Reminder to check airline apps for upgrade offers

I recently flew Lufthansa and they were pushing upgrades from the moment of my reservation, up to and including the gate agents pitching them over the PA. You could also "bid" for an upgrade using a sliding scale they conveniently provided.

One oddity was, it was only good for business if you were in premium econ. Many people from econ lined up to take advantage and they were turned away. IIRC, for a flight from Munich to LAX it would have been about 450 euros.

That's a great tip about checking airline apps for potential discounted upgrades! As a frequent traveler it's always nice when you can snag a better seat or cabin for less than expected. Even if it's just segment upgrades as you mentioned, every little bit of extra comfort goes a long way. I'll have to keep a closer eye on my airline apps too in case deals like that pop up. Thanks for sharing - you never know when these insider tidbits might come in handy for optimizing future trips. Upgrades are like a little travel hack.

I did this recently for my LHR - DFW leg from economy to PE for $139. If I had bought the whole ticket in PE, it would have been more than $1,000 extra. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

I didn’t know this at all. I have the app for American as that is the airline I fly most of the time but I never use it until the days just before travel. Do you check your app periodically after booking a flight even if it is months in the future?

Lyndash- It is a good idea to keep an eye out for the upgrades, as they can come and go, or rise and fall. I tend to go into my AA app at least once or twice a month, as I’m regularly juggling trips and tracking my status points.

Delta does this too. From the moment of booking, you will see offers to upgrade for specific segments of the trip. Prices will go up and down wildly. I have seen offers to upgrade from Main Cabin to Delta One for over $3000, then the next day it might be half that, some days even less.

About a year ago, an hour before boarding, KLM notified me that I could go from Economy to Business AUS to AMS for $250. That is the only time I have ever paid to fly other than Economy. I had a Dinner Date about 2 hours after landing in Budapest and I thought the sleep might help.

Good thread Scudder

I've got an MCE ticket on AA that current upgrade to PE for JFK-CDG is $350 (not yet worth it) but if it goes to sub-$200, I'm buying!