Last Day to Upgrade for Free with Miles on US Airways as an Elite

Jeanne Marie Hoffman April 22, 2014 US Airways 1 Comment

Today is the last day to upgrade your trips with miles as a US Airways Elite for free. Â Starting tomorrow, all elites will be required to pay the hefty co-pay.

I mentioned, I’m bummed out by this because I mostly used it to upgrade people as a surprise, and to confirm seats in first when traveling with a companion.

I think it is bad business to take this benefit away from Chairmen at the very least. Â I’ve confirmed myself and Keri into first on flights we’dÂ probably clear, but I just wanted to make sure. Â I essentially gave them back 20,000 miles for peace of mind.

A reminder that you can upgrade future flights–so if you were thinking about it, do it now!

US Airway’s co-pay for upgrading with miles is especially harsh:

A flight from PHL – Â SFO would costÂ $600Â to upgrade me and Keri—as opposed to $0 in the past. Â Oh, and 40,000 miles of course.

Compare this to American’s award chart:

More miles, but much less in the way of copay.

I loved that benefit on US Airways. Â The chart was simple and fair for distance based awards (especially since the first class experience is so different depending on the length of the flight).

But the co-pays are just crazy! Â I might pay $75 per person to upgrade me and Keri to Cali. Â I’m not laying out $150.