Cash upgrades at the gate

[mtbsafari]

Accidentally posted in another forum ... So will ask here as well

Anyone know of cash upgrades at gate for QF out of Sydney? I was offered one in Santiago a few years back Y to J for $1k, which I took up. Not looking forward to Y from SYD to BKK this weekend.

 

[mviy]

You can request upgrades using points and if eligible you can choose to allow these to be processed right up to when your ticket is scanned at the gate. If your ticket gives off a beep when scanned they may print another one and hand it to you (in which case you hopefully have got an upgrade).

If you don't have quite enough points QANTAS does provide the ability to purchase a small amount of points.

Through churning credit cards you can pickup points at a much better rate.

 

[mtbsafari]

Plenty of points, but upgrade is not available using points. And I've just been informed J is full on the QF flight. Oh well, maybe next time. Can't remember last time I flew international down the back. It will be interesting.

 

[UP4014]

Plenty of points, but upgrade is not available using points. And I've just been informed J is full on the QF flight. Oh well, maybe next time. Can't remember last time I flew international down the back. It will be interesting.

Aircraft dependent of course as haven't looked up the config; If J is full they might bump some of them to F, then if Y is overbooked some of those go up as well.

 

[mviy]

Plenty of points, but upgrade is not available using points. And I've just been informed J is full on the QF flight. Oh well, maybe next time. Can't remember last time I flew international down the back. It will be interesting.

So you purchased one of the cheapest economy fares which is not eligible to be upgraded. This was in the fare conditions when you booked.

Upgrade requests start to be processed as early as a week out (for P1s) and progressively then for other tiers and close to departure there would be a short list in case someone doesn't show up or misses a connection for those who have requested their upgrade be processed on departure (if they haven't got an upgrade before then). With an on departure upgrade you may well get the least desirable seat in the cabin (e.g. in a 2-3-2 you might get the middle seat of the 3).

Trying to submit an upgrade request very close to departure you are highly unlikely to be successful. Best to get it submitted well beforehand so that when your status level comes up for consideration during the week before departure they consider your request.

Aircraft dependent of course as haven't looked up the config; If J is full they might bump some of them to F, then if Y is overbooked some of those go up as well.

That's assuming you're on a route that has F seats.

If not enough people request upgrades on points and economy is overbooked then they would start doing op-ups, but even if you're a P1 the chances of an op-up are low these days.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Aircraft dependent of course as haven't looked up the config; If J is full they might bump some of them to F, then if Y is overbooked some of those go up as well.

No F on QF to BKK.

 

[PLANT]

Still ask at every turn as the J people may not make the flight..... If it's been a while since Y then expect the worst experience and everything will hopefully feel, look and smell better than expected.

 

[dodgeyhack]

I've been given a cash upgrade Y to Y+ on check in at Narita once. It was definitely an upgrade and not a reticket. I figure it's something they can do there because it's something JAL offer?
They also gave me the option to use QFF points, but cash was much better value.

 

[yohy?!]

Accidentally posted in another forum ... So will ask here as well

cash upgrades haven't been around for several years - if/when things go pear shaped again in the global economy i imagine they may reappear..

 

[yohy?!]

You can request upgrades using points and if eligible you can choose to allow these to be processed right up to when your ticket is scanned at the gate. If your ticket gives off a beep when scanned they may print another one and hand it to you (in which case you hopefully have got an upgrade).

If you don't have quite enough points QANTAS does provide the ability to purchase a small amount of points.

Through churning credit cards you can pickup points at a much better rate.

the OP is asking about cash upgrades not with points

 

[mviy]

the OP is asking about cash upgrades not with points

He may have been asking about cash upgrades, but as far as I am aware upgrading using points is the way to get upgrades on QANTAS.

If using a fare not eligible for upgrades then there's probably not much that can be done.

 

[yohy?!]

He may have been asking about cash upgrades, but as far as I am aware upgrading using points is the way to get upgrades on QANTAS.

If using a fare not eligible for upgrades then there's probably not much that can be done.

as in my previous post, there has been the ability to do cash upgrades (known as cabin upgrades) in the past when there have been downturns that have led to drop off in J ticket sales, these were usually at outports and had no bearing on the ticket conditions.

 

[Jmrocky]

My parents do this fairly regularly with Emirates (cash upgrades at check-in). From memory most of the time they have been offered it's not in Australia (overseas). Shame QF doesn't (or if so not usually).

 

[mviy]

With points upgrades processed up to the gate now (if that is requested when a solo traveller requests an upgrade) it would be rare that there would be seats available for op-ups. One would think if cash upgrades were offered it would be a last resort before doing op-ups.

 

[UP4014]

With points upgrades processed up to the gate now (if that is requested when a solo traveller requests an upgrade) it would be rare that there would be seats available for op-ups. One would think if cash upgrades were offered it would be a last resort before doing op-ups.

It depends on who the passengers are. They don't automatically upgrade a points payer over a good regular customer.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

It depends on who the passengers are. They don't automatically upgrade a points payer over a good regular customer.

The #1 way to alienate a high revenue customer who enjoys flying is to sell upgrades to the highest bidder - according to a recent industry presentation I had a glimpse of.

 

[spiredturnip]

as in my previous post, there has been the ability to do cash upgrades (known as cabin upgrades) in the past when there have been downturns that have led to drop off in J ticket sales, these were usually at outports and had no bearing on the ticket conditions.

I haven't attempted to do one of these in a while, so wasn't aware they had stopped. In my previous experience, they were never possible ex-SYD according to staff (or at least not in the last five or so years). They were available at outports, and the cost would often vary considerably. Usually used to be quite good value when they were offered, though.

 

[Mattg]

I've seen them available in AKL at check-in. Not sure about prices though.