I'd like you to come to Las Vegas with me just so I can stand next to you.