Hi all,
Thought I'd explore with the brains trust on here; I've need to take a flight from LHR-MEL (via SYD, if need be) in March 2016.
My company will be paying for this trip to enable me to have a visa processed, which requires that I return to Australia. I've not yet broached the topic of travel class, but general policy for employees of my level is Y or Y+ for flights longer than 8 hours... I do know that in either case, I'll be booking into the 'full' booking class (i.e. not discount) due to flexibility requirements.
I've got around about 80k AMEX membership reward points at my disposal, and so ideally I'd like to book with an airline where I can dump some of these points into their FF program, and receive a confirmed upgrade to J with relative ease, for at least one direction.
I know that Qantas FF upgrades for a NB like me are highly unlikely; and largely this process is a lottery where it's not confirmed until a few hours before travel. Conversely, I know that the likes of Singapore Airlines allow upgrades to be confirmed online days/weeks/months before travel.
Spoilt for choice on this route, but can anyone recommend:
a) what airline (with AMEX MR transfer capability) should I look to book in to maximise the chance of an upgrade being successful?
b) Obviously cost of upgrade is a big factor - ideally the ability to upgrade from Y to J would be nice (I know not all programs offer this!)
Any recommendations would be appreciated
Thanks!
Thought I'd explore with the brains trust on here; I've need to take a flight from LHR-MEL (via SYD, if need be) in March 2016.
My company will be paying for this trip to enable me to have a visa processed, which requires that I return to Australia. I've not yet broached the topic of travel class, but general policy for employees of my level is Y or Y+ for flights longer than 8 hours... I do know that in either case, I'll be booking into the 'full' booking class (i.e. not discount) due to flexibility requirements.
I've got around about 80k AMEX membership reward points at my disposal, and so ideally I'd like to book with an airline where I can dump some of these points into their FF program, and receive a confirmed upgrade to J with relative ease, for at least one direction.
I know that Qantas FF upgrades for a NB like me are highly unlikely; and largely this process is a lottery where it's not confirmed until a few hours before travel. Conversely, I know that the likes of Singapore Airlines allow upgrades to be confirmed online days/weeks/months before travel.
Spoilt for choice on this route, but can anyone recommend:
a) what airline (with AMEX MR transfer capability) should I look to book in to maximise the chance of an upgrade being successful?
b) Obviously cost of upgrade is a big factor - ideally the ability to upgrade from Y to J would be nice (I know not all programs offer this!)
Any recommendations would be appreciated
Thanks!