Question about Upgrade coupons

[Guest]

Hi,

I was wondering about the one class upgrade coupons for Acela from business to first class. What are the chances of actually getting an upgrade with the coupon only one hour prior to departure, I would be travelling on a weekday morning from RTE to WAS. On the way back it would be afternoon, WAS to RTE. Is it better to call one hour before departure or wait in line at the station? Which has a better chance? What if you go to the window earlier than one hour before departure?

Thanks.

 

[AlanB]

Your chances depend on what day of the week and what hour of the day. For example, Fridays on a 4:00 PM train out of WAS the odds are not good at all.

Regarding calling vs. showing up in the station, obviously if you can't get to the station exactly one hour before, then the odds of getting an upgrade via phone are higher than waiting until 10 minutes before at the station. But you need to be aware that doing it by phone is not a fun process. And some agents don't know how to do it and really screw things up, sometimes quite badly. You also need to make sure that you have enough open to buy on your credit card, as the correct process sees the phone agent crediting your card back for the ticket, then applying the upgrade. When you reach the station, you still have to visit with an agent to turn in the coupon and get your ticket, and that agent will charge your credit card at that time for the original price. Since credits take a day or two to hit your card, if you don't have enough open to buy, you could be stuck standing in the station now. So it is easiest to just get to the station 1 hour early.

Finally, if you're 5 minutes earlier than 1 hour, most agents will just process it and let you go. If you're 15 to 20 minutes, you may meet some resistance. More than a half hour early and you're almost guaranteed to be turned away.

 

[Steve4031]

Myself and one other was successfully upgrade on 2168 out of Washington, D.C. on a Friday. That was a 2 p.m. departure. I have also succesfuly upgraded on weekends in the past. So it is possible, and it is a really good thing to do. You also get 750 points for traveling fc too.

 

[the_traveler]

From BOS-NYP, I had no problem getting an upgrade on the 9:15 AM AE. But if I tried for the 7:xx AM departure, it might have been a different story. And the same from NYP-BOS. 3:xx PM was no problem, but 4:xx PM may have been.

 

[Shanghai]

I have been successful on both a NYP to WAS and return - early morning and early afternoon.

The agent upgraded my return one hour and twenty minutes ahead of departure.