Don’t Wait to Buy an Upgrade at the Airport
We all know tricks about when to buy flights, like booking exactly 65 days before the scheduled departure date or on Tuesday morning, because that’s when flights are for some reason the cheapest. But when is the best time to buy upgrades?
On Reddit, you / your boyfriend put it off and asked about the time it took to upgrade American Airlines flights. “Is it usually cheaper if you do it before online check-in, after check-in, or at the gate?” he asked. “There are only a few extra seats available for the flight, so I didn’t expect a good deal …”
If the thought of having to sit in Economy on a long flight forces you to splurge on a premium seat – say, a row with a few extra inches of legroom – consider buying an upgrade before you get to the airport. especially if you are especially desperate for a seat.
Simply put, this is a gamble. As we wrote earlier , several major US airlines begin to upgrade to any elite status approximately 24 hours prior to check-in. This means that your choice of seats may be significantly more limited if you decide to upgrade at the airport.
And no, the seat will not necessarily get cheaper when you arrive at the airport, even if some of the upgraded seats remain empty until your departure time. “Airlines are a disproportionately large part of its revenues by selling space in the cabin a premium, especially with the full tariff for business travelers at the last minute” – recently wrote Ethan Steinberg of Guy Points by . “In many cases, they would rather risk someone buying the seat shortly before departure than offering it for an upgrade, even if it ends up empty.” And even if there are price fluctuations that balance out in your favor, it may not be all that significant; it depends heavily on the airline.
When is it worth waiting?
There are of course exceptions, especially if you are willing to play (and possibly lose). For example, if you have elite status with an airline and are requesting an upgrade, you can wait and still get lucky. For Medallion Members, Delta , for example, will offer complimentary upgrades and cancel requested upgrades a few days before your departure, depending on your status. ( Delta also offers a same-day standby upgrade for flights within North America, if available, in which case it makes sense to wait until the day you fly.)
Many major US airlines have renewal application procedures, although there are risks involved as well. Typically, these auctions are blind, meaning you pick a number and hope it’s the best deal they’ve got (without knowing the rates of other passengers). Typically, you will send this number to the airline at least 72 hours before departure and you will find out if your bet has won 24-48 hours before departure. If you win, your ticket will be less than what you would have otherwise paid for this upgrade (which may or may not result in significant savings). Again, there are no guarantees in this process; The Points Guy has some tips for applying for an upgrade, but I wouldn’t wish you a win.
Sometimes you just get lucky. I recently upgraded on a Hawaiian Airlines flight a few minutes before departure at the same rate I would otherwise have paid if I had upgraded a few months earlier. My initial seat was fine, but I decided to upgrade after red eyes and a few stutters (and also because I wanted to lean back as far as possible). In other words, if losing an upgrade doesn’t mean the end of the world for you, then waiting is okay. But if you already know that you are going to spend money on an upgrade and do not have elite status with an airline, acting sooner rather than later is usually a win-win. In my case, the flight was only 75 percent full, so time and luck made the task easier.
And in case you’re wondering, no, those who have booked economy class seats are not eligible for upgrades on most airlines that offer them (another reason to love airlines!). For more information on the upgrade process, be sure to check out the Million Mile Secrets and Points Guy posts , which detail the policies of multiple airlines and renewals using miles instead of points or cash.