Help with Upgradeable fare to LA

[klt599]

Hi all
I want to travel to LA on the 26th of November returning on the 8th of december
can anyone help me locate the cheapest qantas flight that is upgradeable with qantas miles

thanks

 

[NM]

From the Qantas Website, the Superpac fare for those dates is $2163 + 312.22 = $2476.22 and is eligible for upgrade. So there is the starting point. That is assuming SYD-LAX-SYD of course.

 

[Maca44]

I purchased a QF fare that I could upgrade to J class for travel September 2004 from SYD-LAX, but when I tried to upgrade I was advised that there was no available seats in class. I was not advised that J class was completely booked, but at least I got an aisle seat in about row 50. I thought I would have received an upgrade seeing my travel was out of school holidays etc etc, but more experienced people on this forum will no doubt advise you of your chances of an upgrade and whether an upgrade can be guaranteed, as I may have gone about it the wrong way.

 

[klt599]

thanks guys

so what flight should i take on those dates to
a)get the best price
b)be guaranteed an upgrade?

thanks

 

[NM]

...d people on this forum will no doubt advise you of your chances of an upgrade and whether an upgrade can be guaranteed, as I may have gone about it the wrong way.

International upgrades cannot be guaranteed or confirmed. You have to join the waitlist and the waitlist is cleared on the day of travel, starting with the CL members, then Platinum, then Gold, then Silver then the rest. Within each category the priority is based on when you joined the waitlist.

So being Platinum and applying early to join the waitlist is going to help in the lottery of QF international upgrades.

Chances are best on the non-busy business travel days, so avoid travelling between Friday and Monday as they are generally the busiest, especially for USA travel.

 

[QF WP]

so what flight should i take on those dates to:
a)get the best price
b)be guaranteed an upgrade?

Best price, on an upgradeable fare, has already been quoted by NM. I presume that he checked on the dates quoted (assuming SYD/LAX/SYD looking at his post); so it was available at the time he checked. Just which flights he checked (because there are multiple flights)....only NM can tell you.

No upgrades are guaranteed (even to Plat :cry: or CL members); we all wait in the orderly queue until the day of travel and hope at check-in we've been upgraded (although the smart ones are checking the loads to have a good idea). Go for the ones that leave in the middle of the day, or ones that business people, who usually buy J class seats or are Platinum members, will not look to fly on). It will also depend on when you join the queue, what is your status and who's ahead of you of similar status or higher.

 

[klt599]

so how many points does it cost anyway for the syd la upgrade?

 

[QF WP]

klt599, my upgrades from BNE/LAX were 72,000 per passenger, so I'm sure SYD/LAX would be somewhat similar...

 

[NM]

Just which flights he checked (because there are multiple flights)....only NM can tell you.

My price was for QF107 SYD-LAX and QF12 LAX-SYD, but the same price was available for the other non-dtop flights on those dates (eg QF11/QF108 etc).

 

[QF WP]

You'll need to take this into account (from the QFF T&C's):

13.2.5 Award Flight blackouts (ie no Award seats will be available at any time) apply on Qantas all year between Sydney and Los Angeles on flights QF11 and QF12 in First and Business class.

Is the blackout on award seats fully purchased with points or UC's; or upgrading using points Y to J??

 

[NM]

Is the blackout on award seats fully purchased with points or UC's; or upgrading using points Y to J??

I do not believe this applies to upgrades under the new waitlist scheme since they no longer come from U inventory.

And there have been many cases of people obtaining award business and first class seats on those flights, so it not a complete blackout.