Upgrade confusion – guidance sought please

[anoraknophobe]

Hi. I’ve been collecting AMEX points to convert to Avios for a year or two, and now have >110,000, so was looking forward to be able to use them on our upcoming trip to California. Going in May from Scotland to San Francisco (via Heathrow) and returning from LA (again via Heathrow). So I booked my tickets in economy, and thought I’d be able to use my Avios to upgrade to PE at least. These are long flights, and having never upgraded in my life, I thought this would be a great opportunity.

I was then very disappointed to find that because of my ticket type, I can’t use Avios to upgrade. I didn’t even realise there were different fare classes other than Economy, PE, Business, First! It’s very hard to see my fare type, even when examining my e-ticket receipt from BA, but I think it might be O. I can’t seem to do anything online because of the “multi-city” type route, so I called, and have been given cash prices to upgrade, but they include about £180 each (2 of us travelling) for change fees, and overall are very expensive, even just to upgrade to PE. I’ve even looked at booking new flights and sacrificing my originals as that might be cheaper, especially if I use my Avios, but I can’t do it online it seems.

My questions are:
1 – how best to use my Avios on a trip like this? Is there a special phone line?
2 – I’ve read that cash upgrades cost less as the flights get nearer. Is this likely to be true?
3 – any other guidance you can give on getting upgrades – using cash or avios – would be very welcome
4 – is there any way I can get a refund for my existing economy bookings, even partial?

Thanks in advance for your time and input.

[yonasl]

There is literally an article about how to do this that was published a week or so ago.

Would recommend you start there.

[AJA]

Article referred to is here https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/03/22/how-to-upgrade-british-airways-economy-flight-tickets-with-avios/

[Bill_B]

I believe that the advance (cash) “upgrades” are just rebooking at the higher fare class. Close to the flight, BA may make you an offer via email. Or there may be an opportunity at online check in or via the check-in counter at the airport. Given the recent increase in surcharges, it’s probably best to forget about upgrading via Avios and focus on finding reward flight availability.

Edit: Though even for two tickets in PE you would need a lot more Avios, so think about getting the Amex BAPP for the 2 4 1 voucher.

[anoraknophobe]

yonasl wrote:

There is literally an article about how to do this that was published a week or so ago.

Would recommend you start there.

Thanks. I did a search and looked at numerous articles/posts so not sure how I missed it.

[anoraknophobe]

Bill_B wrote:

I believe that the advance (cash) “upgrades” are just rebooking at the higher fare class. Close to the flight, BA may make you an offer via email. Or there may be an opportunity at online check in or via the check-in counter at the airport. Given the recent increase in surcharges, it’s probably best to forget about upgrading via Avios and focus on finding reward flight availability.

Edit: Though even for two tickets in PE you would need a lot more Avios, so think about getting the Amex BAPP for the 2 4 1 voucher.

Thanks. I’ve called BA for cash upgrade costs a few times and they certainly vary each time I call, but never by much unfortunately.

[anoraknophobe]

AJA wrote:

Article referred to is here https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/03/22/how-to-upgrade-british-airways-economy-flight-tickets-with-avios/

Thanks for the link. It seems that I fall into the category of a leisure traveller who’s unlikely to get an appropriate ticket for an upgrade. 🙁 Maybe next time. It doesn’t cover anything about upgrading for cash though, so any comment on that part of my post would be welcome.

[anoraknophobe]

AJA wrote:

Article referred to is here https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/03/22/how-to-upgrade-british-airways-economy-flight-tickets-with-avios/

Thanks for the link. The article doesn’t seem to cover how to do multi-city itineraries. Do I just have to book 2 x one way flights? I’ve tried that but even then I get an error message saying I can’t upgrade and to call (but no number, and a broken link!)

[yonasl]

One piece of advice. If you are planning on cancelling your tickets or similar. Check BA holidays, they many times have competitive prices to the US in PE vs economy (taking into account cheapest Y has no luggage). You may find a cool combo with a rental car or hotels at some of your destinations. (Could even benefit from the double tier points offer)

[anoraknophobe]

yonasl wrote:

One piece of advice. If you are planning on cancelling your tickets or similar. Check BA holidays, they many times have competitive prices to the US in PE vs economy (taking into account cheapest Y has no luggage). You may find a cool combo with a rental car or hotels at some of your destinations. (Could even benefit from the double tier points offer)

I’ll take a look – thanks

[Bervios]

I wouldn’t bother upgrading from Y > PE on BA on that route. If your flight is a 777 , grab 2 of the twin Y seats at the back of the aircraft , or if A380 , select 2 of the seats in the upper deck Y mini cabin. There isn’t much difference between those seats and BA PE in my opinion. Save your avios for a business class flight when you have more.

[Bill_B]

anoraknophobe wrote:

AJA wrote:

Article referred to is here https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/03/22/how-to-upgrade-british-airways-economy-flight-tickets-with-avios/

Thanks for the link. The article doesn’t seem to cover how to do multi-city itineraries. Do I just have to book 2 x one way flights? I’ve tried that but even then I get an error message saying I can’t upgrade and to call (but no number, and a broken link!)

I believe you need to call for open jaw itineraries (returning from a different airport).

[anoraknophobe]

I can’t see anything for an “open jaw” option. Can you point me to it?

[anoraknophobe]

Bervios wrote:

I wouldn’t bother upgrading from Y > PE on BA on that route. If your flight is a 777 , grab 2 of the twin Y seats at the back of the aircraft , or if A380 , select 2 of the seats in the upper deck Y mini cabin. There isn’t much difference between those seats and BA PE in my opinion. Save your avios for a business class flight when you have more.

Thanks – will take a look

[Mouse]

In this situation I would consider trying to get a few extra avios by whatever means (buying something expensive but refundable, e.g.) to get up to 125,000 and using those for 2 people in club outbound (with the third lowest number of avios option, which is normally good value), and paying cash to return economy.

[NorthernLass]

One-way cash seats are expensive though, that’s why it’s not normally recommended to mix and match award and revenue bookings.

[anoraknophobe]

Mouse wrote:

In this situation I would consider trying to get a few extra avios by whatever means (buying something expensive but refundable, e.g.) to get up to 125,000 and using those for 2 people in club outbound (with the third lowest number of avios option, which is normally good value), and paying cash to return economy.

Sorry – what do you mean “the third lowest number of avios option” ?
Unfortunately, I still can’t see how to do this online, unless of course I just book 2 one way journeys

[NorthernLass]

@anoraknophobe, can I just clarify that your original economy bookings are cash tickets because this thread is confusing me! If you booked and paid cash for these tickets (I.e. not using any avios at that stage), then you’re very likely to be stuck with them unless you’re willing to write off most of the cost (which doesn’t seem worth it?)

[Mouse]

anoraknophobe wrote:

Sorry – what do you mean “the third lowest number of avios option” ?
Unfortunately, I still can’t see how to do this online, unless of course I just book 2 one way journeys

I meant to say third highest, but I guess the question remains. When you book you can choose to pay between 31,250 and 90,000 avios per person one way in club (off peak) with the cash supplement being highest for 31,250 and lowest for 90,000. Normally the three highest avios options all offer good value, the third-highest in this case being the 67,500 avios option. Although it’s possible the recent increase in surcharges may have made this a less good option than before.

[TGLoyalty]

Only real advice is forget about Avios upgrade form
Economy to PE it’s hardly ever a good deal.

When it comes to Avios

PE to Business is sometimes a great deal
Business to First is sometimes a great deal
Avios redemptions in PE are sometimes a good deal
Avios redemptions in Business are usually a good deal
Last min economy or business Avios flights within Europe are sometimes a great deal

In general you’re best paying cash for economy and forgetting about Avios.

Oh and don’t think about just booking new flights out of U.K. with Avios one way in PE or Business and using your existing booking to fly back in economy as once you miss that first outbound flight the whole lot including the return is cancelled.

[LittleNick]

You can also ask about upgrading at the airport on check-in/bag drop for cash. You can often upgrade by more than once class so Econ to Business, sometimes these prices are much more reasonable than upgrading on the phone before.

[NorthernLass]

@TG – This is why I’m trying to clarify what kind of booking the OP has made! If it’s cash, then it’s going to be non-refundable and suggests that OP doesn’t really understand how reward bookings work.

Also if it’s a cash booking, upgrade offers (for more cash) may well appear in MMB, so it’s worth keeping an eye on that.

[anoraknophobe]

@NorthernLass – sorry if it’s not clear. Yes my original bookings were cash. An yes you’re right I don’t have a great understanding of how all this works 🙂 What’s MMB?

@Mouse – thanks for the clarification, but unfortunately I can’t see how to do this online even if I cancelled my existing cash tickets and made completely new bookings, because I can’t see how to do “Open Jaw” or “Multi-City” bookings using Avios

Does anyone know if twin seats on rows 83AB and 53AB can fully recline? They’re right at the back of each of the planes (upstairs on A380 on way out, and on BA77W (777-300, also known as 77H according to Aero Lopa) as suggested by @Bervios. AeroLopa seems to suggest they do, but I’d value some other validation as don’t know if I could cope if they don’t!

Thanks for all the comments to date and apologies for my relative ignorance on all this.

[NorthernLass]

It sounds as though you haven’t booked flexible tickets, so all you would get back if you cancelled would be a small amount of tax. MMB is manage my booking – if you have a look at your booking in your account you will see this towards the bottom.

This site has lots of articles on making the best use of avios, e.g.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/03/21/booking-open-jaw-redemption-flight-using-avios-points-2/

You might be best off just chalking this one up to experience and aiming to increase your avios balance and read up on the best way to use them next time.

I’d recommend booking exit row or bulkhead seats if available for such a long flight. I know BA charges an arm and a leg for these but it does make a big difference to the experience.

[anoraknophobe]

Thanks @NorthernLass.

By bulkhead, do you mean the ones with no-one sitting behind you – just a partition? The ones we’ve booked (as per above) are those type of seats. I just read so many conflicting posts/websites about whether or not they recline or not, because of the partition behind them.

I think you might be right about chalking this up to experience, unless I can get some offers before hand or at the airport