How to upgrade seats?

[bavarian44]

Hi all,
I can imagine the question I am about to ask has been asked before so I apologise for repeating.

My life long dream is to fly once in business class (first class is totally out of reach...unless I win in Lotto..lol)

We recently decided to get a credit card that is connected with the fly buys and our goal is now to buy our normal seats for our next overseas trip to Germany but trying to upgrade the seats to business class (even if only for one way).

My question is does anyone know approx how many points are needed to upgrade a seat? I have tried by looking through the Qantas site but just couldnt find the information.

For us that would be for 4 Adults and the trip is from Brisbane to Munich.

Any Info I would really appreciate.

cheers

 

[NM]

Hi bavarian44 and welcome to AFF,

There are a few things you need to know regarding Qantas FF upgrade awards.

1. Getting 4 upgrades on a single flight is going to be tough. If all 4 passengers are on the same booking, then they won't just upgrade one or two of you - its all or none for a single booking. And finding 4 upgrade seats available on a flight is uncommon.

2. International upgrades are not able to be confirmed at the time of booking. As a non-status FF member, the best you will get is confirmation about 24 hours before departure.

3. Upgrade waitlist requests are services by Frequent Flyer status level. That means that any Platinum One, platinum, Gold or Silver members who have also submitted upgrade requests will always be ahead of you in the upgrade waitlist priority queue. This makes it even harder to find 4 seats unless you hold a high status level in the program.

4. Check the routing for flights between Brisbane and Munich. The most likely routing will be on Emirates operated flights via Dubai, and you cannot use Qantas FF points to upgrade on Emirates operated flights, even if the flight has a QF flight number. You will need to route via Sydney or Melbourne to get a Qantas-operated sector Sydney or Melbourne to Dubai.

5. Upgrades are not available from the cheapest discount economy fares. So you have to purchase a fare in a higher booking class than N, O, Q, or E, which are the fare classes used for the sales fares and red-e-deals. While the cheapest fares can be found for around $1700, those fares are not upgradable. You will need to purchase fares closer to $2200 to have an upgradable fare.

6. Points required for a one-way Sydney-Dubai sector upgrade (zone 8 for QFF calculations) is 72,000 points per person. See this link for the table https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/upgradeCalculator

 

[bavarian44]

Thank you so much for your reply and oh my....I had no Idea.
I honestly thought I would ''just'' purchase the normal economy tickets and add then the upgrade.
So to understand you correctly each flight only has a certain amount of tickets that can be upgraded. These tickets will go to people first with the highest level of qantas frequent fly status. So if none of them wants to upgrade on that flight I/we might have a chance?
The plan was to upgrade for the whole family (2 Adults / 2 Kids..then again they now classed as Adults too 15 & 12)
Point 5 I only think what if I would book a higher class price but only to find out later no upgrades.....
All in all I really thought that I found a way to once experience flying in a higher more comfortable class. But reading how it really works makes me realise that I probably have a better chance to win in Lotto first to pay for the tickets...lol.
Thank you again for explaining

 

[medhead]

International upgrades are pretty much a lottery, maybe with slightly better odds than the powerball. But it is very possible that you'll miss an upgrade even if paying extra for a more expensive seat. Really the best bet is to purchase a business award outright. That means accumulating enough points. The good news is that AFF is full of people looking for the best points accumulation deals.

 

[defurax]

You can always fly to SIN on a cheap Y ticket and then SIN-CMB-FRA in J on UL for AUD 2,000. No need to win the lottery.

 

[bavarian44]

thank you for your replies.

Medhead do you know or is there a link to find out how many points one needs for an international flight?? Is it also possible to pay with points one way and pay economy the way back?

Defurax, please excuse my ignorance but what is a Y and J ticket??? Sorry I am totally new in this...

thank you again

 

[defurax]

thank you for your replies.

Medhead do you know or is there a link to find out how many points one needs for an international flight?? Is it also possible to pay with points one way and pay economy the way back?

Defurax, please excuse my ignorance but what is a Y and J ticket??? Sorry I am totally new in this...

thank you again

Sorry for that, we are using a lot of acronyms and abbreviations on AFF.
What I meant is that you could fly from BNE to SIN on a cheap economy (Y) ticket and from there fly to Europe with SriLankan Airlines (IATA code UL) in business class (J) for AUD 2,000.

 

[JohnM]

For the benefit of our new member (welcome!) a little more clarification. Y is a full economy class fare (ie. basically the most expensive economy class you can buy). It gives you flexibility and the (theoretical) capacity to upgrade. However, if you do not hold high-level FF status, your chances, regrettably, are pretty much zero. And, as NM points out, the chances of 4 UPGs - even for a high-status FF - are next to negligible.

I've encountered this before, where folks have a bundle of points and think that it is going to enable them to easily UPG. Sorry, but you've fallen for the illusion airlines give - the reality just doesn't work like that.

Even we high-status FFs chance our arm in the UPG lotto - especially on INT flights. If I want to maximise my chances of an UPG to J on QF, I buy premium economy so at least I'm 'protected' if the UPG doesn't come through - and I'm WP (another acronym: w@nker platinum). Likewise, if I buy J, I put in my UPG request for F and I'm not disappointed if that fails.

 

[medhead]

thank you for your replies.

Medhead do you know or is there a link to find out how many points one needs for an international flight?? Is it also possible to pay with points one way and pay economy the way back?
..

thank you again

I won't be able to do a link until tomorrow afternoon sometime. In the meantime you could look for at frequent flyer section of the Qantas website and then look for Using Points which should have a link to a calculator.

Delving into my memory banks I think I paid 168000 points for a return Singapore - Frankfurt business award 4 years ago. Based on that I'd guess one way Sydney to London at about 120000 points plus taxes. Taxes can be quite high as well.

In theory, it is possible to get an award and a one way return flight. The problem is that international one way flights are usually close to the same price as a return booking.

 

[Cynicor]

Very quickly because I'm at dinner- if your points are with flybys you are SOL anyway. Is it Qantas points or fly buys from your CC?

 

[JessicaTam]

Have a look here for some of the common abbreviations: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....viations-and-explanations-5056.html#post69096

 

[amaroo]

Is it also possible to pay with points one way and pay economy the way back?

Yes, but the o/w fare back could be exorbitant.

As an example of point/$ cost - I just booked (via qantas points) 4 x business class with Cathy Pacific departing Brisbane stopover in Hong Kong and then Rome ... 572,000 points + $1,262. To get four seats you will need to book almost 12 months out....our flight is mid Dec15 and I'll need to wait another 4+ weeks to book the return flights.

Planning and timing are musts for a family of four - happy travels.

 

[amaroo]

Medhead do you know or is there a link to find out how many points one needs for an international flight??

Here you go https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/PointsRedeemed

Points required for a Qantas & Partner Classic Award

The purpose of this calculator is to show you the number of Qantas Points required for a Qantas & Partner Classic Award. Additional taxes, fees and carrier charges are payable in addition to the points required, which will be disclosed to you at the time of booking.

[TABLE="class: basic, width: 760"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, colspan: 2, align: left"]Trips:[/TH]
[TH="class: points, bgcolor: #F5F5F5, align: left"]Points[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, colspan: 2, align: left"]Zone (Miles)[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, align: left"]Class[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, align: left"]Award[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="class: last"]
[TD="class: nowrap, align: left"]

[/TD]
[TD="class: trip, align: left"]Sydney - Dubai - Munich[/TD]
[TD="class: points, align: left"]128000[/TD]
[TD="class: zone2, align: left"]10[/TD]
[TD="class: miles2, align: left"](10329)[/TD]
[TD="class: class2, align: left"]Business[/TD]
[TD="class: award2, align: left"]Qantas[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Total points 128,000
Qantas & Partner Classic Award seating is limited

 

[Alanslegal]

My life long dream is to fly once in business class (first class is totally out of reach...unless I win in Lotto..lol)

Don't dream anymore! There are some very helpful threads here that will guide you on ways to get into the really comfortable ends of the plane.

 

[Jurahn]

Don't dream anymore! There are some very helpful threads here that will guide you on ways to get into the really comfortable ends of the plane.

+1 to this. I knew little or nothing about airline status, upgrades, status credits and points and how the whole "system" worked until joining this site several years ago. We aren't hugely well off and can't afford international flights, or a lot of domestic flights, each year but I have learned SO much thanks to the helpful people here, and both hubby and I have been able to reach (and maintain) status on VA (Virgin Australia) for the past couple of years- I'm currently Platinum, he's Gold - and enjoy the benefits of priority check-in, priority seating selections, lounge access both here and internationally etc etc. Next year we will be heading back to the USA and thanks to the advice we received here, I knew how the points upgrade system worked, what to look for, what fares to book to be eligible to upgrade and so on - we purchased PE (premium economy) fares from Perth to Los Angeles return and have been able to use points to obtain confirmed business class upgrades on all 4 sectors. I would have had no idea how to go about it all and would never have achieved it without the folk here at AFF!

 

[tuapekastar]

Don't dream anymore! There are some very helpful threads here that will guide you on ways to get into the really comfortable ends of the plane.

Totally endorse this sentiment. Never envisaged flying in international First Class, but have managed this a few times without paying anywhere remotely near the full price. Not to mention plenty of Business Class. And so much credit to this board for help and hints allowing me to do so. Still have to spend a bit, but nothing like as much as one would think.

 

[Graemeha]

Have you investigated a Mixed Class Airfare to Europe.
It involves flying to Singapore or Hong Kong Economy, then to Europe by Business Class.
A previous comment suggested something like this.

Swiss International Airlines has a reasonable deal at present. It ends up costing about $5,000 each to go via Zurich to almost anywhere in Europe.

Any travel agent could arrange it, or you could do it online. - just google "mixed class airfares to Europe".

 

[jonglo111]

Keep saving your points until you have enough for 2 adults, then book for Mum and Dad. Sounds selfish, but one never knows "what is around the corner!" Start saving again for the younger family members for a short business class trip, perhaps closer to home. They may even start to save points for themselves when they are old enough to work and have a credit card!
Good luck!

 

[Tassey69]

Tagging onto this thread, have tried to book 2 J award seats from SIN to MEL on QF 36 in 8 Oct 2015, no seats showing only Y, tried Q/F Cust Service, excellent assistance, tried many angles for around 30 mins but still no seats could be found, comment from C/S was that very few seats are being released that far out, does any one have any comments or ideas ?

 

[Cynicor]

Tagging onto this thread, have tried to book 2 J award seats from SIN to MEL on QF 36 in 8 Oct 2015, no seats showing only Y, tried Q/F Cust Service, excellent assistance, tried many angles for around 30 mins but still no seats could be found, comment from C/S was that very few seats are being released that far out, does any one have any comments or ideas ?

Generally seats are released much further out than that, not sure what they were on about. Unfortunately this is the issue many have with QF; a relative dearth of award seats on their own metal. Best bet is to keep trying, or be flexible with route (ie MH via KUL over the phone?) and be flexible with dates.