We often see "Hurry, only X rooms left" when booking sleeping car rooms on the Amtrak website. Apparently the same applies to upgraded seating: a "Hurry, only X seats left" message shows up when selecting an upgrade for a nearly-sold out business or first class section. (You encounter this most often on the club-dinette configurations with only 18 seats.)
So...for those of you blessed with a mix of 12-hour and 48-hour upgrade coupons, here's the best practice I've employed. 36-48 hours prior to departure, do a test booking for 8 passengers for your train and click on the upgrade option. If you get a "Hurry..." message, then it's time to call in the 48-hour coupon. Otherwise, the 12-hour ought to suffice.
For Acela, I've never had trouble upgrading at 12 hours out, though I'm rarely traveling during super-peak periods. On the other hand, business class on 66/67 is often sold-out 3-4 days in advance.
So...for those of you blessed with a mix of 12-hour and 48-hour upgrade coupons, here's the best practice I've employed. 36-48 hours prior to departure, do a test booking for 8 passengers for your train and click on the upgrade option. If you get a "Hurry..." message, then it's time to call in the 48-hour coupon. Otherwise, the 12-hour ought to suffice.
For Acela, I've never had trouble upgrading at 12 hours out, though I'm rarely traveling during super-peak periods. On the other hand, business class on 66/67 is often sold-out 3-4 days in advance.
