Welcome to FlyerTalk LHRRHL, and in particular, welcome to this special little, somewhat eccentric corner that is the BA board! Hope you make yourself comfortable and engage in some of our discussions and perhaps some of the more lively debates on here.

I would think it is a lot of money (and miles) to upgrade from Y (economy, known as World Traveller (WT) in BA) to W (premium economy, World Traveller Plus) as it is not that great a product differential. Sure you'll get better food, and some may even find the W seat a bit more comfortable, but equally plenty who think it is a bit too hard. So it is a matter of personal preference if you think you'd spend £400 to sit in a slightly better seat with better food or save the £400 for something else. It is not business class (Club World) which has a seat that turns into a lie-flat bed.

Check-in upgrades at the airport (AUP) can be available, and not always. You can ask on the day if there are any special offer upgrades, which will be in the region of £200-£350, or a fare-different upgrade price which is designed to shock people mostly (ie, should have paid for the next class in the first instance when it was cheaper).

There is a risk that upgrading your flight from Y to W that your ticket become less flexible if you do it online/phone - it is not always a like-for-like upgrade in terms of flexibility.

If using a special offer upgrade at the airport, you may need to contact BA afterwards to get the correct Avios and TPs for the new class.

I would certainly sign up to the BAEC frequent flyer programme if BA is going to be your main airline this year - although there are other frequent flyer programmes within oneWorld.

I would suggest you take a look at the stickies at the top of the BA forum.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ad-sticky.html