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Hi all
I am flying from Sao Paulo to LHR with BA next month. I am currently booked on PE, but thinking of upgrading to Business with Avios, which will cost me 36,000 avios. I have a decent avios balabce, but have other plans for it, so I would have to purchase the 36,000 avios using boost for c.£350. As someone who has never flown either premium economy or business before, I was just after some collective wisdom as to whether £350 was worth it for an 11h30 overnight flight. I have lounge access through Amex Platinum, so there wouldn’t be added benefit there, but the flight takes off at 16:20, so would probably take advantage of the food and drink for dinner and then the bed for overnight. It seems like a good deal compared to the cash price, but I’m not usually a premium traveller, so any insight from the HfP collective consciousness would be much appreciated!
I can sleep in a PE seat on a modern aircraft helped with a glass of wine. A calf rest also helps, I think your flight may be operated by A351 aircraft, I’d give PE a try and see how you get on.
Personally I love the space and comfort especially for overnight, so I’d pay £30 an hour to sit in business class. Opportunities like these are part of what makes all this points nonsense feel so rewarding. You’ll enjoy the enhanced food & drink and amenity kit, plus the ability to lie flat — and all without being potentially sat next to a stranger!
Think of it this way — if you don’t upgrade, won’t the curiosity of what it would have been like torment you? 😉 Pop a look back into the premium economy cabin after and you’ll probably be thankful you upgraded.
PS — I don’t know how you acquire Avios but there are plenty of ways to earn 36k points back in a short space of time without paying for them. Ensure you are collecting Avios through shopping.BA.com, adding a supplementary card to your Amex, referring friends / family, grabbing sign up bonuses etc 🙂
I would absolutely pay £350 for the upgrade on that flight.
I think there’s a curious carve out to this question.
Typically when upgrading on a long haul flight, in addition to the extra Avios, BA would also be tapping you up for hundreds of pounds more each way in fuel surcharges. However they are illegal out of Brazil, so you’re getting the 12hr upgrade just for the extra Avios.
Now, if you only ever travel between Brazil & the UK this is moot, but if this is a one-off for you, you do have a rare chance to enjoy the lie flat bed for just the 36k Avios, without the lumpy co-payment you would have to make if flight from, for example, the US to London.
Admittedly it’s slightly complicated by the fact you’ll have to buy these Avios in the first place, but I’d give this some serious consideration. The A350 would also mean no bad seat (suite) in club – I’m assuming you don’t have BA status, so otherwise will be left wondering if you should pay to assign a seat in WT+ in advance or risk ending up with a middle at check in.
Also consider if extra tier points be useful to you. If so, might be worth upgrading for cash, that would get you an extra 50 tier points PE->CW. With an Avios upgrade you’d get only the PE TP.
I’m old and battered, my days of flying far sitting up are long past, I’d go CW every time!
100% do it
The ONLY problem with this strategy is that once you’ve flown business class long haul you won’t ever want to go back! Looks like a bargain.
The ONLY problem with this strategy is that once you’ve flown business class long haul you won’t ever want to go back! Looks like a bargain.
I agree. I’m avoiding BA Club Suite for this very reason.
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