Can Bronze get business upgrades?

[RichardMEL]

Even so, I think you would agree that the chances of something like a Sydney to Auckland flight upgrade clearing are much higher than Sydney to LA or Sydney to CDG. The point being is there are differences between upgrade odds on routes and there is even some seasonality factor associated. For instance travelling during periods where a route historically has lower demand will increase your odds.

The OP was very specific on the routes they wanted. AKL is no help - it's not even in the right direction.

As a general point, yes, fair enough, but the thread is about very specific wishes.

 

[RooFlyer]

If the classic award seat shows up when they search online with Qantas it is as a matter of fact guaranteed.

That's not what you posted.

Even so, I think you would agree that the chances of something like a Sydney to Auckland flight upgrade clearing are much higher than Sydney to LA or Sydney to CDG. The point being is there are differences between upgrade odds on routes and there is even some seasonality factor associated. For instance travelling during periods where a route historically has lower demand will increase your odds.

When you post that sort of blather in most threads, we know that its mostly off the topic and can ignore. But when a newbie posts a straightforward question "as a bronze, can i upgrade with points on this itinerary to/from London" its only confusing to them when you wander off on your usual tangents, I guess trying to show off how knowledgeable you are. Auckland, Australian domestic, United, "guaranteed" CR seats ... I mean just why? I'm amazed you didn't bring in EU261. You aren't helping the OP at all. And you don't impress the rest of us. Seriously, why do it?

 

[DejaBrew]

Welcome aboard @littlevenice1

Completely agree with others that booking a CR in Business is the only sure-fire way to secure a Business seat using FF points when you have no Status. If that isn't an option and you're relying purely on the chance of an upgrade, then as has been covered, the only way to elevate yourself in the pecking order is by purchasing a higher class of ticket.

Now, with that said (and whilst acknowledging that your question was specific to obtaining a Business upgrade as a Bronze FF)...

Assuming that you're flying Economy and are seeking an upgrade, I would suggest you consider being open to the option of accepting a Premium Economy upgrade (if available) assuming that they reject your Business upgrade request. For what it's worth, a number of years back I was ticketed in Economy for a SYD>LHR trip as a Bronze FF and requested an upgrade to Business. That request was (unsurprisingly) rejected, but crucially I had selected the option of accepting a Premium Economy upgrade if available and it was ultimately granted. Clearly this wasn't as nice as flying Business, but it certainly made the long haul trip that much more comfortable.

Good luck!

 

[http_x92]

When I was a bronze the J CR availability on domestic routes was okay even 4 months out from the flight.

Even Seoul and Tokyo J CR availability is okay 6-8 months out outside peak travel times.

Europe and the US is where it gets really hard.

 

[MooTime]

But when a newbie posts a straightforward question "as a bronze, can i upgrade with points on this itinerary to/from London" its only confusing to them when you wander off on your usual tangents, I guess trying to show off how knowledgeable you are. Auckland, Australian domestic, United, "guaranteed" CR seats ... I mean just why? I'm amazed you didn't bring in EU261. You aren't helping the OP at all. And you don't impress the rest of us. Seriously, why do it?

Thankyou @RooFlyer your reply post really made me laugh out loud. Classic.

"Wander off on your usual tangents"

And

"EU261" yes that deserves a mention in so many threads, why not this one.

@littlevenice1 keep us posted, although many months away till your outcome will eventuate. I'm interested as we don't read too many QF bronze upgrade results. Best of luck, hope you win lotto and can buy an F ticket outright!

Gold.

 

[littlevenice1]

Thankyou @RooFlyer your reply post really made me laugh out loud. Classic.

"Wander off on your usual tangents"

And

"EU261" yes that deserves a mention in so many threads, why not this one.

@littlevenice1 keep us posted, although many months away till your outcome will eventuate. I'm interested as we don't read too many QF bronze upgrade results. Best of luck, hope you win lotto and can buy an F ticket outright!

Gold.

Thank you, I am new to this an still learning what even 'F' ticket is.

 

[littlevenice1]

Thankyou @RooFlyer your reply post really made me laugh out loud. Classic.

"Wander off on your usual tangents"

And

"EU261" yes that deserves a mention in so many threads, why not this one.

@littlevenice1 keep us posted, although many months away till your outcome will eventuate. I'm interested as we don't read too many QF bronze upgrade results. Best of luck, hope you win lotto and can buy an F ticket outright!

Gold.

Thanks you also but I didn't say when I was travelling and just wanted to get some guidance from those with more experience than me. Thanks for your help though.

 

[RichardMEL]

Thank you, I am new to this an still learning what even 'F' ticket is.

We apologise for confusion arising from acronyms, shorthands and so on being used.

Feel free to seek clarification on anything that may be confusing.

Also sorry some in group differences got in the way of your question.

 

[littlevenice1]

Welcome aboard @littlevenice1

Completely agree with others that booking a CR in Business is the only sure-fire way to secure a Business seat using FF points when you have no Status. If that isn't an option and you're relying purely on the chance of an upgrade, then as has been covered, the only way to elevate yourself in the pecking order is by purchasing a higher class of ticket.

Now, with that said (and whilst acknowledging that your question was specific to obtaining a Business upgrade as a Bronze FF)...

Assuming that you're flying Economy and are seeking an upgrade, I would suggest you consider being open to the option of accepting a Premium Economy upgrade (if available) assuming that they reject your Business upgrade request. For what it's worth, a number of years back I was ticketed in Economy for a SYD>LHR trip as a Bronze FF and requested an upgrade to Business. That request was (unsurprisingly) rejected, but crucially I had selected the option of accepting a Premium Economy upgrade if available and it was ultimately granted. Clearly this wasn't as nice as flying Business, but it certainly made the long haul trip that much more comfortable.

Good luck!

Thank you that is really helpful and good advice. Can you tell me what CR in business is? I am not up with the abbreviations and codes so many people write about

Post automatically merged: Jan 24, 2024

We apologise for confusion arising from acronyms, shorthands and so on being used.

Feel free to seek clarification on anything that may be confusing.

Also sorry some in group differences got in the way of your question.

It's ok I am interested in learning I just don't know what they mean!

 

[DejaBrew]

Thank you that is really helpful and good advice. Can you tell me what CR in business is? I am not up with the abbreviations and codes so many people write about

Sorry @littlevenice1, as @RichardMEL says, we tend easily slip into using acronyms and abbreviations. You can get some clarity on those via this link. More obscure ones can be found in this thread.

“CR” refers to Classic Flight Reward (i.e. standard Qantas seat redemption using Frequent Flyer points).

 

[MelbFlyer]

Can you tell me what CR in business is? I am not up with the abbreviations and codes so many people write about

"CR" means classic rewards - basically it's Qantas' fancy word for an award seat.

The best way to search for these are via the multi-city tool (even if you're only looking for 1 leg) -

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/multi-city.html

Make sure you select "Use points - Classic Flight Rewards only" and then tick the "Flexible with dates for all flights" when you select your dates.



This will then come up with a full calendar view of award seats that are available.

You will then want to specifically look for any golden coloured ribbon - these denote business reward seat availability.

You do have to note sometimes though as some of these "business availabilities" are only valid on for example, 1 of 2 of the legs on that option - it'll be denoted with a little "i" symbol.

Looking for example - Singapore to London in April -



There appears to be some business availability on some dates - click on the date and then continue - you'll then see what options there are.

01/04 actually looks decent - there's actually a direct business seat on British Airways (quite rare).



You do have to be quick though as it's first come first served - what might be showing now might be snapped up in the next hour or even sooner.

This is the best way to secure outright business seats, as opposed to buying an economy ticket and then hoping for an upgrade using points at a later stage, which depending on the route, will be very difficult if not impossible for a Bronze member.

Good luck.

 

[littlevenice1]

"CR" means classic rewards - basically it's Qantas' fancy word for an award seat.

The best way to search for these are via the multi-city tool (even if you're only looking for 1 leg) -

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/multi-city.html

Make sure you select "Use points - Classic Flight Rewards only" and then tick the "Flexible with dates for all flights" when you select your dates.

View attachment 368065

This will then come up with a full calendar view of award seats that are available.

You will then want to specifically look for any golden coloured ribbon - these denote business reward seat availability.

You do have to note sometimes though as some of these "business availabilities" are only valid on for example, 1 of 2 of the legs on that option - it'll be denoted with a little "i" symbol.

Looking for example - Singapore to London in April -

View attachment 368066

There appears to be some business availability on some dates - click on the date and then continue - you'll then see what options there are.

01/04 actually looks decent - there's actually a direct business seat on British Airways (quite rare).

View attachment 368067

You do have to be quick though as it's first come first served - what might be showing now might be snapped up in the next hour or even sooner.

This is the best way to secure outright business seats, as opposed to buying an economy ticket and then hoping for an upgrade using points at a later stage, which depending on the route, will be very difficult if not impossible for a Bronze member.

Good luck.

excellent this is such great detail and help

 

[sudoer]

Echo the sentiments about classic rewards being the way to go, and using the multi-city tool. Some airlines will release seats further into the future than the regular QF search tool can handle (JAL is a good example), but these will show up in the multi-city tool. JAL is generally a decent option for getting to LHR if you're prepared to book a year out.

I guess trying to show off how knowledgeable you are. Auckland, Australian domestic, United, "guaranteed" CR seats ... I mean just why? I'm amazed you didn't bring in EU261. You aren't helping the OP at all. And you don't impress the rest of us. Seriously, why do it?

Straight to the pool room, couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[elanshin]

Also another handy tip when searching for long haul, consider both SYD and MEL as departure destinations. Whilst I understand that it can be troublesome to add on more transit stops, sometimes there are just straight up more options out of SYD than MEL. (Eg British Airways also does SYD - SIN - LHR and I've seen First class reward seats on days when Qantas didn't even have Economy left.)

A short hop from MEL to SYD to connect into a long journey to Europe (but in a Business Class seat) might be well worth it.

The Qantas IT system is funny sometimes that even if there are reward seats from MEL to SYD and SYD to LHR, they sometimes won't marry them up, so a search from MEL to LHR won't show it at all.

 

[RichardMEL]

Even options like PER and BNE for connections to say SIN could work too.

There's another thought too.. somewhere like Bali (DPS) may yield reward seats on Emirates (EK) to europe.

 

[jpp42]

When I was *Platinum* I'd estimate my upgrade success rate was about 20-30%, and that's including routes that aren't as premium-heavy, such as PVG-SYD or BNE-NRT (pre-Covid). And I only was on upgradeable fares because that's what was available through the work travel portal. I would never buy a more expensive fare simply because there was a chance of upgrade - that's a fool's errand. Save the points for Classic Rewards.

 

[DejaBrew]

I would never buy a more expensive fare simply because there was a chance of upgrade - that's a fool's errand. Save the points for Classic Rewards.

Generally agree with this, however… some additional food for thought as everyone's appetite for risk vs reward is different -:

If you buy an Economy "Sale" fare, then put simply, you are ineligible for an upgrade request. If you still wanted to go down the (potential) upgrade path, you would need to look at an Economy "Saver" fare (or higher), which of course means additional cost. Importantly, you’d need to decide whether you're comfortable paying that extra cost and still having your upgrade request rejected because in the event that it is rejected, it won’t matter whether you paid for a Sale fare or a Saver fare - you’re still stuck in Economy and the product/service is the same. However, if the price difference isn't significant AND you can stomach the scenario described above AND you're still willing to roll the dice, then buying a Saver fare (or higher) remains an option.

By way of example, I rolled the dice last year for upgrading myself and a travel companion from Y (i.e. Economy) to J (i.e. Business) on a SYD>HND flight (which is a very popular route), but that was knowing that I'd be Platinum by the time I flew and that would most likely bump me much higher up in the upgrade queue. On that particular route, there was no Y+ (i.e. Premium Economy) on which to fall back, so in effect it was an all or nothing gamble. I got lucky on that occasion, but can guarantee that if I was Bronze (or Silver) there was absolutely no way that upgrade was going to be successful given the flight loading. Specific to the idea of a Bronze FF scoring an upgrade to J on a long haul to London? Personally, I think it's highly unlikely to succeed and would therefore agree with @jpp42 that paying the extra is a bit of a fool's errand. But if the price is right and your appetite for risk allows, then buying the higher priced ticket and shooting for J (knowing there's the more realistic possibility of scoring Y+ instead) is always an option.

Caveat emptor applies as always