Lately I've been flying to MCO quite a bit and have found myself upgrading the ORD-MCO segment with 500-milers to avoid the Mickey Mouse Clubs in Y. I also try to use them on transcon or redeye flights. This got me thinking:

How much do others value their 500-milers? How often do you use them and are there some routes in particular when you make it a point to upgrade?

Does MCO-ORD have a meal in F? .bomb says no, but I find that hard to believe.

If so, at 1005 miles, it's a very good use of 2x e-500's!

A.) You get within 44 miles of the max permitted.
B.) You have a good chance of clearing due to low business travel in/out of MCO.
C. As you say, you escape the mickey mouse club!

It depends a lot on the routing, the seat I would actually get in Y, and the actual segments.

For example, SEA-DEN is pretty good use of two-500s, as it's 1024 miles (invoking the 50-mile grace). IAD-DEN is also good, at being 1452 miles, a full use of three certs.

Bad uses include PHL-ORD, where its 676 miles....I don't want to use two certs for that segment. Same for DFW-DEN, 641 miles.

Further, I would not want to use these certs on an old Shuttle 737.

It also depends on what seat I would get in Y. For me, there are some better seats in Y than F, and with all the upgraders and NRSAs, I stand a better chance at having an empty seat next to me in Y than in F. Type of seat is more important to me than a meal....always has been, always will.

I have been known to surrender an upgrade if I know F is full and Y is sparsely populated (and I can get one of my favorite seats, with the adjacent empty). Doesn't happen often, though.

If one is flying sufficient intl routes, it becomes difficult to burn all the e-500s domestically. The test then is simple: is there a higher class of service? Do it. I regularly UG SAN/SFO or LAX/SFO. Why not?....

I've flown UA 206 the last few times in F and each had a "snack" of fruits, cheese, and lunch meats. Not stellar, but when I leave home at 4:15 AM I tend to miss breakfast, so it's a welcome treat.

I've accepted UG offers from the kiosks on this route--I think it was around $65 or $75. Either way it's better than $100 for 2 certs.

Just out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite seats?

FYI, thorough discussion of this question may be found in the specific aircraft seating threads found in the FAQ as well as sites such as www.seatexpert.com or www.seatguru.com.

I normally won't use an upgrade on a flight that doesn't have meal service or is less than 500 miles in length.

They do not work reliably and they are of very limited value to me .. I use them indifferently, even on bad exploit routes, such as DFW-DEN or SFO-SEA.

For 2Ps/1Ps, I think it's best to use the e500s as much as possible. Before I adopted this approach, those things were expiring all the time because they don't always clear for the big flights I save them for. (Though this year as 2P, I'm 3/3 using them for transcon bos<=>sfo/lax. Way better than expiring! Need to start the "upgrades getting easier" thread.)

I agree with nzpilot. Too many e500's to burn through before expiring, and if there is a chance they won't clear on a popular route I'll use miles instead anyhow.

+1
Every domestic flight I take I am using them. I have even thought about using a Cr-1 on a 319 sfo-den because I want to make sure I get a F seat.

Unless I get a meal, it's not worth it. Flew rt IAD-ORD in April and neither flight had a meal, so I booked seats in Y. Turns out I got op-ups both ways, confirming my impression that it wasn't worth 2 500 milers each way.

I know - I do a lot of ORD-DCA flights and frequently upgrade on the outbound b/c of frequent delays on the plane and sometimes a meal. It is a bit of a waste to do 2 certs, but I have a fare number and never seem to have to buy more.

Prior becoming 1K, I will only use it when it is mid-con or longer flight. Now, I will use it any way I can, since I have plenty to go around (28 unused, 4 goes to the can at the end of this month ). Most of my flights this year had been Intl.

That's what I was looking for. I'm 1P now and I'm not sure if 1K is in the cards for me this year. Even if it is, that nets me 28 eCerts, right (4 for every 10,000 BIS beyond 25,000)? Or am I misunderstanding?