Europe: Business Upgrade?

[fitto86]

Hi All

My wife and I are planning on going to Europe June/July 2016, and I was hoping to upgrade as many flights as possible to business for the both of us. Flying either Emirates, Qatar or Qantas. We will be leaving from Perth and preferably landing in Heathrow. I will have somewhere in the vicinity of 200k - 220k Qantas FF points to use.

What is possible with the points balance of 200k - 220k?
When is the best time to book the flights?
Are any of the above mentioned airlines better value than the others? Especially in regards to upgrades.
How do the upgrades work? Are they guaranteed, or on an auction basis?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Jon

 

[dmitri]

Hi Jon, what frequent flyer status do you have?

 

[fitto86]

I was Gold, but unfortunately due to little flying over the past couple of years, I'm now back to Bronze.

 

[blackcat20]

You cant use QFF points on any airline except Qantas...

 

[fitto86]

Ok, well that narrows it down haha.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Pity you are now at QF NB.
Can you afford to pay the this upcoming trip in PremY and build up your QF status again, and aim for the whole J upgrade when you are PS?
They say QF NB have the least chances of successfully get upgrades.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Ok, well that narrows it down haha.

As a bronze you should expect to fly in the class you have booked.

Upgrades are assessed based on status... a platinum will have their upgrade cleared before a bronze, even if the platinum requests their upgrade two days before flying, and the bronze has requested it 6 months in advance.

 

[fitto86]

I may just have to do so AustraliaPoochie. It seems my options are fairly limited at QF NB and only being able to realise my points via Qantas.

Thanks for the clarity MEL_Traveller. The odds would certainly be against us.

 

[blackcat20]

Never managed an upgrade as an NB...

 

[mannej]

You cant use QFF points on any airline except Qantas...

To upgrade that is (and not quite true now, but not relevant to the OP).

 

[Anna]

Upgrades aren't guaranteed.

Have you thought about using your points to get award seats in business to Singapore and buying business class fares from Singapore to Europe? Ex Singapore is usually much cheaper then ex Australia. Other places in Asia even cheaper.