In October, United announced that they were moving to an “unlimited” upgrade system from their electronic certificate system. But as readers chimed in, one of the biggest complaints came from top-tier 1K members. The quarterly allotment of confirmed upgrades within North America was going away, and with that, a big perk of upgrade security.

United must have gotten a lot of complaints, as they’re reinstating the so-called “regional” upgrades:

1K® members will continue to earn Regional Upgrades
Sometimes no change is good news. After our last announcement, we heard from our 1K members how much they value their Regional Upgrades. To thank them for their ongoing loyalty, we’ve decided to continue issuing Regional Upgrades to 1Ks, even after the Unlimited Domestic Upgrades program launches.

That gives top-tier elites the best of both worlds: A reserved upgrade if booked in advance (and if United releases seats for upgrade early…) and the top of the free-upgrade list if they’re sweating it out at the gate.

And entry-level elites don’t really lose anything here. The 1Ks would be ahead of them in line, anyway.

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Separately, United and Continental announced that reciprocal “unlimited” upgrade privileges will roll out in mid-2010. No word yet on what the hierarchy will be; I assume that, in a tie, UA 1Ks will still outrank CO platinums…

And on the semi-upgrade front: Continental elites will also have free access to the Economy Plus section on United flights — a privilege which United hasn’t been extending to other Star Alliance partner travelers.

Upgraded: Your ability to earn lots of British Airways miles
Chase and British Airways have launched a pretty amazing airline mileage-earning credit card offer. 50,000 BA miles after one purchase, then 50,000 more after spending $2000 within three months. Gary Leff has thought this through and come up with a scheme for 420,000 miles between two people. That’s a lot of free tickets for a $75 annual fee.

Downgraded: Track suits
A Best Buy executive says that United refused him an upgrade because he was wearing a track suit. “United says there is no passenger dress code, but they cited two rules. Ticketed passengers can not be barefoot and must be clothed.” Standards!

Upgraded: Fees for Expedia phone bookings
Expedia announced that it was dropping the booking fees it charged for booking any flight, car rental, hotel or cruise on the phone. As online agencies compete to attract customers, this is the latest fee to drop. Yay, lower fees! Priceline immediately tweeted that they had never had phone booking fees. Nyahh.

Upgraded: Responsibility for rental car reservations
Avis Budget Group has worked with global booking systems to prepare their networks for an eventual introduction of no-show fees for car rental bookings. Frankly, I’m amazed that this is a fee that hasn’t been enforced more widely already.

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Upgraded: Bad ideas made real
Remember the proposal for sideways seating on commercial airlines? DesignQ, the company that proposed the scheme, is moving toward testing — including crash simulations — by the end of 2009. I am honestly surprised the design is being pursued this aggressively. We’ll see how those tests go. Here’s a reminder of what the designers have in mind:

Downgraded: Hilton hotels in Venezuela
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has nationalized another Hilton-managed property, this one on Margarita Island. It looks like the 154 timeshare owners are out of luck. And yet, the hotel is still in the Hilton system, and maintains the Hilton branding. Huh?!

Downgraded: Hotel reviews… for libel
TripAdvisor contributors, take note: If you’re writing a scathing review of a small Australian hotel or inn, you may find yourself the defendant in a libel suit. Companies with fewer than 10 employees are legally less restricted in suing for libel than larger firms, apparently. But the best defense for libel remains the truth.

Downgraded: USA Today
USA Today’s circulation took a 17% hit, and Gannett’s management placed the blame on a decline in travel. Those papers that show up in front of the hotel door sure do add up!

Downgraded: Pilots’ holsters
Remember the pilot who discharged his pistol in the cockpit and shot a hole through the fuselage, in-flight? He’s been permitted to fly again, 18 months after being fired by US Airways for the incident. In his defense, “the Department of Homeland Security faulted the design of holsters used by pilots who carry their weapons on board planes. The department’s inspector general said the design increased the chance of accidental discharge when pilots inserted their guns in the holsters.” But why a pilot needs a holstered sidearm — behind a locked cockpit door — in the first place isn’t clear to me. The pilot is no longer allowed to carry a weapon aboard.

Upgraded: Peep shows for UK airport security
The US isn’t the only country installing full-body through-the-clothes scanners at airports. The UK is doing so as well. Yes, the systems are designed to show hidden weapons. But “the full body scans will also show up breast enlargements, body piercings and a clear black-and-white outline of passengers’ genitals.” Black-and-white nude silhouettes are already visible to security personnel at Manchester Airport. Passengers have the right opt out of that screen and choose a more traditional scan instead.

Downgraded: Glib descriptions of getting upgrades
Upgraded: Smackdowns
Gary Leff and I got the same e-mail from the folks at TripBase, promoting a post on their blog describing how to “almost always” get upgrades. The post is yet another piece of upgrade disinformation, perpetuating mythologies that may have once held sway but no longer mean anything in today’s airline environment. Gary has a fantastic point-by-point takedown of the piece.

United Airlines announced yesterday that they were revising their upgrade program within Mileage Plus. The headline is going to sound great — “unlimited” upgrades — but the reality is that this downgrades the United program (further). It’s a downgrade of the upgrade.

What United is doing is eliminating the 500-mile electronic certificates and the regional-upgrades. (International systemwide upgrade certificates for 1K travelers are unchanged. Upgrades booked with miles, which will soon carry a cash copayment, are otherwise unaffected by these changes.)

Instead, all travelers with any elite status will be automatically eligible for an upgrade. Some implications for the changes:

• If you’re an entry-level elite (Premier) you’re not going to upgrade much. Previously, a Premier Executive or 1K would have to request an upgrade and offer up some certificates, but now those elites will automatically jump ahead of the Premiers. If you live in a city with a lot of United elites (Chicago, San Francisco, DC, Denver, for starters…) and you’re “just” a Premier, say adios to hot nuts.
• If you’re a 1K flier, you’re in good shape for shorter flights where you might not have otherwise bothered cashing in your upgrade currency. You’ll be at the top of the list for those short hops from Washington to Providence. Par-tay!
• But… 1Ks give up some security. The e-certificates that allowed upper-level elites to reserve upgrades at booking are kaputt. Adios, sure thing!
• Flights on “p.s.” service between New York/JFK and LAX or SFO are excluded from the “unlimited” upgrades. This is obnoxious — you’ll have to use miles or systemwide upgrade certs to move from economy to first? Puh-leeeze.

Within minutes of the announcement, Gary Leff and lucky each weighed in on the change. Neither of them found it to be an improvement. Read ‘em both for more critique.

Reader mail also started pouring in. And none were happy. A few excerpts:

Don writes:

“Unlimited”? My a**. I’m a Premier living in Chicago and flying mostly short hops. I guess I’ll be in Economy Plus forever. Hello American?

Taylor writes:

So they take away my confirmed-regional upgrades and make it a lottery? How is this an improvement?

Antonio writes:

This is genius marketing on United’s behalf, because on the surface it sounds like a fantastic proposition. UNLIMITED UPGRADES!!! But in reality, what they’re doing is cutting a program that gave upgrades earlier, allowing the airline more time to keep those seats free to possibly sell them to a paying customer.

SA nails the reason for making the change:

So Continental joins Star Alliance, and United is turning Mileage Plus into OnePass. At least there’s consistency across the North American partners.

And Tino sums it up:

So United wants to encourage gambling, instead of rewarding loyalty. Maybe their call center should merge with the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline.

In the end, Antonio’s objections noted, top-tier elites are the ones who come out looking best-of-the-worst in this new scheme. As you move down the totem pole, you’re less and less likely to benefit. And that, perhaps, is the point. United is rewarding its highest-spenders. But it’s harming its mid- and lower-tier spenders. And that seems like it could hurt them in the long run.

This leaves only American Airlines using the certificate-based method of reserving upgrades (for Gold and Platinum AAdvantage members). It will be interesting to see if low- and mid-tier United elites start defecting to American, or if American will join the rest of their peers in going “unlimited.”

How’s this for an indicator that premium-class travel isn’t selling: The recently-merged Delta and Northwest are permitting passengers of high-fare international economy fare tickets to upgrade to business class for just 1 mile each way.

2 miles to upgrade an international roundtrip? Two?!!

Northwest and Delta both sent e-mails to their lists. Here’s a piece of a Delta e-mail, but the gist is the same for flights on Delta’s subsidiary, Northwest:

You can now upgrade to our award-winning BusinessElite cabin for one mile each way when you fly internationally on a paid Y, B or M Economy fare between June 30 and September 15, 2009.

[...]
Terms & Conditions
Eligible Fares/Booking: All taxes, fees and blackout dates are governed by the rules of the Y, B or M economy class fare purchased. Additional upgrade tax may apply. SkyMiles members can request a one-way upgrade Award for 1-mile for paid tickets purchased in Y, B, or M economy class between the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada and any international destination that offers J class fares (BusinessElite) where upgrade class of service is available on Delta or Northwest-operated flights only. SkyMiles members must call a Delta reservations representative for upgrades. Tickets: Must be purchased and upgrade requested no later than July 13, 2009. Travel Period: Travel must be completed by September 15, 2009. Restrictions: Availability of one-way upgrade inventory is limited and may not be available on all flights. Some markets may have more availability than others. Members may reissue existing tickets to be eligible for upgrade offer, but will need to pay applicable fees. Customers may combine this upgrade Award with other one-way upgrade Awards. Upgrades not available on Air France and KLM or any other SkyTeam® or codeshare partner operated flights. Tickets are nontransferable. SkyMiles accrual will be for class of service originally purchased. Miscellaneous: All SkyMiles program rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide. Fares, taxes, fees, rules, and offers are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. Please refer Delta reservations representative to 970222.

“Additional upgrade tax” ??! Be sure to get a full quote before you finalize anything.

Also, and very importantly: Note that the eligible fares — Y, B, and M — aren’t the rock-bottom cheapie bucket of fares, they’re at the top end — the most expensive range of economy fares.

You may in fact be able to find a cheaper fare confirmed in business class by looking for a business fare outright. (Most likely a fare with a “Z” an “I” or “S” fare code.) Shop around.

All told, though, spending 2 miles for a roundtrip international upgrade is fantastic value. The airlines are obviously having trouble filling seats. Summer months are typically slow for paid business class travel, and that’s on top of the recession’s crimp on high-fare spending.

Take advantage while you can.

Reader David writes in:

Did I miss the memo or is this old news? As plat elite on CO I got an email yesterday on my blackberry alerting me that I was upgraded on my IAH-LGA flight today. I didn’t read the details, but an upgrade to First is always welcome. Upon check in, and re-examination of the email, I was “upgraded” to the exit row! It’s nice but it’s not a real upgrade, is it? How long have they been sending these “upgrade” emails out?

News to me! It’s the first I’ve heard of this, but if readers have had similar experiences, I invite them to share their story in the comments.

Exit rows are generally nice, for the extra legroom, though some travelers dislike that the seats sometimes don’t recline. And they are an improvement, though not technically upgrades according to Continental’s own chart. They should count under the “preferred economy seating” benefit for elites. But that’s still not an upgrade.

I’ve sent a note to Continental media relations, requesting official comment, but it has gone unanswered. Is this a trend? Is it a goof? If they offer an explanation, I’ll post it here.

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Didn’t pay for first or business class? Didn’t put your name on the upgrade list before the flight? Boarded and seated in your coach seat, and feeling remorse about not pushing for the seat up front? No longer a problem, if you’re on AirTran. The airline has started allowing passengers to upgrade to business class after boarding.

AirTran has been selling upgrades for some time, but the notable change is that they’re now selling those upgrades on board. (Assuming they’re free, of course.) It’s the same price — $49 to $99 each way, depending on the route — as if you had bought the upgrade online or at the airport. But this way, if you decide at the very last minute that you really do want the bigger seat, you now can buy it.

AirTran will continue to sell upgrades at the time of booking, at check-in, at the ticket counter or at the gate, and continue to give complimentary upgrades to elite travelers. Flight attendants will make announcements on board if any upgrades remain and are for sale.
[...]
Passengers pay by credit card to flight attendants, who carry card readers already used for on-board drink sales.

Pretty smart of them. It’s possible that others might follow suit, but don’t expect it on the long-haul international flights where sitting in a bigger, reclining seat really matters.

Don’t expect a big meal or a fancy production. This isn’t Singapore. What you get is a bigger seat and free drinks. Not a bad option to have, though, and I salute AirTran for being creative (and aggressive) in turning those bigger seats into cash.

I don’t expect many airlines will follow suit. Most other airlines have so many elite-level frequent flyer program members, that the seats would already be filled. I haven’t seen an empty first-class seat in ages.

AirTran’s pool of elites is a smaller group, so the airline can both pamper them AND go for revenue from the masses. (Back in September, they announced some improvements to their elite program, including upgrades from any fare class, subject to availability, 40 minutes before takeoff. So elites shouldn’t worry that they’re competing with cash buyers on board, though a cash-upgrader could trump an elite if they buy the upgrade before the 40-minute mark.)

I’d expect to see Spirit and Virgin America follow suit soon. Perhaps airlines without an “unlimited” upgrade policy for elites (e.g., United and American) would be also consider testing this sort of program.

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Some Upgrade: Travel Better readers might recognize their name (and quotes) in this article in the LA Times, detailing the recent trend of customers turning down car-class upgrades at the rental counter. (You may remember the post asking for stories from travelers who said “no!” to the comp car-rental upgrade. The article is the result.)

David Sikorski went to a Hertz in Austin, Texas, last month to rent a car for a business trip to Dallas. He’d booked a fuel-efficient mid-size sedan, hoping to keep expenses down on the 400-mile round trip.

What he got was a 16-mile-per-gallon Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle.

“I walked right back in and asked for something smaller,” said the Austin computer data specialist, who eventually was given a Hyundai. “They claimed it was an upgrade, but I sure don’t want an upgrade if it means driving an SUV.”

Amen, David.

But what’s the fallout for consumers?

Although rental companies say that pricing has largely stayed the same, Wall Street analysts predict a several percent across-the-board price increase in the industry to help with the changing business model. But Steven Fitzgerald, vice president for hotel and car distribution at Sabre, said that might not be enough.

“We might see . . . subcompacts renting for triple the price of SUVs,” he said.

It’s already happening. A recent survey of pricing at a Budget location at Los Angeles International Airport showed the midweek daily price for a Hyundai Accent economy car exceeded that of a Ford Explorer or a convertible Ford Mustang. Dollar and several other companies were offering SUV rentals in June for as little as $37.99 a day.

That sort of pricing is not commonplace… yet. But it’ll be interesting to see if the economics of car classes really do get turned on their head.

The problem is the fact that you aren’t guaranteed your car class when you make the reservation. You can always be given a higher class for the same price. And if the higher class is now undesirable, we either need to see a complete realignment of the car class hierarchy or a firm guarantee of in-class reservations.

(P.S. Thanks to all the readers who wrote in to volunteer for inclusion in Ken Bensinger’s article.)

Reader Jeff writes in:

I’ve been told that there are no upgrade seats available for a flight I’ll be taking in a few weeks. But, I can see that the first class section is wide open.

The telephone agent (Continental Airline) said that I should keep calling as an upgrade seat might open up.

What’s the best strategy here? When is the best time to call to try to snag an unsold first class seat and get an upgrade using my miles?

Your frustration is understandable. You look at the seating chart, and there are unreserved seats, so you think you’re “in.” But no dice. Not so fast.

As you found out, empty seats on a chart don’t always correspond to seats available for upgrades. There are several reasons.

Empty seats on the chart doesn’t mean there are unsold seats. The airline may have already sold first class tickets, but not assigned seats yet.

More likely: Their inventory managers know the sales history for a particular flight, and similarly “know” that a last minute rush for first class tickets always magically appears on that flight. They could be holding back upgrades, hoping to sell those seats for cold, hard cash.

Or, sure, they might just be screwing with you.

The bottom line is this: There’s no magic bullet, and you’ll have to keep trying. Upgrades will open up when inventory managers throw in the towel on cash sales. Since you can’t book miles-based upgrades online with Continental, you just have to keep calling.

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Reader Phil writes:

I know rent a car companies often run out of some car types and then give you whatever they have left, or a free upgrade. Is there a best time of day to schedule a pickup so we can maximize our odds of an upgrade?

This is really, really, hard to predict, Phil. Of course, it’s all about the supply of cars. But that supply will depend on the location where you’re picking up, the local tourism and convention traffic, and just plain luck. I asked around, and no one would identify a pattern. (Feel free to hit the comments with your experiences!)

When I think back to the times that the car I reserved wasn’t available (which is very, very often), I can’t discern a trend. I have gotten upgraded due to lack of availability at nearly all hours of the day, and at various sizes of airport or rental location. I’ve gotten “upgrades” that ranged from a minivan at midnight in Seattle, to an SUV at 3pm in Boston, to a full-size at noon at Ontario, CA, to a full-size in Frankfurt, to whatever category a Chevrolet HHR is at 9pm in Hartford, etc., etc. But I’ve not gotten upgraded in those places, and actually gotten what I reserved, at similar times, too.

I’ll add that I really didn’t want these upgrades most of the time. I’ve argued before that rental car upgrades are generally not worth it in my book, especially with the price of gas these days, unless you’re going all-out for a truly “aspirational” ride. (”Sir, we’re out of Kia Rios, but feel free to select any of the several Lamborghinis we have parked in the lot instead. No charge.” Sure.)

Bottom line, I fear, is that you’ll be better off reserving the car you actually want, or the lowest class you’ll be comfortable with.

Related:
- Reader mail: Why would I want to upgrade my rental car?
- Rental car agent blows smoke up my backside, redux
- Reader mail: What happened to car rental late-return grace periods?
- Video: Why you never want to buy a former rental car

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