I'll be flying SYD-KTA in October, and I'm hoping to fly business on the return PER-SYD leg using points. If I've done me reading correctly, upgrading from discount economy is 30,000 points, whereas using points to book a one way PER-SYD ticket is only 35500 points + $19.95. On the surface it seems obvious to just book with points because (again, assuming I'm reading everything correctly), a points booking is cheaper and is guaranteed, whereas a points upgrade points you on a waitlist until 72 hours prior to the flight. Am I completely missing something here?
My main issue is that this is a flight for work, so everything has to be booked through the authorised travel agent and approved by somebody, meaning that booking the PER-SYD leg myself is a bureaucratic nightmare (e.g. work travel insurance won't cover me if something goes wrong).
What are the odds of actually getting the upgrade? If it makes a difference, I'm gold VA from Feb this year, and I'll have reached enough status to renew by June. They also book on the cheapest fare available, so booking a Freedom fare (which reduces the points required to upgrade to 9,900) is basically out of the question because it's 3 times the price of a Getaway fare at the moment...
I've also checked availability and there's plenty, which isn't particularly surprising given how far out the flight is.
My main issue is that this is a flight for work, so everything has to be booked through the authorised travel agent and approved by somebody, meaning that booking the PER-SYD leg myself is a bureaucratic nightmare (e.g. work travel insurance won't cover me if something goes wrong).
What are the odds of actually getting the upgrade? If it makes a difference, I'm gold VA from Feb this year, and I'll have reached enough status to renew by June. They also book on the cheapest fare available, so booking a Freedom fare (which reduces the points required to upgrade to 9,900) is basically out of the question because it's 3 times the price of a Getaway fare at the moment...
I've also checked availability and there's plenty, which isn't particularly surprising given how far out the flight is.