MudCrab, those of us who truly know the tricks of the trade don't go and reveal all on these forums! Selfish? Yes, but these days so many pax go asking for free upgrades that those of us in the know have to protect our own chances.
It has in fact become a lot more difficult in recent years (depending on the airline), no thanks to the naive element mouthing off to the millions on pax forums, but also because of more stringent upgrade policies (and policing of these policies) introduced by the beancounting managers. Nevertheless, it can still be achieved if one plays clever, very clever. But, no, I'm not telling, sorry.
