Tag Archives for upgrade.
Delta is now selling first class upgrades for as little as $26. That’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen, and points to how far they’ll go to avoid offering complimentary upgrades to their best customers. They’ve been on a 10-year journey trying to phase out first class upgrades and they’ve nearly accomplished it.
Cheap ‘first class buy ups’ can be a great deal even as they make elite status so much less valuable. I recently purchased a couple of them and it caused me to refresh my thinking around how much I’m willing to pay.
A United Airlines passenger flying from Houston to Austin on Monday found a self-upgrader in their seat when they boarded. They were supposed to be in a first class window seat, but a woman was already there. The first class passenger offered, “I’m seat F,” but the woman declared “I’m more comfortable here.”
The Trump family stayed at St. Regis D.C. for the inauguration, based on video shared by President Trump’s granddaughter Kai who took on a much larger profile this past summer at the Republican Convention.
Here’s a woman who got upgraded and her husband didn’t. She takes video of him in back. And he clearly gives her stink eye.
When a guest at Marriott’s Courtyard Crystal City/Washington National airport complained about the property’s upgrade policies, the hotel general manager responded – and laid out why he prefers not to make upgrades available to elite members.
Do not assume that you have been upgraded and certainly do not assume you’ve been given the best possible room that you’re entitled to under a program’s benefits. You do often have to ask. One chain hotel GM even says that guests who don’t request an upgrade aren’t entitled to one.
Here’s an interesting twist on a husband and wife traveling together, with only one upgrade seat available. Some believe that they should both suffer coach in order to stay together. Others see it differently. It’s just a few hours. Besides, if you love your partner you wouldn’t wish economy on them.
An evangelical pastor attacked his wife on Alaska Airlines because she was upgraded, and he wasn’t.
The pair were traveling on Alaska flight 275 from Seattle to Anchorage on Tuesday of last week. Seventy five year old Roger Allan Holmberg Sr. “flipped [his wife] the bird” on board the aircraft and assaulted her upon discovering that she has Mileage Plan elite status.
Perhaps the market for premium cabin transatlantic flights has softened a bit. I’ve certainly been hearing this. And Delta is now willing to sell upgrades for even less money than American.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
