4000 points + $575 is untasteful to me. Last upgrade I had was 20,000 points. Classic award PER-MEL sits at around 36,000 + $40.
So the $575 equates to 16,000 points, or you're buying points at 3.59 cents each compared to classic award upgrade rates.
But, as mentioned above, it will give Mum and Dad EDR shoppers a chance to have 'enough points for business'. I fear for QFF these will be the people least likely to drop almost $600 on a 3.5 hour flight's upgrade. International will be the key if this is successful. I'd drop $575 and x,000 points on a MEL-LAX in a heartbeat, but if the co-pay is much higher than that it would be too steep for me.
RedRoo, can you confirm if there is any relationship between available seat class(es), at time of bid processing, and likelihood of a bid-upgrade being approved?