Bid for upgrade - how common is it?

[wfdTamar]

I think this might be a rookie question

Is bidding to upgrade from Economy to Business a common thing among different airlines? I had that option flying Royal Brunei MEL to LHR. After you'd bought an Economy fare, closer to the trip you could bid to upgrade for each leg. It gave you an indication of the likelihood of getting it based on what you were willing to bid. I thought doing it at least for the last leg could be good.

Is it common or do only some airlines do it? I can't remember being given the option on the few other flights I've done, but maybe I've forgotten as never even considered doing it before.

I have been flying economy, but it really knocked me the last trip as I just can't sleep on a plane (last least sitting up). I also like the aisle seat so I don't have to step over anyone and for a bit of extra shoulder room. That means I have to stay awake to let others through though. Last time it was 58 hours awake coming back with the travel each end.

I'd thought to either do a stop over half way (but that means visa and hotel booking and possibly hot weather), or just go business class the whole way (looks like being $6-7000 instead of $1800).

 

[elanshin]

Most airlines have some sort of upgrade feature subject to availability. Qantas for example uses the points as priority then bids. Other airlines can take cash upgrades at the counter on the day as well.

Ideally, you'd book the business class up front either cash or points as that guarantees it. Personally though, I don't think its a terrible idea to do a stopover at Asia for a day or two (or Dubai). If you don't want the crazy hot tropical weather, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei might be nice stopover points.

Most of the airlines that does 1 hop to Europe from Australia are at Visa free countries for Aussies so it's quite simple.

 

[wfdTamar]

Yes I'm thinking Singapore, Hong Kong, maybe Kuala Lumpur.

The inner tightwad finds it really hard to consider Business Class prices just for a kip, but I got sick both ways last trip (I might just need to wear a mask) and lost a lot of time just recovering, so when looked at that way, it might be worth it.

 

[MELso]

Bidding for upgrades varies wildly from being deep discounts on business class to it being cheaper to have paid cash in the first place. Otherwise, airlines do fixed price upgrades, but again the savings can be small.

I'm someone whose desire to slog through 24-28 hours in cattle to Europe has disappeared as I've gotten older, but who could do ~10 hours on a daytime flight but wants the certainty of business for at least some of the time so I can lie down. Therefore I'm drawn to another option offered by Oman, Turkish and Finnair: mixed class fares, where you're in cattle to SE Asia, and then business for the long leg to Europe. These range from $4.2K on Oman Air to $5.5K on Finnair (ex-MEL) and are a nice compromise between the $2.5K a decent airline in economy costs and the ~$9k for J all the way. The big advantage (compared to taking a positioning flight to SE Asia and then a separate business flight - the next option) is the protected connections.

Finally, as posted in the cheap flights section, airlines such as Etihad, Gulf Air and Qatar have cheap business class from SE Asia ($3k-$4k) but you need to purchase a positioning flight separately, and budget on an overnight stopover in SE Asia to accommodate delays.

 

[leadman]

I've one sitting in my e:mails for QF MEL > SYD > MEL for next Monday, but not going to take it for $$$$$ v short flight. But took up the two Aegean flights ATH > SKG and SKG > FRA. First one 40e and the second 90e. I bid and got them mainly as I had a long layover in ATH and SKG and got access to the lounges. I lost my SA Au during the Covid period and will most likely never get it back as I've decided to chase LTP. I was also offered Air Maroc in September, but again, it was too short of a leg for the money.

 

[odysseus]

It sounds like you're asking because you're thinking of buying an economy ticket, then bidding to upgrade.

Some things to keep in mind in that case:
-while it's not uncommon in some form, it's not a given that it will be offered as there are often other restrictions on it e.g. it usually doesn't apply to codeshares, so you might book a Qantas ticket out of here, but it's actually flying Emirates and/or SAS. No upgrades will be offered for those non-Qantas sectors. Some airlines don't offer it at all. Some only selectively offer it.
- you mentioned economy to business, but when offered it's mostly to the next class, so often economy to premium economy
- you didn't mention it as part of the benefits you were after, but some extras may not be included e.g. lounge access
- just because it's offered doesn't mean it's available. They do it to make more money, but it doesn't mean there are empty seats; they take bids just in case
- while offered, the more popular flights are the ones others generally want as well e.g. the longer and overnight sectors

Essentially, I wouldn't be booking any long-haul, overnight economy ticket with an expectation that I would get an upgrade to business from bidding, especially at a reasonable price. But if you're fine with economy, and just willing to spend more for the extra value if it comes through, then it can be worthwhile.

 

[wfdTamar]

Yes, buy Economy , then bid to upgrade (on the chance of getting it). It would seem a cheap way to get Business for at least one leg. I'd only want it probably on the last leg (Dubai to London, or Brunei to Melbourne on the Royal Brunei flight) so I could get some sleep before landing. On RB I'd reckon it'd be likely if the bid was right you'd get it as that airline is one of the cheapest, so full of cheapskates (like me). I would think on say Qantas or BA there'd be more people bidding, or fewer Business seats available.

I was hoping people could state who has what, so I could know which airlines to consider. It's not something you can find out when searching for a fare.

 

[MELso]

You're assuming that you'd get it. But as noted, it's not guaranteed either because others bid more or business sells out, or they don't want to underprice business or for any other myriad of matters.

But the general rule is 'want business, buy business'.

 

[wfdTamar]

I'm not. I do understand how an auction works! Notice I said above 'on the chance of getting it'? I don't think anything I've written suggests I'm an idiot. I just don't know which airlines do this.

 

[MELso]

You miss the point of what I'm saying. You're assuming that being a 'cheapskate' it'd be a 'cheap way' of getting business class.

But this is just it: these auctions often are more expensive than just paying cash (one analysis here highlights that the bidding to upgrade can cost more in certain classes than just paying cash), if of course there are even seats made available for auction.

Hence while an airline may offer a bid to upgrade program, don't assume your fare will give you eligibility (as, for example, some Qantas fares don't), or that seats will be made available on your flight, or - your key concern - that the upgrade will be cheap (it may well cost more than just buying business in the first place).

In other words, don't book economy on the basis of an airline offering a bid upgrade program expecting to fly anything other than economy.

Airlines that do offer such programs can readily be found through Google though by searching their name AND bid AND upgrade.

 

[elanshin]

Personally, rather than looking at bid to upgrade as a cheap way to get business class flights, instead look at ways to utilise points programs as ways to doing it.

Requirements and knowledge are higher, but payoff is also higher and more guaranteed.

 

[wfdTamar]

I think I must be tired so can we leave this and no-one else post please?

 

[DejaBrew]

Hi @wfdTamar, respectfully, I think you may have gotten the wrong impression (and sentiment) from the responses thus far. I don't believe anybody has taken you for an idiot or suggests that you don't understand how auctions work.

You prefaced your initial post by stating "I think this might be a rookie question" which gave the impression that you did not have much experience with the topic, hence you were seeking advice from the community. Those who have responded to your original post have simply tried to clarify the situation regarding "bid for upgrade" offers and provide insight and guidance based on their own knowledge and experience.

I'm sure others will help out in due course with posting their experience in terms of bidding for an upgrade, however it's likely fair to say that this is not the most popular (or regularly utilised) option for many in the community.

 

[kileskus]

I was hoping people could state who has what, so I could know which airlines to consider. It's not something you can find out when searching for a fare.

This article has a list of major airlines that do. If you're considering an airline you can also just Google "[airline name] bid to upgrade" or "auction" and some will have a webpage with info on preconditions for bidding.

I mostly fly economy in long haul and just get a window seat and take an Imovane. Much cheaper than business