With domestic premium fares on the rise, it pays to know where you should spend your hard-earned miles. With that in mind, we offer our ranking of the big five U.S. carriers—American, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways—and Alaska based on their upgrade programs from economy to First Class.
Key Changes: United now imposes a surcharge of up to $100 round-trip on economy-to-First upgrades. Last December, American increased its surcharge by $50 to $150, round-trip. Delta has expanded the fares available for upgrading to First, now excluding only heavily discounted fares (U, L, and T).
Alaska: D
Requires 30,000 miles for a round-trip upgrade, but that’s only available with relatively high economy fares (Y, S, B, M, or H). Another major downside is the limited route network.
American: C+
Allows upgrades from any fare for only 30,000 miles, round-trip, with a surcharge of $150. But what makes American unusual is its upgrade availability. Most airlines have three separate seat inventories: Free seats, upgrade seats, and paid seats (with the latter having most of the inventory). However, for domestic travel, American puts discounted, paid First Class seats and upgrade seats in the same bucket (A code), meaning as long as a discounted First Class seat is available, an upgrade is, too. Another advantage: American is a Starwood partner and transfers net a 25% bonus for every 20,000 miles transferred. You can also buy the 30,000 miles needed for an upgrade from American, which can save you 70% off normal First Class fares.
Continental: D
Allows upgrades with any economy fare for 30,000 miles, round-trip, but imposes a surcharge up to $300. A bright spot: Continental elites are exempt from the surcharge and can upgrade on any fare. (From this perspective the program gets an A.)
Delta: C+
Allows upgrades on most economy fares (except L, U, and T), and charges 25,000 miles round-trip, 5,000 fewer miles than other airlines.
United: B
Its new upgrade program now adds a $100 surcharge to the 30,000-mile cost of a round-trip upgrade from any discounted economy fare. Big question: Will United incorporate Continental’s elite friendliness, as the two programs are already very similar?
US Airways: B+
The only program that doesn’t impose a surcharge. Moreover, it allows upgrades from any published fare for 30,000 miles, round-trip. On four out of six routes that we checked, US Airways came in with the lowest upgradable fare, hence it receives our highest grade.
Lowest Upgradeable Economy Fares for Domestic Travel
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