Flyers are now facing gamification of airline "perks" and are being asked to bid for better seats

Eight days before my husband and I were scheduled to travel, enticements started touching down in my email inbox.

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WestJet: “Hello PAMELA J, treat yourself by placing an offer to upgrade your seat.”

Air Canada: “You’re eligible to bid for an upgrade.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head.

Having already run the gamut of seat selection, baggage allocations, insurance and flex options, I was now being offered the opportunity not to purchase an upgrade, but to try my luck at snagging one.

It reminded me of the raffle stands at the Royal St. John’s Regatta, where hawkers try to persuade you to buy tickets for the spinning wheel in hopes of winning a prize.

“You pays your money and you takes your chance,” as the saying goes.

The WestJet upgrade portal has a slider that allows me to bid between $250 and $650 per person on the first leg of the trip and wait up to 72 hours to find out if the offer has been accepted. Or, together we could spend an extra $1,440 to “buy” an instant upgrade — subject........

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