Help with UC seats

Dear all

We are still in Dubai but want to start working out our Christmas 2013 trip.
We will have around 150k miles to spend. My question to you all is what will be the best way to book 2 adult and 2 children's UC return tickets using our 150k miles? I also have 2 companion tickets if that makes a difference.

Hmmm a puzzle, I like these... y)

The 2 companion tickets are useless for saving money in Upper Class.. they can only be redeemed on full J fare tickets, they go for minimum 4 grand a pop n( n(

The cheapest way to do it would probably to buy upgradeable economy tickets (look for either an M or a U fare) and then contribute 20K miles per person per sector for the ECO to UC upgrade. Total of 160K miles needed for the return.... close enough to 150K?

If not you may have to go for buying the S fare in PE to upgrade to UC .. total miles needed for the return would be 80K...

Or let's mix and match to really confuse things... Three M class tickets and then upgrade to upper class = 120K miles for the return and then a single S class ticket and the upgrade to UC for another 20K return..... boom 140K miles used, and you have 10K to spare :w

Now the trick will be to find 4 G fares in UC to upgrade into... might have to book it in stages as the fares are released through the year..

Bonne chance 8D

Dear all. I have taken the plunge and booked our tickets for Dubai at Christmas. I have bought 4 tickets M on the way out and L's on the way back. I have 150k miles and intend to upgrade to UC.
FC said today there are no PE or UC upgrade seats available at the moment. My question is how do I know when they are available or is it best to call UC direct?

Dear all. I have taken the plunge and booked our tickets for Dubai at Christmas. I have bought 4 tickets M on the way out and L's on the way back. I have 150k miles and intend to upgrade to UC.
FC said today there are no PE or UC upgrade seats available at the moment. My question is how do I know when they are available or is it best to call UC direct?

You need to do a dummy 'spend miles' booking(s) for PE and UC to see what availability (if any) there is. But when (if) you see them you need to be on the phone straight away to nab them.

However getting 4 rewards on the same flight at a popular time of year will be tricky.

Dear all. I have taken the plunge and booked our tickets for Dubai at Christmas. I have bought 4 tickets M on the way out and L's on the way back. I have 150k miles and intend to upgrade to UC.
FC said today there are no PE or UC upgrade seats available at the moment. My question is how do I know when they are available or is it best to call UC direct?

Well marky, happy that you got your upgradeable economy seats, two things.. First off you only have 150K miles, from ECO - UC you will need 160K for 4 RT upgrades, solution you'll need to buy 10K more.
Secondly as tonty suggests you could keep doing reward seat enquiries but you will have to be dedicated and be prepared to move up in increments. As I said in my response the first time, odds of 4 G fares straight off the bat are unlikely to non existent I'm afraid.. as you have found out

As for, "how do you know when they are available?"... best consult a seer, shaman, or that crystal ball under the bed... basically noone knows, they are released at random intervals depending on a variety of factors. You will know when the VS computers say yes

My advice is to keep calling and upgrading bit by bit. Grab those UC or even PE seats when you can 8D