drew4392

Has anybody gone from Silver to Gold status and noticed a significant increase in upgrade frequency?

Trying to determine if 3 days eligibility (before flight) is noticeably better than Silver's 1 day.


Thanks!

LM225

Silver to Gold got me far higher upgrade frequency on shorts hops like BWI-CLT. Made no difference on transcons -- didn't start seeing regular upgrades there until CP.

gruss

I have only my own personal evidence to offer and it's limited because I was only silver for a short time due to the trial, but I was 4/12 on upgrade-eligible flights as a silver and have been 25/32 as a gold. Since becoming gold essentially the only upgrades that haven't been a guarantee have been hub-hub flights between PHL/CLT and PHX, which I'm about 50/50 on.

Aside from those, typically the only upgrades I miss are when I change flights or book at the last minute. However I typically try to arrange my travel in and out of ALB to be on Republic to PHL or mainline to CLT which never have any significant load in F so that makes up a fair portion of my upgrades. Obviously a lot depends on the routes you'd be flying and days/times. If you're on flights with few preferred travelers, you may not see a difference, but that roughly 50/50 chance I've enjoyed on hub-hub is essentially nonexistent as a silver.

shawn67

Gold is definitely worth it.

Azzuristar

Gold has higher probability by far

higgies

Absolutely. I was silver for years, then made Gold one year due to a huge long-haul trip. The upgrade rates were so much better that I go out of my way (and spend a few extra $) to ensure I make Gold ever since.

I don't track my upgrade percentage, but unless I'm flying PHL/BOS or PHL/PHX, I typically get upgraded. Since my wife and I try to find off-peak times for vacation flights, we nearly always get upgraded together on vacation trips as well. That is definitely worth it to me... keeping her happy that is.

jimd60

I did not notice more upgrades at first - but since they now seem to be holding first class seats leaving them available for purchase instead of upgrade longer I believe the gold status helps. On a couple of flights this year I received the email saying no availability 3 days out then at 1 day I got the upgrade. So I am pretty sure my gold beat out any silver that close.

Some chairman have told me their upgrades have been coming at 4 or 3 days out instead of 7. So without a doubt the higher the better.

Artagnan

Colleagues who prefer to fly US (personally, I fly UA) have said that Gold is definitely better than silver in terms of upgrade rates, especially at peak times.

pdpgps

Agreed. I barely got upgraded on the major routes with silver status. You may be lucky if the route you fly isn't full of other elites. Once I hit platinum I started getting upgraded on a regular basis.

Cooper21

I agree that gold upgrades are more frequent, but I feel I am on a run of no upgrades in the past 2 months. Only 2 out of last 12 segments for me were upgrades. Also, I always seem to be told that I am first on the standby list, but have yet to make it off the list.

Really pissed on Friday as I walk into coach, passing-by 2 US crewpersons sitting in First Class seats.

irockfm2

I fly through CLT most and I never get upgraded on the CLT-TPA leg during a week day, but I just got the email this morning ALB-CLT-TPA all upgrades. I'm 12 segments away from keeping Gold, but I was shocked I nailed it on a weekday on a mid day flight.

mileshound

All things equal gold is always better than silver but the magnitude depends on where in that tier you are. Remember that within status you are sorted by miles flown for that year. So a high silver and a low gold are not that far apart. Mid silver to mid gold could make a world of difference.

Stu71584

In my experience, it does make a difference, but it's really all about the times and places of the flights...

BluHorseshoe

Gold was a huge upgrade for me. I did the trial this spring and when I was silver I got no upgrades. The first flight I took as gold (PHL-SFO) I was upgraded to First and a majority of my flights from that point forward were upgraded as well. Also, star gold makes a big difference when flying on partner airlines. Go for the Gold!