Is the cost of an upgrade really worth it??

Not sure what you guys pay to fly upper class - but I've been told it's in the £1000s above a standard economy ticket. And for that money you basically get a nicer seat, better food, and beat the queues a bit getting on and off.

My wife keeps on at me about paying the cost of the upgrade - but I am the type that I'd rather spend the money on my hotel/excursions.

But can you tell me is the Upper Class experience that much better than Premium Econ or Cattle class and worth the extra wedge it costs you - or is it simply a status thingie, so you can look down at the others at the back of the aircraft.

*Slight edit by Darren*

I think PE is fine 95% of the time.

I've flown 75% of my flights in economy, and savour the odd miles/cash upgrade to PE. Flew UC for the first time to Shanghai this year, and wasn't that bowled over.

[Nottingham Nick]

Is it worth it? This used to be one of the most often asked questions on here.

The simple answer is - it is up to you.

Some people will say that UC is the only way to travel because it adds so much to the whole flying experience. Others will say it is a total waste of money, as you arrive at your destination at the same time, and the money is much better spent on other things.

Neither side is right or wrong. I would suggest that, if you can't justify the extra expense to your self, then premium class travel is not for you.

The best thing to do is to read some of the Upper trip reports on the forum, and see if you think the perks are worth the extra dosh.

Nick

Speaking from the point of a leisure traveller.... Its a treat, a nice treat.

I've flown a return flight UC once before paid for with miles and really enjoyed it and am doing the same trip again but only with miles (and still left with a surplus), again as a pick me up / treat to myself.

Would I pay for it as an upgrade? Depends on how much it would be at the time.

If you're going to find yourself dealing with serious bouts of buyer's remorse, then it's clearly not worth it. You have to have some sense of appreciation for the finer things in life (finer, not finest, mind you) or you'll end up starting your trips full of regret and sorrow. Know thyself and act accordingly. The first time I sat in biz I knew that's the way I wanted to always fly if at all possible.

Beyond that, two things. If you have to make trade-offs, then you're already at a disadvantage. Most folks in UC don't, they have work paying for tickets (and nice hotels) or don't have to make the choice. If it's a case of where your money goes, you and the wife need to work that out between yourselves. I'd rather spend a bit less on a hotel to fly in comfort, and frankly if you do SFO-LHR the lounges everywhere, the length of the flight, all make it really worthwhile to be in UC. The key to me on such flights is a flat bed to sleep on, a bar to pass time, and lounges that provide a lot of flexibility around how I line up my time around the flights. None of those are available in PE (except for lounges if you are Gold). As a Gold, I was happy to do PE on short flights, under 7 hours, say, since sleeping long hours is not on the cards anyway and the PE seat is comfy enough for two or three hours of rest.

Secondly, if you fly enough and have the right credit cards, you can pay for your flight upgrades with miles. Nothing is guaranteed once you do this, but with a bit of careful planning and foresight you can manage it most times. I did this a fair bit, and still managed to accumulate 300k miles. This is a bit harder if you don't fly a lot, but credit cards can be a real help here. The site is a treasure of info on how to best maximise your chances of doing this.

In sum, for me, absolutely worth it, especially if you can do it with miles.

Business/Upper Class is something that I've always thought would be great to fly each and every time, but as clarkeysntfc - being that PE is fine for 95% of the time imo.

I don't personally rate the business offering from VS anymore (a different topic), but I do believe that the PE seats that VS fly are really quite nice still. Not many give you leather for PE and I find them quite comfy. Though it has been a while since I flew using VS metal.

I'm like yourself, in that the £x,xxx.00 difference I'd rather plow into accommodation, which you use much longer than a flight, and experiences which remember for a lifetime hopefully.

Sure if you have the money spare, why not - it get's to a similar debate like why buy a Car higher spec/equipment as one can rightly argue that it doesn't neccesarily help you get there any more than a lower spec'd car. So as the theme emerges, it's a personal choice. I can definately live without going into Clubhouses/Lounges even though I have used them in the past. The plane really does get to your destination in one-go despite your class which always makes me laugh, and I can happily wait an extra few minutes. Hmm...

When travelling alone or as a couple- definitely worth it when purchased in a sale or upgrading with miles.

When travelling as a family of five - forget about it. I could take a year or 2 of my mortgage instead.

When travelling alone or as a couple- definitely worth it when purchased in a sale or upgrading with miles.

When travelling as a family of five - forget about it. I could take a year or 2 of my mortgage instead.

That's the position we now find ourselves in. As we moved from paying for 4 on trip down to 3 we started to go PE rather than Economy, and then down to 2 we've started to use UC.

Is it that much better - well, if I took a purely utilitarian view, probably not, for all the reasons others have given. Does it make the trip much more fun and 11 hours on an aircraft an experience to be enjoyed rather than endured, yes it does. My other half was very much of the view that "Economy will do, thank you very much" and then "well, PE is enjoyable" and then for our UC trip to SFO this year she said "well, to be honest I'd be just happy to fly out there and back".

Still, as DocRo says, it only happens when there's a sale or I have miles to use.

Paul

Firstly it depends who's paying...or you're on tax payers money B)

Are you tall..then yes PE is worth it, I personally hate chewing my knees for 10 hrs.
Depends where you are going, East Coast such as NY is not much different to the likes of the Canaries or Cyprus.
Queuing... it will remove most of that. In in some locations MCO for instance- worth its wait in miles..Lounges for UC again: yes for some, others like wandering round the shops..
The food..well there's another topic altogether. Even in UC, if you were served that on the ground you'd be highly disappointed, but in relation to what's on offer further back, its much better.

double digit hr flights I personally say yes, atleast to PE,

You pay your money you generally get a better product- is it worth it on standard fares: no, sale fares: sometimes, through other ways:miles- yes

Do you think its worth it, thats the only real way to find out.

Mrs NH, found it very natural being in UC--that worried me.

nh

- or is it simply a status thingie, so you can look down at the others at the back of the aircraft.

*Slight edit by Darren*

Yes sure there are a few people like that - probably the ones who still dress for dinner, think district nurses go visits on a bycycle with their bag in the whicker basket, lament the no more standing for the natioanl anthem in the cinema and regret the end of the empire.

It appears Mdvipond and young Tizer came across one the other week!

But seriously it really does come down to what YOU feel comfortable paying for.

I'm not sure there is a difference of £000 between Y and UC (though if you compare the cheapest Y fare with all the restrictions and the most expensive no restrictions UC then yes it would be). But if there are two (or more) then the difference soon mounts up.

Like many others I started my flying history 'down the back' simply because I couldn't afford anything else. And it was either 'slum it' ot not travel at all and I do likemy travel !

It was all very nice we got a seat, a couple of drinks, meal, snacks and to watch a couple of films (that all started at the same time and couldn't be paused) and everyone got there at the same time as the 'posh' people in the pointy bit.

But with a growing income and then the advent of the interweb making it easier to find cheaper fares and not relying on a travel agent to tell you, it became cheaper to move on up to PE (or equiv on other airlines) and I found I rather liked having the extra legroom etc.

I 'graduated' to UC a couple of years ago - mainly due to my changing tastes - wanting to pamper myself with more room, greater baggage allowanace, nicer food / drink and the use of lounges etc. Again this was helped by some extra ££ being availale - yes I'm one of those that has to pay for my own travel. A couple of times I'd used miles to upgrade on UA to treat myself and to 'see what business class was like' and did rather like it.

Yes you still get to your destination at the same time whatever cabin you fly in but I regard the flight as part of my holiday and not just a means to get to my holiday. Though the latter is a perfectly acceptable view.

That said I can only afford to fly UC if I get a Z sale fare (or the once when I used my miles mainly colelcted by CC spend and bonus to get a G). If there are no sales or the price is not acceptable then I don't fly - simple as that. Also whilst I like flying VS if there are cheaper UC equivalent fares on other airlines then I will use those.

You pays your money and you take your choice.
Its the same choice as
Merc or Ford?
Restaurant or McDonalds?
Detached or flat?
and many more where we decide what we wish to pay for.

For some the choice is very clear - others take more time to justify.
A full price J might be hard to justify but a good Z is just a fraction of the price - that often makes the choice much easier.
But after you become familiar with PE or UC, it is much less likely that you will choose Econ. - some choices have consequences! There is a tendency to always move to the left!

I must admit, however, that when cuts result in a deterioration of the UC differential, PE can become more attractive.

The biggest plus for me is the flat bed as I just can't relax sitting up. I started using UC for work and as others have said, once the children grew up it became easier to save for holidays as well. I try and book early to get the deals or grab a sale fare if they come up in time and usually find the UC fare represents value for money, makes the holiday experience appear that much longer and if travelling further afield the jetlag is significantly reduced.

I only travel by plane for holidays, neither have I managed to rack up enough miles with the same carrier to upgrade flights with miles. Therefore its all my own hard earned cash which pays for the tickets...

For me, the holiday now starts when the chauffeur car arrives at the hotel to take you to the airport followed by a lack of queueing then onto a comfortable lounge etc etc. Most of all your treated like a person rather than an annoyance.

Short haul I would still fly Y, long haul no chance. I'd prefer not to bother.

As many others have said, you pays your money and takes your choice.

My personal choice is PE (IN THE BUBBLE) suits me just fine. Being a MAN passenger I get none of the clubhouse malarkey. In-flight wise, UC is comfier but apart from that it offers nothing I really want. MAN to MCO can be as little as 7 hours - maybe on a 12 hour flight I would want the extra UC comfort. So my choice is travel PE and puts the £'s to some other use.

[Nottingham Nick]

Like others, I pay for my own flights, and for me the journey is part of the adventure.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with flying down the back. I have always been a strong advocate of having a number of cheaper annual flights, rather than one very expensive one. It is only later in life that my budget means we can get the best of both worlds.

The problem is, as others have alluded to, once you have tasted the finer things - the lounges, the bigger seats, the staff attitude etc. etc. it is difficult to go without it.

The same applies to hotels, we used to enjoy Motel 6, Econolodge et al. but now, having become a Marriott, SPG and Hilton regular - these are now the hotels we choose to pay for. That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with cheap, clean motels - but I think you usually get what you pay for.

Having said all that, I still find it difficult to justify the cost of UC - especially on day flights. I am more than happy with my Clubhouse access courtesy of the gold card, and then a PE seat.

UC is for FC points redemptions in our house.

Nick

Like some of the others we have only been flying UC in recent years - once we no longer had to pay for 5 tickets.

For us now, it's an essential rather than a luxury, since my husband had major spinal surgery 2 years ago that not only was unsuccessful, but actually made his problem worse. It means he can now only sit for a hour or so at a time before needing to lie down, so having the bed is great for him. Of course I tag along!

But we can only justify paying for a Z seat or use miles.

[honey lamb]

Another one who pays for her own flights and for me the journey starts the minute I lock the suitcase! The flight is an integral part of my trip and I'm very much into the "better to travel than to arrive" category - not, I hasten to add, that I don't enjoy my destinations. I do.

I must confess to flying in the front of the airline for most of my trips with the exception of a brief flirtation with PE. I take advantage of fare sales whenever possible and I have been lucky enough to find them available when I have wanted to travel. If it became necessary to fly outside of sale I would choose a Z fare and if that wasn't available then it would be in PE. I'm fortunate that at this time of my life I'm able to afford this (and I'm equally fortunate that I no longer have to pay for my son in the premium cabins )

Because I don't live in the UK points earning possibilities on the VS Amex card are denied to me and any miles I have accrued have been from flying. I have however been able to use them to treat family members to travel with me and also when they have G fares, to use the CDC service to get the full UC experience

I suppose it depends how much for your holiday budget is taken up with the upgrade. For 2 of you it would be probably be in the 4 figures, for some that me be no problem, for others it may mean missing out on doing things on holiday or being in a cheaper hotel. For me I'd go with spending more on when you arrive, but that's my opinion as I've never flown anything other than economy/low cost. So to me flying is no more than a means of getting to your destination. However if you have the funds to fly FC often then it may seem like an extension of your holiday than a bus with wings.

For me UC is absolutely worth the expense. As others have said I find that the Club House & in flight pampering is a large part of a holiday. If not UC then PE still is a lot better than economy IMHO. Whatever you choose, have a good flight.

oldboy

I agree with Oldboy and the rest. The CH and CDC are worth it if you can afford it.
I travel Y for internal and short haul but anything over 4 hours I need comfort.
And as they say once you have turned left then turning right is oh so very hard to do!

Mike

When travelling as a family of five - forget about it. I could take a year or 2 of my mortgage instead.

That's the position we now find ourselves in. As we moved from paying for 4 on trip down to 3 we started to go PE rather than Economy, and then down to 2 we've started to use UC.

Paul

That about sums it up for us, but we are in the reverse mode now, started with 2, then 3 and now paying for 4, so it is a real justification to spend that sort of money on a flight for the family. PE looks like it will get our business for the next while anyway. It does however take a lot of hassle out of the whole trip especially with kids.

Iain

Sorry for a little bit of a thread hijack, but just wanted to ask what fare code I would need to purchase if I wanted to use a miles upgrade from Y to PE?

from looking at this page

the-toolbox/fare-codes

it loks like you need a Y, B or an L but yo also needs to be 'U' availabilty in PE