Flight Upgrades using Points drying up??

[taswegian77]

Hi,

I wish to pose a quick question.

Now that QF have Premium Economy has anyone noticed it is harder to obtain a flight upgrade using points on these services. The last 5 flights I have taken on PE and have requested an upgrade to J each time and each time I have been declined and in some cases more than 24 hours prior to my flight. On at least 3 occasions the loadings were very light (like 9 seats available) abotu 24hrs from departure and I still missed out.

Now I know getting one has many factors etc etc but I am wondering whether QF has decided to give upgrades first to those requesting one from Y to J for the higher point value spend, instead of going by status of passenger or for those requesting from T to J with little status?

An interesting thought as I had way better luck when requesting from Y to J than I have so far experienced from T to J and am starting to think I might give PE a miss and just buy Y tickets a) they are cheaper and b) my upgrade success rate is much much higher, even if it means using more points.

 

[AussieTim]

An interesting thought as I had way better luck when requesting from Y to J than I have so far experienced from T to J and am starting to think I might give PE a miss and just buy Y tickets a) they are cheaper and b) my upgrade success rate is much much higher, even if it means using more points.

Whilst I am sure it is purely a figment of my imagination, after getting 5 consecutive Y-J international upgrades - the next flight with 7 J/D seats free, my upgrade was denied and the wait-listed segment actually deleted from the itinerary. Almost like a "OK, you've had more than enough of those...".

Now I fly PE and am not bothering to put in for upgrades to J as for a 7 hour flight - the difference isn't that bad. However, March next year I will be flying MEL-LAX in PE and will be listing for J upgrades, but if I am unlucky enough not to get them - I will at least be in PE.

For me, I always expect to fly in the class I have paid for and anything more is a bonus... can you survive whY class?

 

[taswegian77]

For me, I always expect to fly in the class I have paid for and anything more is a bonus... can you survive whY class?

I totally agree AussieTim, I have no issue flying PE or WhY for that matter. I just have this feeling that QF are upgrading Y to J before they upgrade PE to J. There is also the other aspect that I am a WP flying PE and therefore missing out when the flights are low on loadings in J. I guess I will never know.

I guess this shows that whatever is maybe th eknown thing QF can do as they please which is fair enough as they are running a business. I will keep booking PE fares an dhope for the bet over the next 6 months and see what transpires.

 

[JohnK]

Now that QF have Premium Economy has anyone noticed it is harder to obtain a flight upgrade using points on these services. The last 5 flights I have taken on PE and have requested an upgrade to J each time and each time I have been declined and in some cases more than 24 hours prior to my flight. On at least 3 occasions the loadings were very light (like 9 seats available) abotu 24hrs from departure and I still missed out.

Probably not relevant to your question but on a recent flight with premium economy I was given a double op-up from WHY to Business. Why? Who knows? Too many variables involved and very little public information available to make accurate assumptions....

 

[simongr]

I totally agree AussieTim, I have no issue flying PE or WhY for that matter. I just have this feeling that QF are upgrading Y to J before they upgrade PE to J. There is also the other aspect that I am a WP flying PE and therefore missing out when the flights are low on loadings in J. I guess I will never know.

I guess this shows that whatever is maybe th eknown thing QF can do as they please which is fair enough as they are running a business. I will keep booking PE fares an dhope for the bet over the next 6 months and see what transpires.

A possible reason for whY-> J points UG might be that as it uses more points, QF get more revenue recognised and reduce a greater proportion of the liability.

Also if it is easy to get PE->J points UG then people might buy fewer J seats if they are on the margin between PE and J in terms of budget...

 

[MelUser]

I upgraded a family member last week travelling from LHR to MEL.

He was in Economy (K), so reasonably up the fare bucket pecking order. It was a business requested but I ticked the Premium Economy (if business unsuccessful) box. He only got into Prem Eco 8.5 hours before flight take off - having said that there were 6J and 2T,W seats so he was very lucky regardless!

I still believe that the biggest factor is how many free J seats there are.