Does fare type matter for Qantas upgrades?

[oirets]

Hey everyone,

Does the fare type matter for upgrade priority to J (e.g. will a flex fare be prioritised above a saver fare, above a classic rewards fare)?

For reference, tossing up between a cash "Saver" fare and a classic rewards fare on QF69 MEL/DEL, pretty interchangeable price (on an A330-200, so no W). Hoping chances are good as a WP given this is not a typical flagship route to LHR / LAX.

Cheers!

 

[SydneySwan]

Not all fare types are upgradeable.

 

[oirets]

Not all fare types are upgradeable.

I know - obviously only referring to fare types that actually are upgradeable.

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes, fare type definitely has a weighting when it comes to evaluating requests within a status tier (eg: A platinum on a Flex fare will likely receive an upgrade over one on a sale fare). Further still, in the case of an aircraft with W class (Premium Economy) those fares will outweigh Y fares (not the case in this specific situation).

CR's are a funny beast. I'm not entirely sure where they fit into this. In many respects they are treated like a flex fare, but that doesn't mean they have the same weighting when it comes to upgrade eligibility.

There used to also allegedly be a factor of time upgrade request was submitted as being a factor (ie: longer the request has been in, the higher the priority). I'm not so certain that is still the case, but I have nothing to back that one up - but some agents still do mention that.

This may be something @TheInsider might have some more concrete information on?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Couple points worth considering:
1) Higher fares require fewer points to upgrade. Upgrading a Flex fare will always cost fewer points than a sale fare. Often the point savings are considerable (around 50% IIRC)
2) More important than the fare is how many seats are actually available for sale in the higher class of service (e.g., business) when you book. Having a Flex fare will do you no favours when there is just one or two seats in business remaining. On the other hand, having a sale fare on a flight with 6 available business class seats may very well be a successful pursuit.

CR's are a funny beast. I'm not entirely sure where they fit into this. In many respects they are treated like a flex fare, but that doesn't mean they have the same weighting when it comes to upgrade eligibility.

by that you mean classic rewards? If so, I’m not so sure! Classic rewards cost about the same number of points to upgrade as a sale fare. What classic rewards do have going for them is the ability to request an instant upgrade even on international flights. How that works is you book a classic flight award on the flight you want and when classic availability appears in the cabin you want you call up Qantas and have them rebook you into that cabin (potentially incurring a change fee of 5K points?)

 

[Cognac]

There used to also allegedly be a factor of time upgrade request was submitted as being a factor (ie: longer the request has been in, the higher the priority). I'm not so certain that is still the case, but I have nothing to back that one up - but some agents still do mention that.

This may be something @TheInsider might have some more concrete information on?

This was definitely specifically mentioned to me on the phone during a recent booking. They asked if I wanted them to put in the request for me so that it was higher up the queue. I was going to do it as soon as the tickets came through anyway, so it wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but every minute helps I guess.

 

[MrJetset]

Upgrades (and downgrades) are processed according to status and fare class. There is also the PCV, but that's a Pandora's Box.

 

[RichardMEL]

2) More important than the fare is how many seats are actually available for sale in the higher class of service (e.g., business) when you book. Having a Flex fare will do you no favours when there is just one or two seats in business remaining. On the other hand, having a sale fare on a flight with 6 available business class seats may very well be a successful pursuit.

Indeed, however if there's only a couple of seats available for upgrade at the time the request is assessed, then the higher fare holder will have a much better chance of getting it. However, it is a lottery as we all know, and I would not suggest someone pay a higher fare JUST for the possibility of upgrade because nothing is guaranteed.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Indeed, however if there's only a couple of seats available for upgrade at the time the request is assessed, then the higher fare holder will have a much better chance of getting it. However, it is a lottery as we all know, and I would not suggest someone pay a higher fare JUST for the possibility of upgrade because nothing is guaranteed.

Indeed. There are multiple factors to consider when booking a flight with the aim of upgrading, your frequent flyer status, the number of available seats in business class, the cost of the various economy fare options and lastly whether it is even worth it. For instance, I'd gladly sit in row 4 on a 737 flying to AKL than to burn through nearly 30,000 points to move a couple rows up with a slightly nicer seat. On the other hand if I'm flying Frankfurt to Sydney (connecting in Helsinki and Singapore) having one of those long haul segments upgraded really means a lot to me. Additionally, there are things like bid upgrades and upgrade offers at check-in (I'm unsure if QF offers these for international flights) which in some cases can be cost effective. For instance, flying Helsinki to Singapore I upgraded to business class for 800 Euros. Not bad for what was a 13 hour overnight flight on the A350.

The other calculus one must put into these matters is of course the other tangible benefits that come from a higher fare class such as earning additional status credits and frequent flyer miles. Certainly if I'm 40 status credits short of say Gold and it only costs me say $200 to purchase the Flex fare that will net me those status credits, all else being equal, I'll splurge on the higher fare since it means getting Qantas Club access for a year (along with other perks).

-RooFlyer88