Which U.S. airline offers the best chance for free upgrades based on elite status?
There are a number of factors that influence whether or not elite members will be upgraded and its impossible to declare one airline the best when it comes to upgrades. Having said that, we did receive many opinions from frequent flyers we spoke to when we asked them which airline they thought was the best for upgrades. Continental and Northwest were frequently cited as offering the most opportunities for upgrades. One traveler said, I have been at the top tier on US Airways, Delta, Continental and Northwest at one time or another. My opinion and experience is that Northwest gives the best upgrades for Platinum. And if you dont get an upgrade, they give you 1,000 bonus miles to compensate you. It has been a very rare experience over the past five years that I have been Platinum on Northwest to not get an upgrade. In fact, I think I have only received the 1,000 miles once or twice. Alaska Airlines impressed one former elite flyer who said, I was briefly an elite flyer on Alaska, and I l
