UpgradeMe pricing and success

[TMP]

Bid minimum + $15 ($85) on an original $69 Choice fare MEL-SYD for VA867 at 1700 today. Accepted last night 20 hours prior to departure when 6/8 J already looked to be sold. J is now 8/8 according to the seat map.

 

[Gianni S]

BNE TO MEL , choice fare originally,
bid $105 and was successful the evening before flight.

 

[TMP]

BNE TO MEL , choice fare originally,
bid $105 and was successful the evening before flight.

How much above the minimum was that, Gianni?

 

[Gianni S]

How much above the minimum was that, Gianni?

Hey TMP,
Im pretty sure minimum was $85. saw someone did $15 above minimum in an earlier post and took a punt at in similar range $105

 

[MooTime]

I guess you get full value from these upgrades if you don't have current status then gain lounge access, extra baggage, priority boarding etc

 

[AIRwin]

I guess you get full value from these upgrades if you don't have current status then gain lounge access, extra baggage, priority boarding etc

Congrats on your 1000th post!

 

[rmckay01]

Bid $60 (which was the minimum) for my Mum for ADL-CBR tomorrow. Bid accepted 16hr before the flight. She's stoked, and I am once again the favourite child

 

[rmckay01]

And I just remembered, a work colleague successfully bid $50 (minimum bid) ADL-LST in early March.

 

[jase05]

Bid $60 (which was the minimum) for my Mum for ADL-CBR tomorrow. Bid accepted 16hr before the flight. She's stoked, and I am once again the favourite child

That’s a bargain.
Still showing 1 J seat available for over $800

 

[rmckay01]

That’s a bargain.
Still showing 1 J seat available for over $800

Agreed - she paid $255 for the flight initially, so $315 all up.

 

[Dan_]

I bid $60 each way on F1 Weekend Syd-Mel just because and got it both ways

 

[BRIS_VA_HAWK]

Bid the minimum ($80) on BNE-MEL for VA314 (0755 ex BNE) and was successful. J was full with the 8 pax, so unsure whether my SG status came into play or not...

 

[BNEFlyer]

Bid the minimum ($80) on BNE-MEL for VA314 (0755 ex BNE) and was successful. J was full with the 8 pax, so unsure whether my SG status came into play or not...

$80 min bid is amazing value. I've usually seen it around $140.

 

[kerfuffle]

$95 bid VA412 SYD-ADL. Was only half-full when I got the successful notification yesterday and 75% full when I flew

 

[RAM]

I wonder if someone at VA II has completed an exercise looking at each of the last few months for the number of empty business seats being flown on various routes.

The marginal cost for food/drink/weight addition impact on additional fuel used is a figure that can be calculated accurately.

If I was looking into it, then I'd look at every route in isolation covering:

• distribution of bids, and distribution of successful bids (broken down by specific flight, not just pairing)
• empty business class seats by specific flight # distribution

From that it would be easy to see which flights have seen consistent demand at a price for the upgrades and those where the cut-off has seen low to no upgrades taken and non-revenue business seats flown. As the upgrade bidding is for cash (not points? has it changed recently) then a simple matter to trial a lower cut-off for flights which have consistently seen zero upgrades accepted.

Perhaps such a trial started in April...

It would make a lot of sense.

Prior to the post above for the $80 BNE/MEL on VA 314 - has anyone been successful on this flight, or pairing since VA II took flight? If so, what price, when & do you remember how many empty, if any, business seats when you flew?

 

[DeanCorp]

Hi All,

I am a Gold Qantas Member but travelling from MEL to SYD with Virgin for work and didn’t want to waste my QF FF points on a short trip. I have read all the offers people put in for their UpgradeMe and at the time of booking flights were $79, that same seat is now $299 (3 days prior to flying). I’ve set my bid at $155, but have noticed there is only 1 business class seat remaining, what are my chances of getting a successful? Most seemed to have bid less and had success. Unsure if it’s just the time of year or because the early morning interstate flights are popular for business travel.

 

[odysseus]

If the seat remains available, I'd say you have a good chance as it doesn't seem too many offer that much for that distance. Of course, it may be allocated/sold in advance so you never know.

 

[DeanCorp]

If the seat remains available, I'd say you have a good chance as it doesn't seem too many offer that much for that distance. Of course, it may be allocated/sold in advance so you never know.

Thanks for that, I suppose if there is a cancellation too. I just want the lounge access and extra luggage to take on board so I don’t need to check in any luggage.

If I am unsuccessful am I able to travel with my 16” Laptop in a backpack + an overnight travel suitcase to take onboard?

 

[RAM]

Thanks for that, I suppose if there is a cancellation too. I just want the lounge access and extra luggage to take on board so I don’t need to check in any luggage.

If I am unsuccessful am I able to travel with my 16” Laptop in a backpack + an overnight travel suitcase to take onboard?

More likely to be successful if the laptop is in a slimline shoulder bag than a backpack (unless slimline which is unlikely).

Places like Harvey Norman etc often sell off brandname (HP) laptop bags with 3 sleeves to take multiple laptops that even with 3 laptops are only around 3 to 4 cm thick and have a shoulder strap. Pre-covid, 2019 got one for $15 and wished I'd bought it years earlier.

Great for travelling (especially going through security as the bag's opening is wide enough that laptops never catch. Also handy for hard copies of travel documents in a sleeve of their own.

 

[DeanCorp]

Good to know! I have one of these bags in 15”
unsure if my 16” laptop will fit, my physio won’t be happy I’m using a shoulder bag with my neck problems. Should I have heard back about the success by now? Flight is on Tuesday?

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