Singapore Airlines Upgrade question

[Phantom Yoda]

I am pulling my hair out after talking to the KrisFlyer call center and can't seem to work out from their website. Can anyone please help me:

I want to book two tickets to India. My wife is pregnant and I would like to upgrade her ticket to business using 50,000 miles that I have in the account. Now the one way miles required for upgrade are indeed 50,000 (on Mileage calculator section). But when I spoke to the call center they said that they don't have any "Business Saver" seats available for upgrade and I will need 1,00,000 points to upgrade one way.

When I checked out the website, I don't get the option to use "Points + Pay". Or maybe I am missing something.

What I want to do is:

• Book 2 tickets
• One saver ticket for me (round trip)
• One flexi ticket for the mrs (with an option to upgrade)
• Upgrade her return journey (2 leg's) to business

and I can't seem to work out how to do that.

 

[trooper]

If there is no upgrade availability then you can't upgrade... at least with the airlines I'm most familiar with... (I am assuming Business Saver is used for both award and upgrade availability on SQ)

So I don't really understand the question... Sorry!

 

[brett-au]

This is a very difficult thing at times.

Pretty much there are 3 categories of upgrade on SQ. For their older fleet you can upgrade from economy to business using the 'saver' category. For their newer fleet you pay double that for the standard award. Also there is a limit to the number of 'savers' available. If the plane is not empty, you may not be offered the 'saver' upgrade.

Also, if there is only one leg of your trip available and you decide to grab it, you will be charged the higher rate - eg Europe to Singapore + Singapore to Australia is more than Europe to Australia. This caught me out as they would not combine the two upgrades later. Even though it was the one booking.

As a bonus you do get discounts online and occasionally if you fly to places that no one else is, you can save 50%

 

[albatross710]

As a first step, do a search using the website. Login into your Krisflyer account and search for a Krisflyer redemption for the preferred dates you want to travel. Check that there is Saver inventory available on your dates. If not, check dates either side or if flexible, change your route.

If I found availability, I would book the wife's Flexi ticket first, then execute the points upgrade. Then I'd buy the most restrictive fare last.

I am not sure to which city you want to fly.

 

[Tasman]

i hope this isn’t off topic, but this also raises a question i have long had. Are the availability of SQ business saver awards and business saver upgrades the same? If i can find a business saver seat, will i also be able to get a saver upgrade for that flight if i buy an upgradable economy ticket. Given that i cannot upgrade a Y seat until after i have bought the ticket, i am always worried that i actually have no way of knowing if there are any upgrade seats available.

 

[albatross710]

i hope this isn’t off topic, but this also raises a question i have long had. Are the availability of SQ business saver awards and business saver upgrades the same? If i can find a business saver seat, will i also be able to get a saver upgrade for that flight if i buy an upgradable economy ticket. Given that i cannot upgrade a Y seat until after i have bought the ticket, i am always worried that i actually have no way of knowing if there are any upgrade seats available.

My understanding is that it is the same availability bucket.