Question re using points to upgrade to PE

Hi

Sorry if this sounds a sill question.

If i were going to use points to upgrade from Economy to PE on Manchester to Orlando route, would i have to make the whole booking through Virgin?

I can book the Economy seat via RBS Royalties, which saves me a couple of pounds. Could i do this, then contact virgin to do the upgrade?

[Neil]

The important thing is making sure you are booked in to a fare code that allows upgrades with miles. You cannot just buy the cheapest economy ticket and then use miles to upgrade. You need to book a Y/B/R/L fare code and then if there is PE reward availability you should be able to upgrade with your miles.

You will have to do any upgrade through your travel agent, Virgin won't be able to upgrade this booking for you, but a good travel agent should be able to do this.

My advice is to book the ticket with Virgin directly as they then have total access to the record and can make any changes necessary. If you book via an agent you may get the 'you have to go through the agent you booked with' story.

If you are thinking of upgrading don't start counting the pounds. Consider it is likely to cost you 50-100 for the taxes/fees etc extra.

[Neil]

If you are thinking of upgrading don't start counting the pounds. Consider it is likely to cost you 50-100 for the taxes/fees etc extra.

Plus of course the difference from the cheapest economy ticket (say £400) to the lowest upgradable fare (say £650/700).

I called Virgin this morning to try and upgrade a B class fare from SFO to LHR and was told I needed to be on a Y class fare in order to be able to use miles to upgrade. I was surprised as I checked the fare codes here before I called. Did the rules change or did I get fobbed off by the gold card line lady?

I called Virgin this morning to try and upgrade a B class fare from SFO to LHR and was told I needed to be on a Y class fare in order to be able to use miles to upgrade. I was surprised as I checked the fare codes here before I called. Did the rules change or did I get fobbed off by the gold card line lady?

The person you talked to is talking absolute tosh. Simply stupid and basic lack of training or inability to press the right buttons on their computer. Call back and ask to speak with someone who knows what they are talking about .

Upgrades per the VS Web site:

Picture1.jpg (21.19 KiB) Viewed 1031 times

A quick call back confirmed the lack or training / ignorance. The 2nd bod knew what they were talking about - but there were no available seats

Tnks!

A quick call back confirmed the lack or training / ignorance. The 2nd bod knew what they were talking about - but there were no available seats

Tnks!

Check regularly - things do change (unless you're flying tomorrow)!

For the OP...

Bear in mind it may be more cost effective to buy the cheapest PE ticket rather than go the upgrade route.

Depends on the route / season / very specific fare class but I did a quick test for a flight to NYC just before Christmas and...

Lowest PE = £1100
Flexible Economy (miles upgradeable) = £1300

Paul

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the tip. I already have my ticket, paid for by work, and they will only spring for Economy class. Upgrade fees and miles are on my dime, so in this case I hope it would be just APD diff and fuel surcharge + 10k or 30K miles.

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the tip. I already have my ticket, paid for by work, and they will only spring for Economy class. Upgrade fees and miles are on my dime, so in this case I hope it would be just APD diff and fuel surcharge + 10k or 30K miles.

Hi TD

I thought that might be the case for you; I should have said my response was for the OP. I'll edit my post to make that clear.

My employer won't even spring for flexible tickets... :w

Cheers

Paul

Now I am even more confused. Call the gold line again today to try an upgrade. Was told by the operator that my "B" class ticket was not eligible for upgrade because was booked as a "Net fare" whatever that is, and would need to be upgraded to Y in-order to be eligible for upgrade. I queried this, and she went off to go an check, and came back with the same answer. "B" is not "B" if it is a "net fare". Anyone heard of this before?