There's zero transitions for certain bases and seats but I've yet to hear or see anything about upgrades getting bypassed. You weren't qualified to fill that vacancy in DEN so it went to someone who could fill it right away. The work around is take the first upgrade into whatever base you can and then worry about transferring to another base later. It's not how it should be, but that's the way the company sees it and I doubt it'll ever change. The blame game can't just be pointed at one side or the other it's everyone's fault.