Are Red e-deal fares upgradeable?

[M@rcoPolo]

I'm booking a flight SYD to HKG return in Y, first leg will be "Sale" fare (day flight so no desire to upgrade) but I want to be able to upgrade on the return flight.

If I book the return leg as a Red e-Deal these are the T&Cs

• Flight Upgrade Awards are not eligible on all Red e-Deal fares.Flight Upgrades can only be redeemed on Qantas operated flights.
• This fare is classed as Discount Economy when Status credits are earned or when points are redeemed for a Flight Upgrade Award.

So it sounds like some Red e-Deal fare are upgradeable and others aren't... How do I tell if this is upgradeable or not? I understand if I book it as SuperSaver it is upgradeable for sure but it's almost $200 more expensive, too.

BTW flight details are below:

QF127 Thu 10 Oct 13 10:50 Sydney 17:20 Hong Kong
QF128 Tue 15 Oct 13 20:15 Hong Kong 08:25 (Wed 16 Oct) Sydney

 

[Ansett]

I'm booking a flight SYD to HKG return in Y, first leg will be "Sale" fare (day flight so no desire to upgrade) but I want to be able to upgrade on the return flight.

If I book the return leg as a Red e-Deal these are the T&Cs

• Flight Upgrade Awards are not eligible on all Red e-Deal fares.Flight Upgrades can only be redeemed on Qantas operated flights.
• This fare is classed as Discount Economy when Status credits are earned or when points are redeemed for a Flight Upgrade Award.

So it sounds like some Red e-Deal fare are upgradeable and others aren't... How do I tell if this is upgradeable or not? I understand if I book it as SuperSaver it is upgradeable for sure but it's almost $200 more expensive, too.

BTW flight details are below:

QF127 Thu 10 Oct 13 10:50 Sydney 17:20 Hong Kong
QF128 Tue 15 Oct 13 20:15 Hong Kong 08:25 (Wed 16 Oct) Sydney

This is one of the annoying things that QF Did not fix with the new upgraded super dooper website. You need to know which fare bucket it books into and with QF you dont know till after you have booked. I would sugest however that it is more than likely that a Red E Deal would not be upgradeable.

The safest way would be to pay more to ensure an upgradeable fare. However you would have to weigh up the chances of actually getting the requested upgrade. There are no Guarantees.

It is one big lottery. Good Luck with it all.

 

[TheInsider]

I'm booking a flight SYD to HKG return in Y, first leg will be "Sale" fare (day flight so no desire to upgrade) but I want to be able to upgrade on the return flight.

If I book the return leg as a Red e-Deal these are the T&Cs

• Flight Upgrade Awards are not eligible on all Red e-Deal fares.Flight Upgrades can only be redeemed on Qantas operated flights.
• This fare is classed as Discount Economy when Status credits are earned or when points are redeemed for a Flight Upgrade Award.

So it sounds like some Red e-Deal fare are upgradeable and others aren't... How do I tell if this is upgradeable or not? I understand if I book it as SuperSaver it is upgradeable for sure but it's almost $200 more expensive, too.

BTW flight details are below:

QF127 Thu 10 Oct 13 10:50 Sydney 17:20 Hong Kong
QF128 Tue 15 Oct 13 20:15 Hong Kong 08:25 (Wed 16 Oct) Sydney

Book the Super Saver, not too sure how to tell otherwise.

 

[ronaldh]

Book it, then see if it can be upgraded. If not, call up and cancel it. You have 24 hours to change your mind/cancel bookings with no fees.

 

[anat0l]

Book it, then see if it can be upgraded. If not, call up and cancel it. You have 24 hours to change your mind/cancel bookings with no fees.

I thought it was until the end of the day, not 24 hours. Reference: Same Day No Mistake | Qantas

Also, perhaps someone with experience can comment, but my impression was that "Same Day, No Mistake" didn't really cover a cancellation. You can change your booking any how way you like it without any fees (fare difference applies), but when the smoke clears you still need to have a booking.


As for finding the fare class, there is a way that I have found, however, I'm not sure whether it is completely foolproof, so proceed with caution. Also, if you're not very technical or computer literate, you will not like this.

• From the fare selection matrix page, select the two fares you would like to check the fare classes for. Proceed to the next page (flight review page).
• On the flight review page, view the source of the webpage.
• Search for the string, "fareBasis". There will be one instance of "fareBasis" per flight in the itinerary. As you read the fare basis next to each instance, you can also scan along to find which sector it applies to. For example, for the excerpt from the source code below...

  ...{"code":"30","value":30,"unitOfMeasure":"KG","notAvailable":false,"inKilos":true,"inPieces":false},"[B]fareBasis[/B]":"[B]SLREH[/B]","breakpoint":"true","fareClass":"SLREH"}],"nbDaysBetweenItiDepAndSegDep":0,"nbDaysBetweenItiDepAndSegArr":0,"isMixedCabin":false,"rbd":"S","realCabinCode":"E","cachedOperatingCarrierCode":"QF_0","cachedAirlineCode":"QF","duration":34500000,"beginCityName":"Melbourne","beginLocationCode":"[B]MEL2[/B]","endLocationCode":"[B]HKG1[/B]"}]...

  This information shows there is a MEL (T2) - HKG (T1) flight in the itinerary which has a fare basis of SLREH, i.e. fare class code S.
• You can click "Change Flights" to return to the fare matrix page and repeat this as you wish to check the other flight / fare options.

From the trial and error I did over the schedule you provided, it seems that the Sale fares cannot be upgraded (they are N class); however, the Red e-Deal fares (more expensive than the Sale fares, price is ~$1500 for return fare) appear to be booked into S class, which can be upgraded (the non-upgradeable fare classes are only E, N, O, Q and X). Interrogating the source code again and consulting ExpertFlyer, by matching the base fares (without taxes) and the fare rules, my judgement seems to be vindicated in that the Red e-Deal fares (at least on the direct QF127 / QF128) book into S. (Interestingly, I can't find the N fares on ExpertFlyer).

Note that this is all just inference which hasn't been proven. I would like to think it is correct, but usual disclaimer here.

 

[ronaldh]

I thought it was until the end of the day, not 24 hours. Reference: Same Day No Mistake | Qantas

Also, perhaps someone with experience can comment, but my impression was that "Same Day, No Mistake" didn't really cover a cancellation. You can change your booking any how way you like it without any fees (fare difference applies), but when the smoke clears you still need to have a booking.

I thought so too...but I have called up the next day in the past where I've made bookings close to midnight and they've been happy to change or cancel the flights. The most recent experience was for red e-deals to HNL a month ago, they were happy to cancel the bookings and the refund appeared in my account the week after.

If you are worried though, the first time I did this last year booking flights to BKK, I had them over the phone while I booked, then give them the confirmation code - when they told me the class and that it wasn't upgradeable, they were happy to cancel it immediately. The only drawback I guess is if your credit card doesn't have a large limit and you're booking for multiple people the hold can take around a week before it's removed.

 

[Limewood]

This impost of it may or may not be available should say if it is or its not.

 

[serfty]

I thought it was until the end of the day, not 24 hours. Reference: Same Day No Mistake | Qantas

Also, perhaps someone with experience can comment, but my impression was that "Same Day, No Mistake" didn't really cover a cancellation. You can change your booking any how way you like it without any fees (fare difference applies), but when the smoke clears you still need to have a booking.


As for finding the fare class, ... <lot's of stuff> ...

Se this thread for easy ways to ascertain fare class prior to booking: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....t-flyer-program/qf-booking-class-22124-2.html

 

[anat0l]

Se this thread for easy ways to ascertain fare class prior to booking: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....t-flyer-program/qf-booking-class-22124-2.html

Ah yes...the GreaseMonkey script.

 

[TheInsider]

I thought so too...but I have called up the next day in the past where I've made bookings close to midnight and they've been happy to change or cancel the flights. The most recent experience was for red e-deals to HNL a month ago, they were happy to cancel the bookings and the refund appeared in my account the week after.
.

Just note that HNL is different to any other destination, USDOT has something along the lines that you can cancel bookings with out fee within a certain time frame.