PS Upgrade Question
 

I am finally going to fly PS next month after much anticipation. I'm flying IAD-SFO and am going to route through JFK. I have read many posts in the past that upgrades are difficult to come by on this route, but it's also been a while since they introduced PS so maybe it isn't as popular as it was a year or so back. I have a huge surplus of 500 milers right now and would like to upgrade with 5 of them but am not sure if that would be too risky. Has anyone cleared an upgrade with the 500 certs or is it better to confirm further out with miles or CR1s?

Thanks for your help. Looking forward to trying it out.

Why don't you tell us what flight and what day of the week. That can make a big difference.:) IMO, regardless of the chances, PS is a GREAT use of a CR1, so I would confirm it if possible.

Use your CR1. P.S. is still quite popular, especially among the paid C/F crowd.

Are you sure you want to connect to try out p.s. (if you can't tell from the tone of that question, it is quite rhetorical and didactic)? Honestly, that borders on ridiculous from my point of view. IAD-JFK is a flight from hell, and cancels out any potential benefit of p.s. service. Book yourself on a three-cabin widebody, non-stop, and enjoy a better experience than p.s.

Ever since I became 1K in November 2006, I have yet to not clear an upgrade using 500 certs for Friday SFO-JFK and Sunday/Monday JFK-SFO flights when I requested upgrades ahead of time.

Also be aware that JFK-SFO requires 6 e-500s, since it's just slightly over 2550 miles.

Edit: If your upgrades for both IAD-JFK and JFK-SFO clear ahead of time, you're fine with only 5 e-500s. If only JFK-SFO clears, you'll need 6... and if JFK-SFO clears ahead of time but IAD-JFK clears off the waitlist at the airport, you'll need 7! :eek:

Not if connecting to IAD and the upgrade clears ahead of time. ;)

Well, yeah, there is that. :) My bad. :) Corrected my previous post to note this, and also note that in the worst case, the OP could need 7 e-500s! :eek:

I agree, although if the OP's never been on p.s., it's not a completely insane routing to experience it...much better than MCO-IAD-JFK-LAX instead of taking MCO-LAX. ;)

But I agree, having been on p.s. several times, I'll take a 3-class n/s IAD-SFO/LAX.

Agreed, but...

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to confirm upgrades on non-weekend p.s. flights when booking within three months or so. NC buckets are routinely zeroed-out long in advance. This is fine, as I understand they're hoping to sell revenue seats (and usually do). What I'm experiencing -- and I'm interested to know if others experience the same -- is that if the CR-1 doesn't clear at booking or within a day or so, it's quite likely that it won't clear until a few hours before departure. Given all this, I'm going to stop using CR-1s for p.s. flights unless I can confirm at booking. As a 1K, I've yet to not clear a p.s. flight (granted, I may not be on the toughest routes), so I'm going to switch to e-500s and save the CR-1s for family and friends, or for upgrading smaller-cabin flights.

It's been pretty smooth for me this year too

And the upgrade crowd too. :p

Not to tick anyone off, but I did clear a p.s. flight last November with no status (I hit 2P later that trip). However, it was the LAX-JFK redeye...

And what's wrong with MCO-IAD-JFK-LAX? Think of the miles you'd earn! Ok, so yeah ... TED, Dulles, JFK ... all reasons that routing could be wrong, but think of the miles! ;)

I too have never had trouble having UGs clear the PS flights, even as a lowly 2P at the time. I've used miles and e500s to UG. I don't fly this route often, but when I do, it's during the Christmas holiday time.

I value my time. ;)