Upper Class worth the extra miles?

Looking to go to Vegas next year from LGW, is UC worth the extra 25k miles and £100 pounds per leg compared to premium economy? Whats everyones opinions?

And would going out in UC or returning in UC be better? Can only afford the miles to do one leg UC and the other PE

And would going out in UC or returning in UC be better? Can only afford the miles to do one leg UC and the other PE

For me out in UC and back in PE. LGW CH and awake for the UC experience.

[buns]

If that offer was availbale to me I would grab it with both hands!!

Being able to get in the UC Cabin to Vegas on a Gatwick Flight can sometimes be a struggle

With the others if one way is the only option - Outbound

buns

Have just booked it UC to Vegas for two, have chosen seats 6K and 6A, unfortunately they only had economy return from LAX to LHR but will keep my eye open for PE and then upgrade.

Have just booked it UC to Vegas for two, have chosen seats 6K and 6A, unfortunately they only had economy return from LAX to LHR but will keep my eye open for PE and then upgrade.

Great seat choice too...

Have just booked it UC to Vegas for two, have chosen seats 6K and 6A, unfortunately they only had economy return from LAX to LHR but will keep my eye open for PE and then upgrade.

Great seat choice too...

Is it? I sat in 6A returning from LAS a few weeks back after reading advice on here and really found it uncomfortable
It felt a good several inches shorter than the 9A I had going out.
A friend in 6K felt the same.
Ideal for shorter couples but I kept well away for my Cuba trip next month

I am undecided on which leg I would choose.
Outbound you get use of the clubhouse and are awake to enjoy the experience so that sways me towards that.
Inbound you get to make full use of the flatbed and arrive home much more refreshed than trying to sleep in a seat, even if it does recline.
I would probably go for inbound for Upper if only because Mrs D insists on flatbed for a night flight.

Is it worth the extra miles? Only you can answer that one, but I have been slightly put off by the recent hike in upgrade costs. I think these days miles are better spent on full reward redemption, but saving your miles for a future date may also be a bad idea because they can and do change the rules.

Dick D (now trying to save miles for a 2018 trip)

I would do the opposite.
PE out & UC back. It works for me because I usually have a long travel back home once in the UK.

Have just booked it UC to Vegas for two, have chosen seats 6K and 6A, unfortunately they only had economy return from LAX to LHR but will keep my eye open for PE and then upgrade.

Great seat choice too...

Is it? I sat in 6A returning from LAS a few weeks back after reading advice on here and really found it uncomfortable
It felt a good several inches shorter than the 9A I had going out.
A friend in 6K felt the same.
Ideal for shorter couples but I kept well away for my Cuba trip next month

Worked well for MrsPJH and I several times. Yes they are close together but if you're a couple who like each other that's fine and there is no passing traffic. I don't think they are any shorter, but I could be wrong.

I know that not everyone agrees, but the world would be a less interesting place if we did.

Love those Seats 6A and 6K ! travelling as a couple it is much easier to share conversation and glances, if we didn't look back it felt like we had our very own plane ! I too would choose UC outbound just for the 'holiday starting ' general glee, the warm expectation of the journey, the Clubhouse - all part of looking forward to a holiday. Coming home is coming home .... and no amount of extra benefits can diffuse the general doom . If you don't sleep easily on flights, and I don't , then a flatbed is a waste of miles/money. PE is good enough for us.

Yes.

I also agree if only using UC one way choose the day flight as you get the maximum benefit

....If you don't sleep easily on flights, and I don't , then a flatbed is a waste of miles/money. PE is good enough for us.

I'm the opposite, I find it difficult to sleep on a plane and having a lie flat bed makes a world of difference and means i'm well rested (although this could also be the effect of the extra alcohol from the lounge and on-board!)

On another note, why do the seat numbers start at 6?!

1 to 5 would be upstairs if they had UC up there, like they did on the LHR 747s.

[honey lamb]

On another note, why do the seat numbers start at 6?!

In the past on the 747 rows 1-5 in UC were on the upper deck and UC in the lower deck started with row 6. Later on the upper decks were reconfigured. In the LHR 747 it was configured to be all UC and as a result UC in the lower deck started with row 12. Since then the Upper decks have gone through several reconfigurations but the numbering of the lower decks remained the same with the LGW UC starting at 6 and the LHR UC starting at 12.

Thanks both of you,

Thought it might be something like that but seems strange they haven't renumbered; guess it keeps it consistent. Would have thought VS would have always had 1 at the nose though like most other airlines.

[honey lamb]

Thanks both of you,

Thought it might be something like that but seems strange they haven't renumbered; guess it keeps it consistent. Would have thought VS would have always had 1 at the nose though like most other airlines.

I know what you mean. In the dim and distant past, long before on-line booking, seat maps and all the tricks and tips we have come to take for granted thanks to sites like this, we booked a flight to SFO in UC via a travel agent. We had travelled PE a few times previously on the 747 when the upper deck was a UC/PE split and loved the experience but on one occasion we had received an on-board op-up to UC in the main cabin because of an inoperative seat. (I rather think that the flight was seriously oversold and they were looking for an opportunity to upgrade someone because I later learned that the seat was used! - Sorry, I digressed. Back to my comment). We had also used miles to upgrade to UC from PE on a LAX-LHR flight on an A343 (which again was seriously oversold and they were looking for volunteers to be bumped!) This gave us a taste for UC and so, having scrimped and saved, we booked the aforementioned flight and asked our travel agent to select seats. We were given 3A and C (this was in the pre-suite days) and looked forward to being spoilt in the main cabin. Imagine our acute disappointment when we were told to go upstairs. It was no different to our PE experience. In fact it was worse in that on arrival we had to wait for PE to disembark, especially as one passenger had serious mobility issues and quite frankly should not have been on the upper deck for safety reasons.

On our return journey we changed our seat assignments to the main cabin and from that time onwards, made sure that we had a seat assignment higher than the number 5 on VS flights and later number 12 on the LHR planes.

Congratulations on getting the reward seats
As to the out or return question my opinion would be that if you haven't flown UC before then use it on the day flight and enjoy it.
If UC isn't new to you, then the return is better for the benefit of the lie flat seat and a decent rest. Coming from the Las Vegas it wouldn't be sleepy time on boarding and you could enjoy the experience for a few hours before anyway
Have a great trip

Ive flown upper with BA a few times due to staff friends but this is the first time i had paid/used miles to upgrade and its definitely the first time for my girlfriend .
Have only managed to get economy seats on the return from LAX as no PE available. A friend said the extra 10k pp isnt worth it for PE, amd just pay for the exit seat . Havent been on the 787 virgin before, whats everyones thoughts? I dont mind spending the miles if its really worth it as already spent 130k on this trip

Ive flown upper with BA a few times due to staff friends but this is the first time i had paid/used miles to upgrade and its definitely the first time for my girlfriend .
Have only managed to get economy seats on the return from LAX as no PE available. A friend said the extra 10k pp isnt worth it for PE, amd just pay for the exit seat . Havent been on the 787 virgin before, whats everyones thoughts? I dont mind spending the miles if its really worth it as already spent 130k on this trip

Def worth it for the seat if nothing else

If I could only get Upper Class one way - the decision would be what I needed to do on arrival back in the UK.

My preference would be for the outbound flight, as it's a daytime flight so you get to experience all Upper Class has to offer (the crew will happily make up your bed for you on a daytime flight if you want some sleep too). If, however, I had to work or had a long drive back on arrival in the UK, then the return flight would be my preference so I could get some good sleep & if flying into LHR on a morning arrival take advantage of Revivals... pass on the pre-cooked breakfast onboard the aircraft & have a hot shower and freshly cooked breakfast on the ground.

I know the OP if referring to the LAS route where Upper Class reward seats can be rare - especially so from Manchester. That said a friend snapped up 2 UC rewards (one way) to LAS from Manchester at about 3 weeks out from the flight date. He had to fly home from LAX though into LHR.

Ive flown upper with BA a few times due to staff friends but this is the first time i had paid/used miles to upgrade and its definitely the first time for my girlfriend .
Have only managed to get economy seats on the return from LAX as no PE available. A friend said the extra 10k pp isnt worth it for PE, amd just pay for the exit seat . Havent been on the 787 virgin before, whats everyones thoughts? I dont mind spending the miles if its really worth it as already spent 130k on this trip

Personally, I'd definitely go for PE. It's a long flight and economy isn't very comfortable.

It really does depend on what sort of experience you want

For UC for example on the LAS route

Outbound you'd get the LGW CH plus the full day time service.

On the return you'd get the much bigger baggage allowance, more relaxed sleep but no arrivals lounge at LGW.


With PE you get double the economy baggage allowance over Y (an extra bag can be pretty expensive) especially handy on the way back.