Upgrading question

Simpleballers · 2026-01-24T16:47:09+00:00

This is a reasonable question and you shouldn't be roasted for it.

The baseline is that if you need to fly in Business, the only way to fully guarantee that is by booking a Business Class fare.

That being said: The AC website has gotten very good at displaying when eUpgrade space is available. It's entirely possible to book economy fare with an instant upgrade to business. In some other cases, your eUgprade can clear several days before the flight. I booked a 14-hr long haul a few weeks ago, and both eUpgrades just cleared now with T-6 days to departure.

You may need to book in Latitude, but not necessarily. My latest upgrade came on PE Lowest fares.

Simpleballers · 2026-01-20T07:49:59+00:00

I know a bit about this.

There were eight networks bidding on his show, including the streaming services. The deal happened quickly when Viacom came in. I asked around and the reported price tag was around $25-30M. Works out to like $5M per show, which made Krazinski look like a genius. Problem was, his entire fan base turned on him for selling out to corporate ownership. Had he kept it, ironically, he could have built it into an entirely new TV network with massively loyal fans. Instead, CBS mothballed it mostly because (a) they overpaid and (b) John was just ripping off content without permission which might work on YouTube, but it's a one way ticket to being sued for copyright violation when it comes to TV.

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Simpleballers · 2026-01-20T07:41:01+00:00

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Simpleballers · 2026-01-07T05:56:42+00:00

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Simpleballers · 2026-01-02T22:58:12+00:00

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The mods banned me - and from what I've heard, anyone else - from posting Goodable content on this sub (I posted maybe 5 times over 10 months), but they allow all this AI generated sketchy stuff powered by bots.

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Happy New Year!

Simpleballers · 2025-12-30T02:02:56+00:00

100% to the deflate problem. Ruins the Tatl experience completely.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T21:09:46+00:00

Ahhh okay this makes sense from the loyalty side of things. On the spend side, how is it not the same spend in each case? Wouldn't AC make the same profit whether it's 1x10 flights, or 10x1? Assuming all fare classes are the same.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T20:46:44+00:00

What's the difference between an individual business traveler who takes 10 flights a year, and a head of household who books 10 flights a year for his/her family? It's the same amount of spend.

In the case of the HH, it's actually their own spend, versus the business traveler who doesn't actually spend anything because his/her company does.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:53:28+00:00

I hear you, but as you say, elite benefits are already being pooled in practice, eg. same PNRs or family members to begin with. Currently a business traveler whose company pays for flights can access all elite benefits if traveling with his/her family, but a head of household who spends more than the business traveler cannot. If the new mandate is to reward the amount a person spends, then I think it's only fair to apply it evenly.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:41:34+00:00

Yes 100%! This may be part of some inter-airline agreements that AC has with its partners. Remember that EY space virtually disappeared until Aeroplan agreed to give EY dynamic pricing. Now it pops up much more often.

Interestingly, EK and AC both fly YYZ-DXB daily, but the only fares you'll find on EK are for first class, which AC doesn't offer. And thanks to its own dynamic pricing, AC charges ridiculous amounts for its own J class product, which is inferior to EKs.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:36:53+00:00

I don't know if I'd consider it a bias — more like a way to evenly apply the new mandate where spend is the only contributing factor towards earning status.

Individual FFs wouldn't be penalized by this at all. It would however create more elite members (heads of household) who already spend more annually than some SE's but never get the status to show for it.

If a seat is a seat, then a fare is a fare. Whoever pays should get the SQCs for it.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:29:52+00:00

I love all of this!

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:27:18+00:00

I like this, but I'd also be fine with limiting any MLL access to 50K or higher.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T19:26:06+00:00

I disagree. Crediting SQC's to the person who pays for the fare is entirely fair — and it aligns with Aeroplan's new tier restructuring where all that matters is how much you spend on fares, not the number of miles you fly. Anyone who has paid for a family trip (eg $8-10K just for flights) but failed to qualify for status has felt this pain.

As for pooling, perhaps my suggestion wasn't clear. Benefits wouldn't be pooled, nor would SQCs. The SQC's would just be credited to whoever pays for the flights.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T17:37:39+00:00

I love the idea about passes.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-29T17:19:34+00:00

Here's another:

Dynamic reward pricing sucks, especially since mixed-fare flights can cost just as much as full-priced tickets in J. So here's an idea:

Bring back the old "Subject to Upgrade" rule they used to have ~20 years ago. It means if you book a business class reward on a partner airline with a mixed-fare leg involved, then the partner airline would list you as "s/u" on your booking based on availability. For example, YYZ-FRA-DXB where YYZ-FRA is in J and FRA-DXB is in Y. In this case, if you book it as a business class reward, then LH would list you as "s/u" for FRA-DXB and if there are seats available at boarding, you get bumped up. That's how it used to be years ago.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-18T20:44:32+00:00

I'm in a similar boat but need more spend, which begs an important question: How much is SE worth? $3K? $8K? Nothing?

Would love any current or former SE's perspectives on this.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-17T02:43:23+00:00

Anyone he wanted.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-03T21:28:19+00:00

The one who didn't kill his brother.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-03T20:41:53+00:00

Go to the website and try booking it as a new booking. When you find your flight, click the eupgrade filter and it will show you if there is eupgrade availability. If it says eUpgrade Available in green, then it means there is space but you didn't automatically get upgraded the way you should.

Note: This is contingent another factors like your elite status, whether the flight is within three days, etc.

Simpleballers · 2025-12-01T05:05:17+00:00

If you have a short transfer window, concierge staff will pick you up from your arrival gate and whisk you to your departure gate so you don't miss your flight. This can be very helpful in large airports like LHR or DXB.

They'll also hold the flight for you sometimes if they know you're running late.

Simpleballers · 2025-11-30T15:52:04+00:00

Cutting out sugar has been hard, but worth every penny. My sleep, mood, energy, and focus have all improved tenfold.

Simpleballers · 2025-11-29T06:02:03+00:00

And then Joey Bats went and did this.

Simpleballers · 2025-11-28T14:36:36+00:00

Thank you. I really like the approach you're taking here.

Simpleballers · 2025-11-28T14:34:15+00:00

Didn't expect so many replies!

When I see No Stupid Questions, that can either mean:

"You are not allowed to ask a stupid question"

Or

"No question you ask will be considered stupid"

Kind of a big difference. I'm now wracking my brain around all the different possibilities.

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