Rex Introduces Business Class “Bid Up” Upgrades

Rex is introducing a new real-time bidding system for passengers to upgrade to Business Class on the airline’s Boeing 737 jet services. As an introductory offer, minimum bids will start from just $10.

With Rex’s “Bid Up” program, selected passengers booked in Economy Class will be invited seven days before departure to place a bid for an upgrade. If you’re departing within the next week, you can also check to see if your booking is eligible on the Rex website.

Bidding will close 3 hours prior to departure and you’ll be notified if your upgrade is successful between 24 hours and 90 minutes before departure. At this time, any remaining unsold Business Class seats will be given to the highest bidders.

Qantas already offers Bid Now upgrades, allowing customers to bid using a combination of points and money, while Virgin Australia offers UpgradeMe Premium Bids. What’s unique about Rex’s system is that you can see what other passengers have bid, and change your offer to a higher amount if you’ve been outbid. In fact, Rex will send you a real-time notification if someone else offers a higher amount.

If your upgrade bid is successful, you’ll get to enjoy most of the usual benefits of Rex Business Class including a larger seat, complimentary food & drinks including beer and wine, free wifi on selected aircraft, priority boarding and lounge access where available. However, your original Economy Class baggage allowance will still apply and any pre-purchased seats in Economy will not be refunded.

If your bid is not successful, you will not be charged anything and will retain your original seat.

“All passengers love an upgrade. This new element of gamification in the bidding process will be a fun and economical way for our economy passengers to experience our amazing business class product and service,” Rex Director of Media and External Relations Michael Venus said.

You can read the full Bid Up terms & conditions as well as the Frequently Asked Questions on the Rex website.

The end of free upgrades?

Rex has 8 Business Class seats on each of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Since the airline began operating jets last year, these seats have almost always been filled on every flight – regardless of the number of Business seats actually sold. That’s because Rex has been routinely upgrading people for free at the airport when there have been empty Business seats.

The Bid Up program allows Rex to better monetise its empty Business Class seats. Rather than giving them away, the airline can make some additional revenue.

This does ultimately mean it’s unlikely Rex will continue to randomly upgrade people at the boarding gate for free. But it’s now possible for Rex passengers to secure an upgrade for potentially quite a small amount of money, rather than relying on luck.

Rex’s frequent flyer program is coming

Unlike Qantas and Virgin, Rex doesn’t offer a system for customers to upgrade using frequent flyer points because the airline doesn’t yet have a frequent flyer program.

Rex had said earlier this year that it planned to launch a frequent flyer program in the third quarter of 2022. That deadline has already passed, but the airline says it’s still planning to launch a loyalty program soon.

Rex says that the Bid Up launch is part of a series of “passenger enhancements” that will be rolled out in the lead up to the airline’s frequent flyer program launch. The airline says that it also plans to open a new lounge at Brisbane Airport and introduce a new “neighbour-free seating product” in Economy. Qantas launched a very similar “Neighbour Free” trial last month.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Rex ‘Bid Up’ Business Class upgrade auctions

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.