The truth about frequent-flier upgrades
I thought I was ready when I booked a flight for $ 698 roundtrip from New York Delta to London with the idea of achieving an improvement of 50,000 frequent flyer miles. But when I went to Delta's website to complete the upgrade process, I was informed that he was not entitled. I called a Delta agent to ask why.
"You bought a cheap ticket," said the agent. It had a rate T, which does not qualify for an upgrade. To that I would have to buy a more expensive M, B, or Y economy fare, she said. The agent was willing to re-book at the cheapest price for a flight to upgrade: $ 2,393. Besides I would have had to use 50 thousand miles frequent flyer (for $ 1,000 based on the accepted value of 2 cents per mile) for a cash equivalent of $ 3,393. Here's the kicker: I could have bought a ticket in class on that same flight for only $ 2,800 – $ 600 less than the upgrade cost.
Frustrated as I was with Delta, this could have happened to any airline, as tariff codes have become increasingly difficult to decipher. What are the restrictions? Depends on the company's American, Continental and U.S. Airways have little to no restrictions on the economy fares, Delta and United have more rules.
Even with a rating air ticket, you may find your flight has reached its limit of updates ("capacity controlled" in airline parlance). And some classification notes require more co-payments (up to $ 500 each way) or more miles than others. The reason? Too many fly with too many miles, thanks in part to the credit card and other promotions are not flying.
An alternative strategy would be to redeem miles for a ticket to class instead of an update, but could be a better value. But if you decide to upgrade, you want to know the real cost (air travel more miles, more co-pay) to decide whether it is worth. You can find a good deal, especially on domestic flights. More likely it will be as surprised as I to discover that, increasingly, by upgrading with miles is not the bargain it once was.
What it takes to upgrade using miles in the upper part of the economy fare, this is what you can expect to pay for the update on the major domestic airlines.
American Airlines Domestic * Miles: 30,000 (or $ 600) Co-payment: $ 150 Cost: $ 750 plus airfare
* Miles of Europe: 50,000 (or 1000) Co-payment: $ 700 Cost: $ 1,700 plus airfare
Continental Airlines Domestic * Miles: 30,000 (or $ 600) Co-payment: $ 350 Cost: $ 950 plus airfare
* Miles from Europe: 40,000 (or $ 800) in Co-payments: $ 1.000 Cost: $ 1,800 plus airfare
Internal Delta Miles *: 25,000 (or $ 500) in Co-payments: no co-pay Cost: $ 500 plus airfare
* Miles from Europe: 50,000 (or $ 1,000) copay: no co-pay Cost: $ 1,000 plus airfare
Miles * Domestic U.S.: 30,000 (or $ 600) Co-payment: $ 100 Cost: $ 700 plus airfare
* Miles from Europe: 40,000 (or $ 800) in Co-payments: $ 1.000 Cost: $ 1,800 plus airfare
U.S. * Domestic Airways Mileage: 30,000 (or $ 600) in Co-payments: no co-pay Cost: $ 600 plus airfare
* Miles from Europe: 60,000 (or $ 1,200) Copayment: $ 600 Cost: $ 1,800 plus airfare
* Based on the cash value of 2 cents per mile for the lowest airfare rating.
Updating the policies of the major national carriers Each of the major domestic airlines have their own rules and restrictions on getting an upgrade using frequent flyer miles. States, for example, has the highest co-payment "of $ 500 each way on flights to Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East and Australia. Delta, by contrast, has no co-payments, but more restricted fares updates. And on all airlines fares require some more miles and higher copays than other classification rates for the same flight.
But there's only one way to know for sure whether your ticket qualifies for an upgrade and, if so, how much you will pay: Go to the websites of the airline and check their upgrade policies.
Copyright © 2011 Express Publishing Corporation American
More Source:
The Truth About Frequent-Flier Upgrades - Articles | Travel + LeisureThe truth about frequent-flier upgrades - CNN
FrequentFlier.com - Helping frequent flyers earn more miles and ...
Frequent Flyer - Using Points - Flight Upgrades - About Flight - Qantas
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Submited at Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 4:00 am on Tips by jessica
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