Upgrading to upper class - worth it???

Hi all,

I am a flying club gold member and I will be flying from Tokyo Narita to London VS901 on 20th Dec in PE with an S class ticket, the flight looks pretty empty in the PE section so I guess I am out of luck with a complimentary upgrade. I was wondering if I use my points to upgrade to Upper class at check will I still earn Tier points and miles equivalent to the PE ticket bought or miss out on them at part of the upgrade?

Also when is the best time to upgrade the ticket, now, check in or at the boarding gate??

Looking forward to some advice thanks

Tim

[Neil]

Hi.

Yes, you will still earn the miles and TP's based on the revenue fare you bought.

The best time to upgrade is when/if there are UC miles seats available. Not sure if you have already checked this, but do a dummy miles booking on the VS site to check availability.

In my opinion, you are better booking in advance, you know you will definitely be flying UC, you get the option of using DTCI and you can select your UC seat in advance.

Should you upgrade? That's a call only you can make, but if you have miles you are happy to spend, then without doubt UC is a more comfortable and enjoyable way to travel.

Neil

I would say definitely worth it.
It's a long flight and being able to stretch out and even lie down for a nap is so much better than PE IMHO
As Neil said if there is availability and you have the miles then go for it
I would do it sooner rather than later though as you may not necessarily be able to upgrade at the airport if there are no reward seats available on the day
If you are happy to take the risk then ofcourse you got nothing to lose by asking at checkin

There is currently reward availability in UC on your flight so as Neil says now is the time to book it.

If you wait till the airport, you risk there being no availability and the cost in miles would still be the same. And as you point out, if a load check shows PE is still wide open your chances of an op up are slim.

Only you can decide if it's worth it - as an AU you obviously get all the airport benefits including Clubhouse access anyway, so it's down to whether you think the outlay in miles and additional taxes & fees is worth the superior in-flight comfort & service.

Perceived wisdom on here, though, is that an upgrade is the most sensible and cost effective way to spend miles.

Thanks guys for the feedback. I have actually booked the upgrade and only 12,500 miles and no cash required!
Virgin advised that I will need to phone up after I have taken my flights to claim the air miles and Tier points as the system will not add them automatically because I upgraded. Is this normal?

Cheers

Thanks guys for the feedback. I have actually booked the upgrade and only 12,500 miles and no cash required!
Virgin advised that I will need to phone up after I have taken my flights to claim the air miles and Tier points as the system will not add them automatically because I upgraded. Is this normal?

Cheers

Yep perfectly normal in VS upgrade world

Thanks guys for the feedback. I have actually booked the upgrade and only 12,500 miles and no cash required!
Virgin advised that I will need to phone up after I have taken my flights to claim the air miles and Tier points as the system will not add them automatically because I upgraded. Is this normal?

Cheers

Yep perfectly normal in VS upgrade world

Just had to call and get my miles and tier points from IAD upgrade y) Looks like a good deal to NRT...enjoy ^) ^)

Congrats on the upgrade - an awesome deal in my view y)

Hope you enjoy the UC experience to NRT. Def a route I would like to do again

8D

The 901 is a very long day flight so perfect to maximise the UC experience.

I've never been to the NRT Clubhouse but understand its very nice.

The leg from Narita to LHR does seem too drag, so looking forward to making the most of the UC. The Virgin lounge in Narita is OK, not much there though and the food is limited, but as always in Japan the level of service is fantastic.

As for my UC upgrade when I check my account online the booking has disappeared and does not give me a chance to choose my seat. Do I have to cal Virgin to get this fixed or will it appear in the next few days and then I can select my seat?

The leg from Narita to LHR does seem too drag, so looking forward to making the most of the UC. The Virgin lounge in Narita is OK, not much there though and the food is limited, but as always in Japan the level of service is fantastic.

As for my UC upgrade when I check my account online the booking has disappeared and does not give me a chance to choose my seat. Do I have to cal Virgin to get this fixed or will it appear in the next few days and then I can select my seat?

Maybe the payment hasn't been taken off your card. The time I did the upgrade, I couldn't do anything until my payment had gone through.

Virgin advised that I will need to phone up after I have taken my flights to claim the air miles and Tier points as the system will not add them automatically because I upgraded. Is this normal?

Tim

That telephone call later used to be the norm, but they have finally fixed the system and now the correct miles and TP automatically appear. I flew home from HKG on a PE to UC upgrade with miles on Saturday and I can already see the miles and points in my account.

With respect to finding your flight in MMB, it can sometimes take a few days to reappear. If you can't see it listed under the "We have located the following flights based on your Flying Club number. Please click the flight you wish to view.", then use the "Retrieve your booking" section at the top right of the page and drop in your PNR and name. It usually comes up that way.

I have actually booked the upgrade and only 12,500 miles and no cash required!

Did you say no cash, none at all, not even the extra tax??
Hmm, I wonder if something has changed, I always get stung for $80 / £52 when doing a miles upgrade from PE to UC

Martin wrote

Tim

That telephone call later used to be the norm, but they have finally fixed the system and now the correct miles and TP automatically appear. I flew home from HKG on a PE to UC upgrade with miles on Saturday and I can already see the miles and points in my account.

Martin are you sure the bug is fixed? - I flew out to Shanghai 14th November, returned 26th, both PE to UC upgrades, nothing is showing in account and was planning to call VS today.
Can anybody else confirm miles and points have been added to their account without having to contact VS?

I returned two weeks from an upgraded flight and had to call in to get both miles and TP's added to my account......

Martin are you sure the bug is fixed? - I flew out to Shanghai 14th November, returned 26th, both PE to UC upgrades, nothing is showing in account and was planning to call VS today.
Can anybody else confirm miles and points have been added to their account without having to contact VS?

I flew in on Sunday morning. No call to the hotline. This was in my account by Tuesday:

Miles appeared without a call
Miles+TPs.JPG (18.84 KiB) Viewed 5577 times

Amusingly, that's net -5 miles in my account

Its possible that they do it automatically - but manually - for AUs (pure speculation on my part).

I have actually booked the upgrade and only 12,500 miles and no cash required!

Did you say no cash, none at all, not even the extra tax??
Hmm, I wonder if something has changed, I always get stung for $80 / £52 when doing a miles upgrade from PE to UC

LovingGold,
No typo my friend, the upgrade was just miles (12,500). No charge, no tax, no cc details exchanged etc!
I too was very surprised, and pleased i acted on the advice from here and upgraded early.

Still no flights showing up though in my members page, though miles have been deducted

Still no flights showing up though in my members page, though miles have been deducted

Has your e-ticket been re- issued?

DL

Ticket has been re-issued and I am all set to go in seat 5K (not sure if its any good or not?). Can't wait to hit the Sky bar and have a relaxing flight home for Christmas with the family. Only 2.5days to go!!! wool woop

Have a great flight Tim D.

I am all set to go in seat 5K (not sure if its any good or not?).

5K on a 346 is just fine . Far eough from the loo, far enough away from the bassinet position and facing the wall.
Actually i'ts where I'll be sitting on New Year's Eve .
DL

What a fantastic Christmas bargain.

Have a great flight


oldboy

Martin are you sure the bug is fixed? - I flew out to Shanghai 14th November, returned 26th, both PE to UC upgrades, nothing is showing in account and was planning to call VS today.
Can anybody else confirm miles and points have been added to their account without having to contact VS?

I flew in on Sunday morning. No call to the hotline. This was in my account by Tuesday:

Miles+TPs.JPG

Amusingly, that's net -5 miles in my account

Its possible that they do it automatically - but manually - for AUs (pure speculation on my part).

Looks like I'll have to eat my words

I flew back from LAX on 9th Jan and did an airport upgrade to UC and still no sign of the miles. Even the miles for the Virgin America connecting flight from LAS have appeared.
I have sent the standard email to Crawley Towers to get them added

My outbound to HKG (Economy plus miles) was 11 days ago and isn't showing on my account yet. I'm expecting to have to make a call or Email in a week or so after I get back.