Snagging upgrades

Snagging upgrades: Keys for a low-level elite

Despite the undue animosity towards you from higher-level elites, there's nothing wrong with being a casual traveller who gets an occasional upgrade.  Delta, United, and US all grant their low-level elites (all called Silver) unlimited complimentary upgrades if space is available.  American has a very different program that is (in some ways) simpler.

How upgrade programs work

Airlines commonly have unsold seats in first class, and frequently have very full or even oversold coach cabins.  The airlines see these open seats as a great way of rewarding their loyal passengers, and thus may upgrade their elites into these seats.  Rest assured, there is no randomness to the process and I will explain below.  These examples will not contain any description of mileage/SWU upgrading and will be limited to domestic travel only.

Full coach tickets first (Y)

Chances are, you're not holding one of these.  These are tickets booked in coach, but they cost thousands of dollars, and are typically sold last-minute.  These are the first tickets to get upgraded, and may be at the time of purchase.

All other coach fares

These tickets are upgraded based on the elite status of the ticket holder, from highest to lowest elite.  So for example, if there are 10 gold members on your flight and 8 first class seats up for grabs, you are not getting those seats as a Silver member (unless you paid for a Y ticket).  

Should there still be seats remaining after all higher elites have cleared - then it's on to Silver.  Your lucky day, right?  Well, this is where the price you paid for the ticket comes into play.  At this point, it comes down to fare basis (slightly different on UA, US, and DL), but higher fares will get greater priority.  

For instance, if you're flying UA and you bought a ticket in G class (pretty inexpensive coach), you would get beat out to an upgrade by a Silver on an M class ticket (pretty expensive coach).  If there's one seat up for grabs and multiple Silvers with the same fare basis - then it comes down to time of ticketing (unless it's DL and one of those Silver members has a Delta Reserve Credit Card).

How to do better

Okay - so it seems that a lot of this is outside of our control and as low-level elites, expecting not to be upgraded is the best way to not be disappointed.  Well - maybe not.  There are some strategies that can help improve the likelihood of an upgrade.  Here's what I suggest.

Booking at the right times

Seek out flights that will likely have fewer elites flying.  Who are these elites?  Most are business travellers, who tend to fly heavily on Sunday night, Monday morning, and Thursday and Friday nights.  Try the following options (assuming you have flexibility in your schedule)

• Saturday flights
• Early Sunday morning flights
• Tuesday and Wednesday mid-day flights
• Or mid-days on weekdays (between 10 - 3 Monday through Thursday)
• Holiday weeks

Ticket booked in H class

Avoiding these peak times can seriously lighten the elite load and increase your chance of getting an upgrade

Be aware of your fare

As discussed, those fares (signified by that little letter next to the word coach when you're booking) can play a role in your chances at an upgrade.  Sometimes a slight increase in price ($5 - $10) may be all the difference between a U and an L fare, and this will push you one category up.  I don't often buy up, as I am not really a gambler - but this is something to be cognizant of.  If other signs are good that you'll be in a spot for an upgrade, this is something to consider.

Understand inventory

The airlines release upgrade seats starting about a week prior to the flight when they have some certainty that they will be unable to sell them.  Silvers get these upgrades 1 - 2 days in advance, after all of the higher elites have received theirs.  There are products on the market that can help you decide which flight to pick, as they actually show exactly how many upgrade seats are available at the time.   Expertflyer does this for Delta.

The golden ratio

A common misconception is that the more seats in F there are, the better chances you have for an upgrade.  This is unfortunately not true, as more seats in F can mean more elites with coach seats vying for the same upgrades.  What's more important is the ratio of F:Y seats.  The higher this ratio, the better chances for a low-level elite to get an upgrade.


Some of the best planes are the little guys - but I plan on covering all of that in a future post.  The exception to this is repositioning ferries, where unnecessarily large planes are used in place of other equipment in an effort to move a (typically international) plane across the country.  If you ever see a 747 or a 777 flying on a route that normally has a 737 - book it!

More to come

I will post more regarding the F:Y ratio in an upcoming post, so please stay tuned.  Use the follow button on the right for updates via twitter!