QF International Upgrade Help from 'SALE' Q, N fares

[Lady Emily]

I would call anyway as they have much more flexibility for booking classes (ie it's not possible to book a specific class online, only the ones offered in each category). I think Expedia used to let you do this but not any more (and not relevant for an existing booking anyway).

Thanks I was thinking it would be easier to call but thought I’d double check re doing online
cheers

 

[love_the_life]

Hi
where you able to change travel class via manage my booking? I had a look and it is only letting me change to alternate flights in same booking class (Y). After doing some sums we realised the Lord is 150 status credits off platinum so looking at changing one of our legs for our next OS trip from Y to J and then green tier to get us over the line. If I have to call that’s fine but was hoping I could do online
Thanks

Yes, I did it all on line (though as a domestic flight this might be different from international). The screen showed PE flex (whereas I had Saver) and J - clicked, paid and new eTicket arrived within a few minutes. Have done it in the past when notified of a change and have gone in and picked a J fare instead of the original Y - again just have paid the extra and then reticketed very quickly.

You might find it easier to call the contact centre depending on the fare bucket you are after and the particular flight.

 

[RichardMEL]

Depending on when these flights are you may even find a NZ J sale opens up for your dates, and you may find it more economical to reprice into J and forget the lottery

 

[Vic]

It doesn't help there is little flexibility in fare selection or visibility within the 'Multi-city flight' tool ...

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Click on the link that says show all flights. that might give more flexibilty

 

[servicerequired]

Click on the link that says show all flights. that might give more flexibilty

It doesn't unfortunately

 

[kangarooflyer88]

If it makes you feel any better please know that you aren't missing out on much going from economy to business since you are travelling on a narrow body 737. At the end of the day you'll have access to your First class lounge as a Qantas World Platinum, you'll have First class check-in boarding, etc. Yes the seat is a bit narrower than the business class but is it worth paying through the nose for an upgrade to business? Highly doubt it! And I mean look, even if you got a discount economy fare that was upgradable you are looking at 21,800 points just for the upgrade each way (i.e. 43,600 points). For fewer points than that you can book a classic business award from SYD to PER in J on one of their A330s which actually has a lie flat business class seat and service!

One final data point - I was travelling on a very pricey Economy Flex ticket with Qantas last year from SYD to CHC to attend a conference. The cost to upgrade was 11,800 points and I thought what the heck may as well request the upgrade. I did so and the upgrade didn't clear for either the outbound or inbound flight. This despite me being a QFF Gold and travelling on a fairly pricey fare. So even if you could make the change the odds of it actually clearing isn't a given, particularly on a narrow body where the number of J seats by definition will be limited.

-RooFlyer88

 

[servicerequired]

If it makes you feel any better please know that you aren't missing out on much going from economy to business since you are travelling on a narrow body 737. At the end of the day you'll have access to your First class lounge as a Qantas World Platinum, you'll have First class check-in boarding, etc. Yes the seat is a bit narrower than the business class but is it worth paying through the nose for an upgrade to business? Highly doubt it! And I mean look, even if you got a discount economy fare that was upgradable you are looking at 21,800 points just for the upgrade each way (i.e. 43,600 points). For fewer points than that you can book a classic business award from SYD to PER in J on one of their A330s which actually has a lie flat business class seat and service!

One final data point - I was travelling on a very pricey Economy Flex ticket with Qantas last year from SYD to CHC to attend a conference. The cost to upgrade was 11,800 points and I thought what the heck may as well request the upgrade. I did so and the upgrade didn't clear for either the outbound or inbound flight. This despite me being a QFF Gold and travelling on a fairly pricey fare. So even if you could make the change the odds of it actually clearing isn't a given, particularly on a narrow body where the number of J seats by definition will be limited.

-RooFlyer88

Touch wood I have a pretty decent success rate with J upgrades domestically ... maybe its just the unusual destinations I have to fly with my job?

Either way, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do with my points? I have a toaster ... and I'd much prefer to throw some points towards an upgrade rather than max out the company card ... and frankly, the only benefit of business, is that you have some room to move - I tend to have the laptop out and catch up on everything I don't get done in the office - much easier with some elbow room.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Touch wood I have a pretty decent success rate with J upgrades domestically

J upgrades domestically are a completely different animal than J upgrades internationally. For one thing you can guarantee an upgrade on points domestically (all you need to do is book any Qantas flight that has U space available and you can upgrade right away to J even from the cheapest red e-deal economy ticket). I cannot tell you the number of times I've upgraded for peanuts to J on an A330 to MEL from SYD on a $99 red e-deal ticket at time of booking.

Internationally there is no such thing as a confirmed upgrade at time of booking with most upgrades clearing either at the gate (no status) or at most a couple of hours or days before the flight (i.e. World Platinum status). Demand for these routes is necessarily more than domestic so it's also nowhere near a guarantee that you'll get the upgrade regardless. This is not to say that international upgrades are worthless (they certainly aren't especially to long haul destinations like DFW or LHR) but please don't set your expectations high here as you'll be disappointed most of the time.

Either way, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do with my points? I have a toaster

I don't think anyone here is suggesting you your valuable QF points for a toaster (although I hear @RooFlyer does make a mean toastie). What I am suggesting though is to think a bit about where you are using your points for travel. Absolutely you can use it for upgrades domestically and internationally and yes they often tend to represent the absolute best value in terms of QF point redemptions there is. But also think about regular award bookings too. For instance, I once booked a classic award flight from SYD to LDH for 11,200 points + $180 in taxes and fees (QF was running a 30% off classic award sale at the time). This for a nearly 2 hour flight that would ordinarily cost closer to $1200 to book with cash to visit easily the best island in Australia. Realize too that your points can be used to book awards with a number of partners some of whom you will not recognize. Yes of course you can book awards with OneWorld partners like BA, American, Japan Airlines, etc. But did you know that you can book awards with non-alliance partners at the same classic award price? I'm talking about Air France, KLM, China Airlines of Taiwan, El Al, even Emirates (which provides first class service from Sydney to Christchurch on their A380). Food for thought!

... and I'd much prefer to throw some points towards an upgrade rather than max out the company card ... and frankly, the only benefit of business, is that you have some room to move - I tend to have the laptop out and catch up on everything I don't get done in the office - much easier with some elbow room.

That may be so, but I would argue that sitting in First class on an A380 from Sydney to Christchurch would be ideal not only in terms of leg room, but also service (remember Emirates operates showers on those flights too) and all for what? 50,000 points?

-RooFlyer88

 

[SYD]

It doesn't help there is little flexibility in fare selection or visibility within the 'Multi-city flight' tool ...

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A possible/probable work around is to check the flexible date box at least once. You should then get a calendar view when you click "See other dates" BUT there's usually a range in prices and presumably something in the price range presented might be upgradeable? - it could be trial and error... But cheaper than going down the "Flexible fare" search path.

Maybe using something like Google Flights or ITA Matrix to check the possible fare bucket/price combos can help narrow down the search?

Another thought is don't complete the payment if you're not sure. QF should create a placeholder booking that will drop out at midnight if not paid for. If you can't see what fare buckets the booking is, perhaps one of the other OW carrier websites like RJ.com will display it if you enter the QF PNR? I've not tried that - someone else might confirm is that works or not?

 

[RichardMEL]

Internationally there is no such thing as a confirmed upgrade at time of booking with most upgrades clearing either at the gate (no status) or at most a couple of hours or days before the flight (i.e. World Platinum status).

Or 7 days for Galaxy Platinum One.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Or 7 days for Galaxy Platinum One.

I would be surprised if anyone with Platinum One status actually had a points upgrade clear at 7 days.

 

[SYD]

I would be surprised if anyone with Platinum One status actually had a points upgrade clear at 7 days.

I believe they do but I’m not trawling back through 80 odd pages…

QF Upgrades - Successes or Failures (post results)

Not sure how useful this thread might prove to be, but I've been using the notes field in the AFF Flight Tracker to record JASAs, upgrades and op-ups. The purpose of this thread is to provide some analysis on the QF upgrades that I have requested. Since July 2010, which is when my QF flying...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I’ve certainly had 3 days on the dot as a regular WP.

 

[RichardMEL]

I would be surprised if anyone with Platinum One status actually had a points upgrade clear at 7 days.

Had it happen quite a few times actually. I know others also who get the magic text a week out. Colour you surprised I guess.