UpgradeMe pricing and success

VA2 LAX-SYD 3 March. $650 PE Saver to J. Follows on from successful 45K points inbound upgrade BNE-SYD of a month prior.

The PE Saver fare was $3,100 return and I value the points at about $900, so extrapolation suggests flying in J for $4,650 however obviously not benefiting from J SCs or points. Still, my Velocity statement suggests I might have benefited from the double points promotion of late last year so a pretty healthy accrual from the PE light fare anyway.
 
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Not an upgrade, but a successful outcome for 2 x VA J rewards SYD-LAX return in Jan/Feb 2020.

Booked SYD-BNE-LAX last week then sweated it out waiting for return flights to materialize. Very fortunate that they popped up this morning.

Also found 2 x economy rewards for our boys on both flights, so I am one Happy Little Vegemite :D
 
Not an upgrade, but a successful outcome for 2 x VA J rewards SYD-LAX return in Jan/Feb 2020.

Booked SYD-BNE-LAX last week then sweated it out waiting for return flights to materialize. Very fortunate that they popped up this morning.

Also found 2 x economy rewards for our boys on both flights, so I am one Happy Little Vegemite :D

Nice work. I am looking for something similar but with no luck. Do you have a secret or just got lucky?
 
@maccaisking I must admit - I am one of those AFF's who live and breathe anything that takes flight. I just love browsing the forums and various airline reviews. So this exercise would probably go down as more fun than perseverance or the dumb luck I quoted. I literally checked VA 10+ times a day for availability. I had set up an alert with Expertflyer, but they can sometimes deliver results that are unique to Delta and I didn't think I could rely on them alone. Sometimes I would wake up and check at 1am, which is midnight AEST in Brisbane (where Virgin is located). Everything told me it was a risky move, choosing dates in January, but if you are prepared to be diligent and ready to commit at a minutes notice, these seats can open up 5 minutes after you swear they were not there.

Another good tip is to search one way. You are raising the odds exponentially if you are looking one way. Then, look the other way. If you are lucky enough to find availability for the dates and sectors you can manage - then book immediately. Don't even think of coming back in 5 minutes - someone is always looking at the same fare.

And my last tip, is to be flexible. We had already booked accommodation in the States for January 11, 2020. But the J reward fares didn't support those dates. When I decided to jump ahead one week - hey presto! J rewards everywhere. I could pick and choose my flights. The easiest thing to do was lock in the flights, then amend my accommodation. The inconvenience of youngest child missing a few days of school has been offset by the fact that Mum & Dad will be lying in a cozy bed with a fluffy doona all the way across the Pacific, after smashing Disneyland and Universal Studios for 3 weeks :D

Now who's gonna argue with that logic?
 
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@maccaisking I must admit - I am one of those AFF's who live and breathe anything that takes flight. I just love browsing the forums and various airline reviews. So this exercise would probably go down as more fun than perseverance or the dumb luck I quoted. I literally checked VA 10+ times a day for availability. I had set up an alert with Expertflyer, but they can sometimes deliver results that are unique to Delta and I didn't think I could rely on them alone. Sometimes I would wake up and check at 1am, which is midnight AEST in Brisbane (where Virgin is located). Everything told me it was a risky move, choosing dates in January, but if you are prepared to be diligent and ready to commit at a minutes notice, these seats can open up 5 minutes after you swear they were not there.

Another good tip is to search one way. You are raising the odds exponentially if you are looking one way. Then, look the other way. If you are lucky enough to find availability for the dates and sectors you can manage - then book immediately. Don't even think of coming back in 5 minutes - someone is always looking at the same fare.

And my last tip, is to be flexible. We had already booked accommodation in the States for January 11, 2020. But the J reward fares didn't support those dates. When I decided to jump ahead one week - hey presto! J rewards everywhere. I could pick and choose my flights. The easiest thing to do was lock in the flights, then amend my accommodation. The inconvenience of youngest child missing a few days of school has been offset by the fact that Mum & Dad will be lying in a cozy bed with a fluffy doona all the way across the Pacific, after smashing Disneyland and Universal Studios for 3 weeks :D

Now who's gonna argue with that logic?

Thanks @clipped_wings

I have searched over a longer time than I was before and found one flight available, but I am planning to see some NFL playoff matches so need to leave before the one I found. I also have EF notifications setup for a few days in a row (which as you say have been fooled a few times by J reward stock being available to Delta), so it’s encouraging to hear that 1. I’m not the only one who regularly checks flights despite this and 2. This has been successful for someone else.

I’m not tied to which airline I take but I have my largest point balance in VA and like the product so fingers crossed and I will keep looking.
 
Sydney to Adelaide same day work trip on Tuesday,

Placed min bid on both legs and got confirmation within the day

Only 2 people now in business on the way there and 4 on the way back
 
$105 bid for BNE -PPP. I'd guess there's not much demand for J on such route :P
How does it work, do you get J SCs or Y SCs? J privileges?
 
SYD - LAX (VA1) 24 May.

Original Fare: Discount Economy (really cheap RTW ticket)
Upgrade: PE
Price: $490 (x4 tickets so $1960 total) - just above minimum bid.

Successful.
Great stuff to hear, I love it when multiple seats are upgraded!
OT, but with a name like @jedi_sith - I imagine you are hoping to catch a glimpse of Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland when it opens this week? ;)
 
Mr Clipped and I felt like flying for no reason. So we booked two separate Amex comp flights SYD-MEL return (Elevate fares) last night. Found the A330 for both sectors on the same day. Rang Velocity and they upgraded us to J immediately for the outbound sector, but couldn't find J reward availability for the return trip. I checked again this morning, with no result. Oddly enough, during Happy Hour - J reward seats magically appeared. Velocity was again, very helpful and genuinely delighted that we secured upgrades on the Airbus. We now have a fun day trip to Melbourne next week, then a night's stay at the Stamford Sydney to do some plane spotting before the NRL game at ANZ on Monday :)

Total investment: 40,000 points
 
Mr Clipped and I felt like flying for no reason. So we booked two separate Amex comp flights SYD-MEL return (Elevate fares) last night. Found the A330 for both sectors on the same day. Rang Velocity and they upgraded us to J immediately for the outbound sector, but couldn't find J reward availability for the return trip. I checked again this morning, with no result. Oddly enough, during Happy Hour - J reward seats magically appeared. Velocity was again, very helpful and genuinely delighted that we secured upgrades on the Airbus. We now have a fun day trip to Melbourne next week, then a night's stay at the Stamford Sydney to do some plane spotting before the NRL game at ANZ on Monday :)

Total investment: 40,000 points
Sydney Vivid festival is on if thats yoru thing and congrats on the upgrades
 
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$500 VA happy hour fare MEL-HKG return. Didn't bother with day flight but bid $5 over $550 minimum for the overnight return.

Accepted three days before.

Still showing J9 C9 D8 I6 ...

Note the minimum bid for day flight was $500.
 
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