New to KF: Award vs Upgrade

[blingy90]

Hi everyone,

Bit of a newbie to the KF program. Have been a long time velocity member and have a pretty good knowledge of that. A combo of a solid velocity points balance + the recent amex signup offer has led me to explore the kris flyer program in more depth. Traditionally with VA, have always used points to upgrade to J from a paid Y ticket (to help ensure status is retained/continue to earn points) rather then purchasing award tickets.

However, looking at KF and correct me if I am wrong, but it appears to be less miles for an award ticket then an upgrade? Using SYD-SIN-LHR return as an example, booked online, an award ticket comes in at 161,500 miles vs 187,000 miles as an upgrade from a paid Y. While I have always been used to paying for a Y ticket and then upgrading, it seems like a fair no brainer in this scenario to purchase an award ticket. Am I correct here?

Also - just was wondering if there are any good articles/threads that people would be happy to point me towards that help explain the KF program in more depth, would be happy for suggestions! I did read the masterguide at the start of this discussion board.

Anyways - thanks for the time and any feedback,

Cheers

 

[Duffa]

Not quite right.
An upgrade from Y to J costs 150,000 rtn not 187,000 as you say. However, you are quite correct about the 161,500 J redemption rtn.
Even at the "cheaper" price, the upgrade doesn't seem worth it, IMHO.
I can usually wait until I have the extra 11,500 points.......

 

[blingy90]

Not quite right.
An upgrade from Y to J costs 150,000 rtn not 187,000 as you say. However, you are quite correct about the 161,500 J redemption rtn.
Even at the "cheaper" price, the upgrade doesn't seem worth it, IMHO.
I can usually wait until I have the extra 11,500 points.......

Thanks for the correction - I think I was looking at the cost for a 'standard' upgrade rather then the 'saver' rate. So with the 15% online discount, a return upgrade on the same leg would be 127,500miles.

Just re upgrade availability - if you can see award seats available, does this mean upgrades are available too? Do they come from the same 'pool'?

 

[Duffa]

Thanks for the correction - I think I was looking at the cost for a 'standard' upgrade rather then the 'saver' rate. So with the 15% online discount, a return upgrade on the same leg would be 127,500miles.

Just re upgrade availability - if you can see award seats available, does this mean upgrades are available too? Do they come from the same 'pool'?

Not sure about the availability of upgrades, as I have never done it. But I don't think you can do an upgrade online, so the 15% doesn't apply. Happy to be corrected on this ( CE!!)

 

[blingy90]

Not sure about the availability of upgrades, as I have never done it. But I don't think you can do an upgrade online, so the 15% doesn't apply. Happy to be corrected on this ( CE!!)

You can upgrade online-can confirm that..."To redeem upgrades, log into your KrisFlyer account, select the eligible commercial bookings you have already made from 'My Bookings' and choose to upgrade with miles"



If anyone can clarify availability of upgrades, what be appreciated!

 

[Rareified Air]

You can upgrade on line easily and the 15% discount gets applied in the transaction. If you call them it won't normally apply.
Saver upgrades are limited and hard to get at the popular travel times.

Just bear in mind with a fair redemption you still need to pay the taxes, etc on top at the time of ticketing. This may make a redemption not so attractive depending on your destination.

 

[blingy90]

You can upgrade on line easily and the 15% discount gets applied in the transaction. If you call them it won't normally apply.
Saver upgrades are limited and hard to get at the popular travel times.

Just bear in mind with a fair redemption you still need to pay the taxes, etc on top at the time of ticketing. This may make a redemption not so attractive depending on your destination.

Any idea of the taxes you have to pay for upgrades? Are they similar to that of award bookings?

 

[Rareified Air]

There are no taxes due on an upgrade using points but you have to purchase a fully flexible fair to start with.
Something in your original post suggests you want to try and book an award Y ticket and then upgrade that to J, I don't think that will be possible.

Best thing to do is create a dummy booking as a redemption and see what it comes up with in taxes.

 

[dajop]

Generally there are no extra surcharges on points upgrades however some airlines do charge the extra Air Passenger Duty for upgrades from Great Britain. Not sure if SQ does or not, but probably do as they would be liable for APD otherwise.

 

[blingy90]

There are no taxes due on an upgrade using points but you have to purchase a fully flexible fair to start with.
Something in your original post suggests you want to try and book an award Y ticket and then upgrade that to J, I don't think that will be possible.

Best thing to do is create a dummy booking as a redemption and see what it comes up with in taxes.

Thanks for the info re no taxes on an upgrade, appreciate that!

And sorry for the confusion - I understand its either award J or paid flexi Y and then upgrade. I've traditionally always used my points with VA and have always bought a flexi Y/PE ticket and then used points to upgrade. KF is new territory so just learning the ins and outs

 

[vantage03]

Hi there.
Do a dummy award booking for Business Class. If a 'Saver' level award seat is available, then that is the same space available for upgrade and you'll be charged the 'Saver' cost in miles. Same goes with 'Standard' and 'Full'.
No additional takes applicable for upgrades.
Value only really there if 'Saver' space is available, or if you have a heap of miles to spend.
That said, if you haven't done SQ J before, you'll enjoy it.
My advice would be to take a full redemption booking if that's an option, better value.

 

[blingy90]

Hi there.
Do a dummy award booking for Business Class. If a 'Saver' level award seat is available, then that is the same space available for upgrade and you'll be charged the 'Saver' cost in miles. Same goes with 'Standard' and 'Full'.
No additional takes applicable for upgrades.
Value only really there if 'Saver' space is available, or if you have a heap of miles to spend.
That said, if you haven't done SQ J before, you'll enjoy it.
My advice would be to take a full redemption booking if that's an option, better value.

Cheers-very helpful advice! Never done SQ J before and always thought it would be out of my reach, but a decent points balance know has made it a 100% achievable. And I agree, the award redemption is appearing to stack up as the better value.

 

[vantage03]

Cheers-very helpful advice! Never done SQ J before and always thought it would be out of my reach, but a decent points balance know has made it a 100% achievable. And I agree, the award redemption is appearing to stack up as the better value.

If you really want to push the boat out and you can't get a Business Saver level redemption (i.e. only Standard is available), you will find availability for First Saver is much better than Business Saver and will be similar in price to Business Standard

 

[blingy90]

I like your thinking vantage! Cheers

 

[ninja-tim]

Didn't want to start a new thread, so just going to continue on with this one.

So I'm planning on going Vietnam next month. MEL-SGN return, $1500, MEL-SIN is economy flexi saver, and SIN-MEL is Economy flexi. SGN-MEL is roughly $1000 O/W for Economy Flexi.

A J saver redemption is 55,000 miles.

https://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_OneWayUpgradeCharts.pdf

Accordig this chart, Vietnam to Australia saver upgrade to J from Y is 25,000 miles? Is this how you work the chart?

Is trying to upgrade worth it in this scenario or in general?

I was thinking of only upgrading SGN-MEL as SIN-MEL is SQ 227 which is supposedly the refurbed J class, and wanted to try it.

 

[dajop]

Accordig this chart, Vietnam to Australia saver upgrade to J from Y is 25,000 miles? Is this how you work the chart?

Vietnam - MEL/SYD/ADL/BNE/CNS is 45,000 miles one way. Only Vietnam-DRW/PER is 25,000 miles.

 

[ninja-tim]

Vietnam - MEL/SYD/ADL/BNE/CNS is 45,000 miles one way. Only Vietnam-DRW/PER is 25,000 miles.

Oh woops, my bad. Overlooked that 2nd line on the chart.

hmm 45,000 mile for an upgrade is a tad high.

Thanks anyways dajop.