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When is the best time to buy upgrade to upper class ? on Virgin at check in or 72 hrs before flight thanks

You'll get a quicker reply at flyertalk, a different website.

About 6 months in advance ideally...

If you see a price that you think you are willing to pay, I'd always go for it. You can get some OK deals at the airport, but from experience I have always been able to get a cheaper deal online beforehand.

My experience is that you'll get a better deal the sooner you do it, I don't think the check in people have any leeway.

I've upgraded on the day with VS a few times both for cash and miles. Miles upgrade rates are published and can be good value if you want a good night's sleep flying east. On the day you have a reasonable chance of moving forward if premium seats are unsold. Go to ticketing first not regular check-in: if you are successful you won't need to queue at economy. Also try upgrading via the call centre - that worked for me after I'd checked in at MCO even when the check-in agent told me it was impossible (although I had to get my boarding pass reissued). There was never a case of negotiation on price - the rate is the rate. Never tried upgrading a long time in advance so I can't comment on that.

I find the earlier the better. I'm retired and when flying long haul i usually know well in advance so i look for a good deal and if i see one i buy it. I do not recall seeing a cheaper fare after the deal.
I have only tried to upgrade at check in once and the fare quoted was higher for one way than i could have paid for a return ticket three month's earlier on line..That was for BKK to LHR..

Edit.. Sorry, forgot you were talking about Virgin. I wasn't..

Just very, very occasionally airlines will offer deals on upgrades but I would never rely on it. As 1DC says the best way to get a good deal is book well in advance (as much as 90 days) and be flexible. If an airline is going to offer an upgrade at checkin they will normally do it according to a set of rules that don't include allowing someone to bowl up and shell out some (small amount of) money - it has happened, it does happen but it's rare; when it happens it often means the airline has messed up yield control in some way.

Unfortunately, trying to upgrade a ticket between purchase and departure is likely to prove surprisingly expensive, phone reservations and ask but make sure you're sitting down when they tell you; it can be that the upgrade (not the total of previous fare + upgrade) can cost MORE than the ticket in the higher class would have done had it been purchased in the first place.