Upgrades on partner airlines

[oliverd]

Hi all, not really expecting any "silver bullets" but hoping the Collective AFF Brains Trust may be able to offer some wisdom around upgrading on VA partner airlines.

I've been a fairly happy VA member for many years (mostly Platinum). Domestically I much prefer their service, priority boarding and ability to select an Economy X seat over QF. But, I'm now doing a lot more international travel and work travel based on company policy is always in Y. Given VA's pretty limited international routes, it means I'm mostly flying UA or SQ.

I haven't bothered to try and upgrade for a while given how full the J cabins are, and even if went back to QF (as an LT Gold) the chances of an upgrade are slim. But as some pre-COVID normality possibly returns, I'm looking to figure out any tips/tricks to upgrading on VA's partner airlines. Is it best to:
1) book as a VA flight and upgrade through VA - last time on UA this wasn't an even an option on a partner-operated flight
2) book on a partner-airline flight number, join partner airline as a base FF, and try to upgrade using partner airline points (which I can transfer from VA or Amex) - tried this yesterday and while there were four empty J seats on a SIN/SYD I was told I had to be at least KrisFlyer Silver to upgrade!!
3) stick to QF for int travel as an LTG (so I can enter the "one in a million" QF upgrade lottery!!), which would mean dropping to at least VA Gold
4) any other options?!?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions?

 

[n7of9]

tried this yesterday and while there were four empty J seats on a SIN/SYD I was told I had to be at least KrisFlyer Silver to upgrade!!

I haven't heard that before, and it's not specified on the link below. I've upgraded plenty of paid SQ flights using KF points transferred from VFF

https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/plan-travel/yourbooking/cabin-upgrades/

 

[SeatBackForward]

To answer the specific question, because VA is not part of StarAlliance, the option to upgrade on partners is unlikely to be offered. All your other questions are essentially about upgrade possibilities on each airlines repestive programs.

Having said that QF LTG is not exactly bottom of the pecking order.