V-Flyer

Just looking at prices for UC/PE flights next spring to the Caribbean - all seem much more expensive this coming year. I have loads of miles and an Amex upgrade voucher but don't know how best to get the cheapest fare for Feb/March. Is there any/no chance of a sale covering this period??

Want to go to Barbados/St Lucia/Grenada so would also appreciate your suggestions for a great place to stay - not having been to any of these 3 as yet. I'd like either a villa or apartment with pool - don't mind paying for it as long as it is worth it!

Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks
T

Normally, Feb / Mar are certainties for good sale fares to most destinations, however I am not a Caribbean flier, so not sure about them.

The big caveat, is that so far 2010 is not a normal year, in any way shape or form. BA strikes, volcanoes, world wide economic downturns and a myriad of other factors, mean predicting future sales is almost impossible.

By VS standards, it is a long time since we have seen a system wide sale of any sort. I am still hoping for a PE sale for June and for Sept / Oct, but wouldn't like to say if either will actually materialise.

Nick

A decent PE sale would be great - and by decent I mean something better than the current UC sale that is on for Kingston and Cuba, that is a bit lame if you ask me. Of course with BA strikes I am not sure how much VS need to do sales - the competition seem to be simply handing over their customers to VS - I would definately pay more for the peace of mind.

If VS have a meaningfull sale anytime soon i will give away all my points to you Turquoise, hopefully that will help with the OP.


cheers

alex

Oooh Alex V - thank you!!!

Turquoise wrote:Oooh Alex V - thank you!!!

Your very welcome turquoise .....now wheres my companion vouchers gone

cheers

alex

Please check the VS website. There is a UC sale. You have to book 2 months in advance and travel by early September.

I can only see UC to the Caribbean - travelling June or October. Am I looking in the wrong place????

Like all of you, been looking for a decent UC sale - but my thoughts are the same as Nick's - this is a far from normal year. The BA ongoing situation probably means they don't feel a burning need to do a sale as they can potentially get bums on seats easily if BA don't fly. On the other hand, if the BA thing is resolved and the ash continues to cause problems, then how many people are going to just not bother flying, cos they don't want the uncertainty of delays?

Can't second-guess it. I was thinking of perhaps going the upgrade with miles route - buying appropriate PE flights and upgrading from there with miles. The difficulty here is the term 'qualifying fares' - there seems to be no way of knowing how much those are without calling VS. It may well prove not to be much of an advantage - anyone know, anyone done that enough to be able to make a fiar comparison???

catsilversword wrote:I was thinking of perhaps going the upgrade with miles route - buying appropriate PE flights and upgrading from there with miles. The difficulty here is the term 'qualifying fares' - there seems to be no way of knowing how much those are without calling VS. It may well prove not to be much of an advantage - anyone know, anyone done that enough to be able to make a fiar comparison???

Claire, go into the VS website and click on the Flying Club link on the left hand side of the page and then click on to Spend Miles. When that opens there is a link to Upgrade/Companion Flights so click on that. There is a booking form there and next to the drop down menu for the cabin class there is a tab which, if you have selected PE or economy (lowest) will allow you to select an S fare (PE) or L,B,Y for economy. You will need to be logged into your FC account but it will show availability and fares

So the relevant bit is an 's' fare? Aha, that's great - many thanks Honey....

I've found that - am I right in thinking I can only select Economy or Premium here though (cos all attempts at UC seem to return no flights). Is it the case that, on selecting these, it will only come up with fares I can upgrade with miles? And can I do the upgrade online?

Sorry if I'm missing the blindingly obvious here....

catsilversword wrote:I've found that - am I right in thinking I can only select Economy or Premium here though (cos all attempts at UC seem to return no flights). Is it the case that, on selecting these, it will only come up with fares I can upgrade with miles? And can I do the upgrade online?

Sorry if I'm missing the blindingly obvious here....

Well if you're seeking to upgrade to Upper you would only want to see Economy or PE fares. If having done the selection you are then shown no UC flights it means there are no reward seats available

Alex V

Did the sale qualify????