Tricky Upgrade Situation - Separate Bookings

[Fungus]

Hi Gurus,

I am looking to fly to LHR in Jul with a family member who will be returning after me.

Because of the different return times I cannot book both return flights under the one booking.

I could book both return flights separately and then have them linked so we would sit together on the forward leg.

But I want to request Classic Reward upgrades from Y to either W or J for the forward leg, and believe we will only both benefit from my slightly higher LTS status if we’re on the same booking, and hence I would have to book one way flights.

Have I understood how the upgrade situation works correctly?

However this means the one way return legs would have to be booked on the UK website, and I’ve discovered they are hellishly more expensive than booking a return trip.

Due to the cost differential, am I better off just booking individual return flights and rolling separate dice re the upgrade requests?

 

[ChrisMars]

Hi Gurus,

I am looking to fly to LHR in Jul with a family member who will be returning after me.

Because of the different return times I cannot book both return flights under the one booking.

I could book both return flights separately and then have them linked so we would sit together on the forward leg.

But I want to request Classic Reward upgrades from Y to either W or J for the forward leg, and believe we will only both benefit from my slightly higher LTS status if we’re on the same booking, and hence I would have to book one way flights.

Have I understood how the upgrade situation works correctly?

However this means the one way return legs would have to be booked on the UK website, and I’ve discovered they are hellishly more expensive than booking a return trip.

Due to the cost differential, am I better off just booking individual return flights and rolling separate dice re the upgrade requests?

Also you didnt mentioned the price difference of the single legs booking, my 2 cents, just save the $$$ and book the returns separatly. The chances of an upgrade for two pax on that route in July as LTS is so tiny it doesnt make sense.

 

[Fungus]

Also you didnt mentioned the price difference of the single legs booking, my 2 cents, just save the $$$ and book the returns separatly. The chances of an upgrade for two pax on that route in July as LTS is so tiny it doesnt make sense.

It’s $2.2K extra in total across both airfares, including the extra $200 one way tax for each forward leg.

It would’ve been nice, as the last time I got to use points I outright booked J rewards flights for 3 of us to NRT, but if you reckon I’ve got Buckley’s this time around, then perhaps I’ll just request one for myself on the way back…

 

[ChrisMars]

It’s $2.2K extra in total across both airfares, including the extra $200 one way tax for each forward leg.

It would’ve been nice, as the last time I got to use points I outright booked J rewards flights for 3 of us to NRT, but if you reckon I’ve got Buckley’s this time around, then perhaps I’ll just request one for myself on the way back…

Yea see, even with a generous 10% upgrade probability (I think its much lower for those circunstances), the expected spend to get an upgrade would be 22k (plus points). Better off buying 2x W or J than hoping to get an upgrade and spending 2.2k, from a pure rational perspective (granted I dont know for sure the upgrade probability).