Tag Archives for upgrade.
That time between 24 hours in advance of departure – when check-in opens – and when the flight goes under airport control has just seen some changes to how upgrades work on the back end. An internal memo from American Airlines lays it out, and I reproduce it below.
Did you know that Hilton specifically says that 44% of its brands do not have to upgrade elite members at all?
No business has more data on passenger upsales to business class across airlines than PlusGrade, and its CEO says that the product an airline offers really matters in monetizing the cabin.
A mom who offers travel advice on Instagram stirred up controversy by showing an upgrade she got with her husband – while she said her 10 year old son sat in coach for their 13 hour flight.
A frequent flyer went online to seek advice about a problem with his boss: when traveling together, the boss expects his upgrade seat. He vehemently disagrees. Is that smart?
I flew what seemed to me like a lot growing up. My parents were divorced and lived on different coasts, and I went back-and-forth. And living in New York I naturally found myself in Florida over winters as well. (My very first flight memory is a drive to the airport for a flight to Florida, probably when I was three.)
But I always flew coach, and I remember thinking to myself as boarded a widebody flight once that I would always travel in back. I’d never be wealthy enough to sit up front, and even if I was why would I waste my money that way? I had no idea what it cost, but it just seemed so… extravagant to be more comfortable for a few hours.
Pollster Frank Luntz took to twitter to “shamelessly” beg for an upgrade on United flight 950 from Washington Dulles to Brussels, enroute to a Brussels Airlines connecting flight to Kigali, Rwanda.
Given the timing of his tweet, and that premium cabins show as full after clearing upgrades, it looks like his chances were slim.
Most ‘how to get upgraded’ stories are filled with half-truths, falsehoods, and urban legends. That’s especially true for airlines, but it’s also true for hotels, too. But here’s something that works, more often than not, and that I’ve used successfully in the past.
For twenty years I’ve been writing that every article on how to get an upgrade is wrong. There’s no secret phrase like ‘revenue management’. And ‘dressing nicely’ doesn’t usually matter because upgrades with most airlines are based on an algorithm – that may take into account (for instance) your frequent flyer status and the fare you paid.
Then a Delta Air Lines gate agent goes and does this: holds a “dance off” at the gate for an upgrade. And I start to wonder whether everything I’ve ever written about upgrades is wrong?
Delta eliminated traditional mileage upgrades in 2019, and they no longer let top tier elite members upgrade paid coach tickets to business class. Upgrades with miles can now cost as much as one million miles roundtrip.
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 »
