OK, this may be a frequent question, but there are a lot of seasoned travelers out there who are much more experienced that I am at getting upgraded. Planning a trip out to Vegas and will return on the US Airways red-eye. Any suggestions from a Travel Professional on how to get upgraded to First Class? It would make the 4+ hour trip more comforatble and with a good night sleep, I may even go to work that day. Thanks!

1. Use miles to upgrade.

2. Visa.

3. Master Card.

4. (You get it.)

Flying by yourself I think gives you an advantage. Last year I was flying from Sydney to London. The plane stopped in Bangkok for refueling. When I walked back on the plane, they said, "We had to move you to Business Class." I was so shocked. She said, "are you upset." When the plane landed in London after the ten hour flight, I didn't want the fasten seat belt sign turned off. Wally was comfy!

Get top elite status with AA.

Free upgrades from any fare to first on domestic flights.

You get it by now - free upgrades used to happen, but rarely anymore. So many people have miles with which they "pay" to upgrade themselves or elite airlines status that gets them upgraded - they "pay" by already flying that airline a lot.

If you're looking for a free upgrade, don't count on it - for the reasons stated above. On many flights, the airlines cannot even accommodate all of their elites who want upgrades and are willing to use "upgrade currency" (miles, e-upgrades, etc.) to get them.

That said, I have very little personal experience with US Airways, but I know that some airlines (e.g., United) sell upgrades at check-in or at the gate for a fee, if seats are available. It looks like, from this link, that US Airways has something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/pm5fg

Get your name on the upgrade list and pay for it with your credit card and/or miles. Do not walk on the plane and ask the flight attendant if there are any vacant seats in FC. Even if the flight departs with open seats in FC, there is no reason you should expect to sit there without paying for it. It is not fair to those who do pay for FC seats.

Tell people <b>you</b> are the real killer of JonBenet. Not that Karr imposter.

rkkwan,

that would be the answer to :

&quot;How do I get to fly <b>free</b> in Business on a 5 airline.&quot;

You can get upgrades at any elite level on US, not just top tier.

http://www.usair.com/awa/content/div.../benefits.aspx

At least in theory. You will have a lot of competition, tho.

US does offer last minute upgrades, in the ballpark of $50 per 500 miles to any DM member. An upgrade might be offered when you check in online (or if you use a kiosk, if US/AW have kiosks at LAS). Or ask when you check in. Chances are that it will be booked full before you get a shot at it.

I just noticed that ms_go covered the topic well, esp. in explaining why you probably won't get the ug. AW, like US, also offers last minute upgrades.

rkkwan, you beat me to the punch line....

Thanks to the great advice on this thread I was able to upgrade to first class for my Punta Cana flight tomorrow (thanks ms go!!!)! Ive never flown first class so…hopefully it will be awesome!

Too bad that, due to my “anti freak-out” airplane medicine, I wont be able to enjoy any of the drinks-hahahha!!

Actually, both of my sons are &quot;lifetime platinum&quot; on AA and seldom have trouble getting upgraded.
M

As I have been Platinum on AA for years, I was wondering what &quot;lifetime Platinum&quot; means. Anyone know?

After 2 million miles in the AAdvantage program you are made Platinum for life. I million = Gold for life.

<b>mikemo</b>,

that may be very well true, but it's not free for them.

Platinums earn 4-500 mile upgrade stickers for every 10,000 miles they fly, so if they want to cover the upgrades for the remaining 8,000 miles they have to shell out (I believe) it's $30 per sticker, so basically $480 for the 16 stickers necessary for domestic upgraded travel to cover the additional 8,000 miles necessary to earn another 4 free domestic stickers.

Internationally, they have to pay just like everybody else. It's 25,000 miles plus $250 each way when traveling to Europe, Asia and South America.

Every other destination is less but they still have to pay one way or another.

Only Executive Platinums get free domestic upgrades and are first in line when waitlisted and they also get 8 free e-VIPs per year, which are good for upgrading systemwide on AA and there is no co-payment.

We have occasionally been given upgrades at the gate, when we ask if one is available, and once when we had a death in the family and had to return immediately, and I think that is because we fly so frequently and are good customers, I am not sure. But don't count on it; just break loose the money and pay for it is the surest way.

Claro, they are plat life time AA ff'ers.
Wish I was also.
M.

naturegirl - So how did you upgrade?