Old Feb 27, 2013, 11:26 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: aztimm
Per the US Airways website:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/preferred/upgrades.html

Upgrade notification
We send you an email the first time we try for an upgrade no need to call. We'll continue to check for upgrades throughout the day and send follow up emails if we change your upgrade status right up until 24 hours before your flight. If we're unable to upgrade your reservation up to 24 hours prior to departure, we'll process your upgrades when you check in online or at the airport (if they become available).

To be placed on the standby list choose the 'Add to standby list' link when you check in online. You'll only see the option to add yourself to the standby list if all passengers in your reservation are Preferred. If you're traveling with a companion, request that you and your companion be placed on the standby list at the airport.

Please check your Dividend Miles account to make sure we have your current email address.

Preferred upgrade priority advance travel dates
When you purchase a full fare (Y or B class) economy ticket, you are eligible for an instant upgrade to First Class. After your reservation is ticketed, we will automatically attempt to upgrade you around the clock until a seat becomes available. We prioritize full fare economy tickets over all other fares.

If you book a discount fare (any fare other than Y or B class), we prioritize your upgrade by Preferred level and within each Preferred level, by the number of Preferred-qualifying miles you've flown on US Airways and US Airways Express operated flights in the last 12 months. We begin processing upgrades for all discount fares at either 7, 4, 3 or 2 days prior to departure, depending on Preferred level.

If we are unable to confirm an upgrade during our automated process, we'll try again when you check in for your flight. If seats are not available when you check in online, you can choose to be placed on the standby list.

To be placed on the standby list select the 'Add to standby list' link when checking in online. All passengers in your reservation must have Preferred status to have this option displayed at check in. If you are traveling with a companion, request that you and your companion be placed on the standby list at the airport.


Preferred upgrade priority day of departure
If we're unable to confirm an upgrade seat for you prior to departure, you may request an upgrade when you check in.
Once check-in for a flight has begun, priority will be based upon Preferred level and then upon earliest check-in.
Please advise the gate agent at the airport if you're traveling with a companion.


Companion upgrades
One non-Preferred traveling companion can upgrade when traveling on the same reservation as a Preferred member with a qualifying paid ticket. The companion will be upgraded at the same time as the Preferred member.


more info to add? PM aztimm.
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US Automatic Upgrades (elite) [MASTER THREAD]

 
Old Sep 23, 2010, 7:24 am
  #31  
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Originally Posted by honeytoes
And as long as people keep calling in and getting manually upgraded, the auto-upgrade system will never work correctly. In your case with 2 "O" seats available, there's no way to tell if they were open when the auto-upgrade was last run unless you know exactly when those seats became available and when the last run was made. How do you know that your were one of the top 2 in line to get an upgrade? Did you skip over another silver, or even gold/plat/chairmans who should have gotten that upgrade the next time the process ran?

While getting emails every time would be nice, the big thing is making sure the auto-upgrade process is accurate every time. The more people bypass it, the less accurate it will be. So more people will bypass it, making it even less accurate.

Jim
Yeah. ^

Maybe other silvers had more miles and should have been in front of YOU. I'd be cheesed if a silver got the UG before I did (assuming similar fare classes purchased).

Can't y'all leave well enough alone? If my UG doesn't come through, I don't get spastic and call about it. These UGs are not guaranteed - especially not as a silver - and when I get one, I am happy about it. If not, then it is my fault for not buying F or using miles to get into F.[/QUOTE]


^^^
TiredOfTooMuchTravel is offline  
Old Sep 23, 2010, 7:52 am
  #32  
 
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So did they stop the upgrade emails if you fail on the first sweep? I haven't failed in about a month to get upgraded at my 7 day window but my flight monday didn't send out an email at all for my flight to CLT on the 27th. I called in to check and it was pretty full (I saw two seats left) and the next run would have been today and still no failure email and one more seat is gone as of this morning (was there last night). I'd really prefer to get a success or failure each time I'm run. Also I'd rather get the extra success than nothing.

Lance
Robertsonland is offline  
Old Sep 23, 2010, 7:56 am
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Robertsonland
So did they stop the upgrade emails if you fail on the first sweep? I haven't failed in about a month to get upgraded at my 7 day window but my flight monday didn't send out an email at all for my flight to CLT on the 27th. I called in to check and it was pretty full (I saw two seats left) and the next run would have been today and still no failure email and one more seat is gone as of this morning (was there last night). I'd really prefer to get a success or failure each time I'm run. Also I'd rather get the extra success than nothing.

Lance
The emails are supposed to go out until you get upgraded. And even then, sometimes they will go out after you've been upgraded with messages saying that youve already been upgraded.
TiredOfTooMuchTravel is offline  
Old Sep 23, 2010, 8:52 am
  #34  
 
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Originally Posted by TiredOfTooMuchTravel
The emails are supposed to go out until you get upgraded.
From comments, "supposed" seems to be the operable word. Whether it's a spam filter setting (elite's or ISP's), something in the PNR, or a glitch in the system is anybody's guess.

Jim
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Old Sep 23, 2010, 12:02 pm
  #35  
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FYI... Flight in question 1455 bos-clt went this morning with 3f empty
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Old Sep 23, 2010, 1:36 pm
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by TiredOfTooMuchTravel
Did you ever consider that maybe when the upgrade window first opens that you are not at the top of the upgrade list? And that maybe additional availability is opened up? I'd say let the system do whats its supposed to.
Just because the Gold window got opened, doesn't mean the CP's have all cleared. The example of "the gold window opened and a whole bunch of seats disappeared" isn't an accurate reflection of the upgrade actually going to Gold's. The sweeps run several times a day; inventory can be released at any time. If I haven't been upgraded at the CP window, I usually don't GET upgraded till the Plat or Gold window opens. Just because your window is opening up doesn't mean there's not someone who outranks you on the waiting list.
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Old Sep 23, 2010, 1:44 pm
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by Robertsonland
So did they stop the upgrade emails if you fail on the first sweep? I haven't failed in about a month to get upgraded at my 7 day window but my flight monday didn't send out an email at all for my flight to CLT on the 27th.

Lance
The mails are only supposed to come when it first attempts to upgrade you, and when you are actually upgraded. Sometimes that means only one mail, if you clear on the first attempt. It used to send an email every time it tried but I'm glad it doesn't any more. On a flight that was completely full at the window, it'd taunt you for a week about how there was no upgrade available.

At any rate, I've supported various email systems for companies of various sizes for over 15 years now, and as much as we hate to admit it, email is not a reliable method of communication. There are too many moving parts, most of which are out of your control, and when you're dealing with one system clearing the upgrades and another actually sending the emails, you may have an uphill battle trying to find out where something is broken.

I'm not apologizing for US' IT team because I think we all agree they could improve in a lot of areas. Just saying that placing a lot of importance on what is inherently a complex and unreliable system is sure to generate a lot of stress. I like getting the upgrade emails but if I ever want to know for sure, I just look in my US account.
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Old Sep 24, 2010, 8:59 am
  #38  
 
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Thanks for your replies and I do know about email and work in the IT industry as well. I know it's not spam filtering as I've written my own spam filter for my domain. I store a copy of every email I receive before I filter and I whitelist US Airways anyway. The email did not come. However when I looked in my DM account that guy who got upgraded was actually me. I got the seat that was taken but no email came to tell me I was upgraded. Now if I'm not getting an email I'd definitely rather be upgraded and not get the email of course.

I get the emails every other week just this week I didn't. What also might be a nice thing to avoid the email hassle is some communication system within the DM account that tells you it, ran but guess what you didn't get it. Just something that updates you to let you know it did run and this was the outcome. Now of course with the US Airways IT team this won't happen but would be more reliable than email. Though really they should be pretty solid now on their email thing as I've been getting the upgrade notices for quite some time and haven't changed my email address so I assume when I don't get it, something failed on their back end as I still get the 1000 or so spam emails sent to my box every day just fine.....

Lance
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Old Sep 24, 2010, 9:04 am
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by dcpatti
I like getting the upgrade emails but if I ever want to know for sure, I just look in my US account.
Looking in your account only tells you where you are at currently. Unless you see yourself in FC, you don't know if you just didn't get it, if there was a problem running the task and as it got to your name it exploded (sarcasm here obviously), a problem with your res and you were skipped, who knows what it could have been. With this IT department I like confirmation that the task ran, and I don't see that as too much to ask.

It's not like I sit in the fetal position until I get the email, it's just a warm fuzzy that it ran and I either made it or didn't...when I dont' get the email i'm supposed to that obviously raises a flag to me that SOMETHING happened, I just don't know what obviously.

Lance
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Old Sep 26, 2010, 7:00 pm
  #40  
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On the return part of my itinerary DCA-BOS today, the gnome never upgraded me despite there being 6 empty seats in First. I waited until day of departure and had the ticketing agent do the upgrade. Something was clearly wrong with my reservation but I'm not sure what as Silver printed on all my BPs and I was able to select exit rows when I booked.
jfunk138 is offline  
Old Sep 26, 2010, 7:41 pm
  #41  
 
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Were any/all the empty F seats in the O bucket? I know it's Saturday - not a heavy business travel day - but US may have been holding the seats for sale.

A call/email to the IT help desk would probably be worthwhile as they might be able to determine what, if anything, was wrong with your PNR.

Jim
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Old Sep 27, 2010, 7:56 am
  #42  
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Originally Posted by BoeingBoy
Were any/all the empty F seats in the O bucket? I know it's Saturday - not a heavy business travel day - but US may have been holding the seats for sale.

A call/email to the IT help desk would probably be worthwhile as they might be able to determine what, if anything, was wrong with your PNR.

Jim
I don't have access to O-bucket inventory, but all 6 were available for First-Low awards. I again did not receive any emails except the web check-in email. I have the upgrade gnome on my email whitelist so there is no way it was filtered as spam.
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Old Sep 27, 2010, 7:37 pm
  #43  
 
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Yeah something is up with mine as well...on Friday I fly DAY - DCA - LGA then saturday I fly LGA - CLT - MLB - CLT - PHX where LGA - CLT had 12 seats in F open and CLT - PHX had 8 seats open. The gnome didnt' send me a yes or no email and I was still in coach. I called up and asked and the nice CP desk lady said I see inventory available but for some reason you weren't upgraded. Finally a supervisor agreed and got me upgraded. I wasn't sure if it had to do with my shuttle flight or not that was causing an issue but who knows...just that certainly they weren't holding 12 seats back for LGA - CLT on a saturday at 8 in the morning.

Lance
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Old Oct 12, 2010, 4:18 pm
  #44  
 
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no more upgrade emails?

I am on a 3part itin that began last Thurs. Comp upgrade for that flight came through fine - but I declined as Mr Sophie was also traveling and did not get upgraded.

2nd leg was yesterday, so as Gold, should have received email on Fri stating upgrade availability. Did not ever arrive.

3rd leg is this Fri, so email should have come today. Nada.

When I spoke with CS, she said she had heard this from some other travelers. Is anyone else experiencing this? Could it be that declining the first leg caused this?
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Old Oct 12, 2010, 4:51 pm
  #45  
 
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I didn't get an email today, but my upgrade did clear for flight Friday ... I thought this was just a glitch that happens from time-to-time.
fish114 is offline  

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