---
title: "What is Upgrade? | Benefit Systems"
description: "An upgrade is the move into a higher cabin or room category than the one booked, paid for with miles, cash or granted as an elite benefit."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Upgrade?

An upgrade is the move into a higher cabin or room category than the one booked, paid for with miles, cash or granted as an elite benefit.

Also called: Complimentary upgrade.

## How it works #

Complimentary upgrades are allocated from a waitlist sorted by status tier, fare paid and booking date, not by asking at the desk. Understanding that explains why a top tier clears less often on a busy route than a middle tier on a quiet one. Cheap fare types are frequently excluded from upgrades altogether.

## Not to be confused with #

An upgrade is not the same as an award ticket: with an upgrade the paid ticket stays in place and only the cabin jump is bought.

## In German #

The German term is Upgrade. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/upgrade)

## Related terms #

- [Operational upgrade](/en/glossary/operational-upgrade): An operational upgrade is a move to a higher cabin made by the airline for its own reasons, because the booked cabin is oversold or the aircraft changed.
- [Upgrade certificate](/en/glossary/upgrade-certificate): An upgrade certificate is an elite benefit that lifts an existing booking into the next cabin, provided the airline has released upgrade inventory.
- [Fare class](/en/glossary/fare-class): A fare class is the single letter on a ticket that identifies the fare and decides mileage earning, change rights and upgrade eligibility.

## Articles that use this term #

- [How do cabin upgrades actually work?](/en/knowledge/upgrade-mechanics)
- [Does hotel status actually get you upgraded?](/en/knowledge/hotel-upgrades)
- [What does “business class” actually mean?](/en/knowledge/what-business-class-means)
- [Why award space disappears while you’re booking it](/en/knowledge/disappearing-award-space)
- [When airline elite status gets you nothing](/en/knowledge/when-status-gets-you-nothing)
- [When is the best time to book a flight?](/en/knowledge/when-to-book)