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When are airline upgrades worth it?

BagBoy
My wife got us a great deal to upgrade to Delta One when we flew to France. It was SPECTACULAR!!! We got access to the Delta lounge, got to board and depart the plane first which got us thru customs quickly, had top shelf liquor, a chef curated dinner, they gave us a handmade gift bag with toothbrush and earplugs, and we had single seats that laid down fully. Best flight of my life! I kept waiting for them to kick me out of first class.
 
I paid $50 recently to get the extra space that comes with an emergency exit row seat. It was a 4+ hour flight. It was worth every penny.

Other people in the same row paid more to upgrade to 1st class. I didn't think that was worth it.

But to answer your question it is a function of cost, comfort and length/duration of the flight.
 
Trmpt98 said:
My wife is like this, but she's also 5'1" 115lbs so it's easier for her. I'm a bit bigger at 6'2" and I like to eat.
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I love to eat and have a beer or two on the plane and I usually travel my wife so I normally get upgraded to First or Delta Comfort+ being attached to her Skymiles status. We’ve been traveling for pleasure a lot more since we became empty nesters 7 months ago so by May of this year I’ll be Diamond with Delta for the first time ever which improves my upgrade chances when flying alone. I’m still too frugal to pay for upgrades if it’s only a 2-3 hour flight. :)
 
International upgrades to Business class.
Singapore Airlines,,, can’t speak more highly of standard and service .

New Zealand Airlines ( Funnily enough under the same brand Alliance Air) were very good but not quite Singapore standard .

Domestically , alway premium economy , need extra leg room and better standard
 
Every flight if I am flying southwest. I hate the check in 24 hrs early to not get a middle seat game. Plus being 6’2” I need a bit more room. So for 30 bucks it is almost always worth it.

If flying united I normally just start with economy plus as the cheapest option. When flying overseas I always cash in points for first class the day of the flight at check in. Is normally cheaper than booking it ahead of time.
 
I’ll upgrade every chance.

For a 2 hour flight, I’d at least jump on the $40 each way.
 
I say yes if the flight is over 2 hours…
 
I typically fly Southwest, so no first class.
 
If you get lounge access ( first doesn’t automatically mean lounge access with many US carriers, which blows my mind) it’s worth it. If you don’t, it ain’t.
 
Trmpt98 said:
Piggy backing off my travel thread, United keeps sending me messages to get me to upgrade. When I fly to Roanoke it's only a 2 hour flight so after having to pay for baggage fees (I normally fly southwest) I'm trying to decide if an upgrade is worth it. Currently I'm in a premium economy which basically just allows me to pick my seat. Other options are ecomony plus (more leg room) or first class. First class is way more than I want to spend but may go economy plus. I would consider doing is even more if one of those baggage fees was included.

So my question for you is when does it become "justifiable" to upgrade your plane seat? Convince me :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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I went economy plus on my connecting flight from Atlanta to Roanoke for like $19.00 each way. I felt better about it when I booked it, but I'm not sure I would have noticed one way or the other. 🤷‍♂️
 
Depends really on flight and cost of upgrade. If it’s a special occasion I can see treating yourself…. Not all of us can fly private all the time like bougie @Mmaynard11 !
 
Depending on your airline, it depends. American, I’m a big fan of main cabin extra. It’s first class without the boarding status. I get drinks for free, my seat is bigger, and I can almost always grab a window and the person next to me is chill.

I don’t know if it’s 42 or so extra for the seat, but it sure is nice to have when you don’t get the complimentary bump due to everyone else in front of you!
 
Bryndom said:
Depends really on flight and cost of upgrade. If it’s a special occasion I can see treating yourself…. Not all of us can fly private all the time like bougie @Mmaynard11 !
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Buddy this year I’ve been with the…
Walking Cow GIF by Mercy For Animals
 
My big conundrum is getting extra leg room or getting an extra headcover at BallyHack....
 
Every time for us. We fly once or twice a year to Mexico for vacations, and we always pay to get in the first three rows. First off the plane, first through customs, and first to the carousel to find our luggage. Nothing worse after a three hour flight than waiting on the back of the plane with everyone else who wants to stand up in front of, hover over, or otherwise jostle you around as they pull down their carry-ons thinking they can somehow speed up the unloading process. Then standing 100
deep in the customs line after all that just sucks.

Far better to get to your transport (also upgraded) and to the resort to start the revelry and relaxation as early possible. 🏖️🍻
 
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