Award booking - upgrading an existing award booking

[mitti]

Hey all,

Long time reader first time poster! I recently booked a flight from SYD to DXB as a classic award in premium economy only to decide later to change it over to the last available U seat available.

My question is, should the points for the change (about 30k more) be deducted from my account instantly when my card is charged the service fee and my ticket is issued, or will they be deducted some time down the track maybe even when I travel?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[Uncle BJ]

Hi Mitellic

I assume you are flying QF. If so, your upgrade to U has been placed in a queue and will be dealt with in due course by QF, at which point your card will be charged/refunded any difference in taxes (this will only apply if you're rerouting) and the extra points will be taken from your account. You must have the relevant number of points available at that time (ie not just at the time you travel).

I had this exact experience recently. I booked a classic award in F MEL-SYD-LHR, returning in Y+ LHR-SYD-MEL. I later found a U for the return trip direct LHR-MEL and so I changed the booking. It took a few weeks for the change to be processed and the ticket to be reissued, but it eventually the points were taken and my credit card refunded $35 dollars or so (representing the reduction in taxes by flying home directly). I made a call to QF to see what was going on before the reissue, and the lady explained that changes to classic awards go in a queue according to date.

This system means that one can upgrade to a higher class on a classic award without having the requisite points available at the time of the change - as long as you can get them by the time of reissue (which, in my case, took a few weeks).

So don't panic - but do make sure the points are ready to go!

Hope this helps.

 

[mitti]

That helps a lot! Thanks!

I guess where my confusion comes from is that they have charged my card for the change fee and also reissued my ticket but not taken the points.

I called them a week or so after requesting the change to Business and seeing that confirmed in my booking and the lady shrugged me off saying "No, the ticket was issued last week, have you checked your spam??" and she sent me a new copy of the ticket with the changes shown.

I'm guessing it must just take a while for the points to subtract from my balance.